Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

I have loved all the Murder She Baked movies but this one was one I had to force myself to finish. Alison and Victor have no onscreen chemistry whatsoever. His character is too stiff and smug. They have Alison acting like a silly teenager just hoping he will ask her out. But the worst and what makes you want to stop watching is Barbara Niven. Usually a favorite character of mine; they have turned her into an over the top ridiculous drama queen. She must have insisted on having half the lines because you could almost have called it the Barbara Niven Mystery series. They have turned her character into such a completely obnoxious annoying overacting scene stealing caricature of herself it just ruined the whole show. Put Alison back front and center and tone down Barbara for the next one please. Barbara is fun as a small side character but not a main one. One can only take such nonsense in small doses.

I think Alison Sweeney does a great job and like Chad ok but do wish they'd give Norman a love interest. And where did the tall, brunette sister come from in this new post-Mike batch? Fine actress but ridiculous casting to believe she is in this family of petit blondes. Ok, here is my real complaint: the mother. I have seen Barbara Niven in many, many Hallmark shows and even in previous Hannah mysteries and she has always been fine. But, she has become absolutely insufferable in these shows. They have written her character to be a complete fool and are doing Ns. Niven a disservice. Her character drags down every scene in which she appears and is toooo toooo annoying. Rescue her!

Having read many poor reviews I braced myself for something truly terrible. Guess what - it was another decent instalment of Murder She Baked (cannot get used to new name).

I don't mind Chad, because I never really cared for Mike. Even though I still find it odd that he's doing more police work than actual police.

Alison took a trip to the Oz world and it works for the better.

Hannah's mother was her usual self, nothing over the top. New sister is still new to me and sticks like a sore thumb.

The real star is Norman (as usual). He's smart, cute, and not just Hannah's admirer. I'd watch a Dentist Mystery!

Still don't like Lake Eden turning into a big city, and Cookie Jar is almost as big as Starbucks now.

The case itself was OK. I've seen better, but still it was a solid 6-7. Thanks to Norman I'm giving it an 8.

I really liked the Murder She Baked movies, but these Hannah Swensen movies are awful. Even Hannah's character has become really goofy. The way she acts every time she sees the District Attorney, is embarrassing. I don't know any middle-aged woman who would behave that way. And why do they keep making the mom more annoying than the last movie? She was at least a bit likable in the Murder She Baked movies, but now I cringe every time she's in a scene. This one was so bad I didn't even watch until the very end. Even though I wanted to know who the killer was, I just couldn't take any more of this silliness.

I like all of the actors in this movie & I used to really enjoy the Murder She Baked movies. However, in the Hannah Swensen movies, I find that Delores has changed from being a loving, somewhat ditzy mother, adding some comic relief, to being annoying. She's disrespectful to Hannah, calling out her wardrobe quite publicly & nastily. She's self-absorbed & irritating.

Despite liking Vistor & Alison, I don't see any romantic chemistry between them. Also, it's pushing plausibility to have Hannah 'helping' a DA.

If the next movie isn't an improvement on these last two, I will not watch future movies.