Il mistero delle lettere perdute - Cotti a puntino

7.7 stars.

Once again, the Postables are caught in love triangles. It's obvious this franchise is going to continue keeping these relationships at arms length. In other words, we have flirtation we have dates, and we have little hints of growing love, yet nobody seems to be capable of advancing to the next level, taking the next big step into commitment. This time the reason is because old flames, or supposed old flames are reignited...but are they? Oliver has a hot woman friend, we've seen her already, she's a Hallmark regular and a great choir partner at his local church. She's on the scene in this episode, and she's looking good as ever. Shane is a bit taken aback and Oliver is clueless as usual. Rita and Norman hit a speed bump too as Rita's ex boyfriend is mentioned and he's not just a forgotten memory.

As usual, I really enjoyed the story, however, this is the least favorite of the SSD movies thus far. That's not really a game changer, because it's still very good.

This continuation of two developing love stories was wrapped around a mystery and then a confrontation over stolen mail. The romance was definitely sweet despite the fact there were some hurdles. The stolen mail situation could have ended sweetly also, except that the director or the writers or both anchored it in exaggerated humor. The heavy atmosphere created by the silly portrayal of the postal security guy and others so overpowered the more delicate fragrance of the resolution that the impact of it was lost. Certainly there was humor in the situation, but the tender moment was overpowered. I deduct 2 stars for this blunder. What might have been an excellent story became merely good.

The attempt to mix the quirky and nerdy aspects of the Postables with the edgier elements of the crime didn't quite work as well as it should have, probably because of the poorly executed attempts at humor as I already mentioned.

I do give kudos for the attempt to take the "date" at the restaurant at the end of the previous movie and revisit it and expand it. However, I don't think it was done as deftly as it could have been.

It's hard to grade acting in a movie like this.

"What good is a letter if you never mail it?"

One in a Million is the follow up to the Valentine episode and it starts right where that one finished...with Shane and Oliver's first date. They didn't exactly ride off into the sunset together and the awkward details of their dinner are slowly revealed throughout the episode. Oliver told the waitress they were just friends, which starts Shane spinning...creating an uncomfortable environment for everybody! The postables are asked to help Mail security solve the case of missing mail. A thief has stolen the mail from several boxes across town and left little clues behind at each...there is a stuffed goose, a wedding cake topper, a can of kidney beans, and a quote in Latin. They find a witness, Shane and Oliver's waitress from the night before and try to get a compilation sketch off of her observations. One more twist...the waitress is desperate to get a mailed letter back that she sent to her then boyfriend who is now her ex.

"Love is like dancing...don't look down"-Ramon

There is a lot going on and I was thrilled to have the cast back...Shane, Oliver, Norman and Rita, with an appearance by Oliver's father Joe O'Toole played by the returning Gregory Harrison.

This series is just the best, with an emphasis on sentiments from the past, it's always about being a good person and doing the right thing. I like that there is an emphasis on Love and how it is never wrong to love.

"There is a vast difference between choosing a good man and finding the right man. I hope you don't give up until you find both."-Oliver

Personal note, I absolutely love Rita's yellow floral dress and matching vintage inspired yellow and blue necklace.

"Sometimes you just have to have a little faith."-Oliver.

The plot feels like something from one of those very bad Christmas movies! The characters are ALL over the top and unbelievable! The dialog sounds like something written for a Helen Steiner Rice Valentines card. Wow!!