With Hallmark’s Christmas movie line-ups approaching and Halloween almost around the corner, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is winding down their mysteries series to make way for the upcoming Christmas season. But before Christmas trees can be decorated and Eggnog can be prepared, the Darrow & Darrow series gave fans a third movie to satisfy their mystery solving desire until 2019. Even though Darrow & Darrow is only a year old, the series has proven they have what it takes to run the race alongside the long running Garage Sale Mystery series and fan favorites, like the Hailey Dean Mystery series and Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Because the latest Darrow & Darrow movie is about another murder mystery, it looks like this series has adopted the identity that a lot of the other mystery series, on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, have before them. Despite these series containing the same type of mystery, they have done a pretty good job at setting themselves apart from each other and incorporating as much creativity as possible. Did Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence contribute to helping this series stay creative and original? Keep reading in order to solve this case!

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: Just like in the previous Darrow & Darrow film, the cast of this movie was really good! Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Tom Cavanagh successfully led this production with performances that appeared very natural. Once again, their on-screen chemistry was a highlight of this film! I was also really impressed with Jordana Largy’s performance in this film, as it was versatile and believable.

 

The mystery: I liked the creativity that was found in this mystery story! Usually, the murder victim’s deceased body is shown on-screen somewhere in the first half of the movie. In Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence, however, the audience never gets to see the body of the murder victim. Most of the mystery stories on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries are about crimes that are less than a year old. The murder mystery in Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence started a year prior to the events in the film.

 

The humor: Like a lot of the series on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence incorporates humor into their story as to give the audience a break from the darkness surrounding the mystery. The humor found in this movie kept in line with the humor from the other two movies and was genuinely funny. One of the funniest moments in Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence was when, at Lou’s fundraiser, Chester believed that telling Lou to be safe was the equivalent of cheering Lou on.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A weaker first half: For the first half of Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence, Claire and Miles debate about whether or not Laura Graham murdered her husband. Also, Joanna helps out an employee at the Darrow & Darrow law firm and Lou tries to raise money for military veterans. Within this first half of the movie, it seems like these subplots, as well as Claire and Miles’ debate, overshadowed the mystery itself. It wasn’t until Joanna and Claire attended an auction that the story seemed to pick up in the second half of the film.

 

An inconsistent pace: Because the first half of the movie was weaker than the second half, the pace was slow for about half the movie. The first 25 minutes of the film being exposition heavy also contributed to the inconsistency of the film’s pace.

My overall impression:

As good as Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence was, I still believe that Darrow & Darrow: In the Key of Murder was the stronger film. Nevertheless, I’m glad to see that this series is continuing on with strength and creativity! Though Hallmark has not yet announced any upcoming movies in this series, I am looking forward to solving more mysteries alongside one of Hallmark’s favorite sleuthing teams! Who knows, maybe we could see a Christmas themed Darrow & Darrow movie one day? If the Murder She Baked series could receive a Christmas movie, anything is possible. For now, all we, the audience and fans, can do is anticipate the Christmas movies from Hallmark and look forward to the other projects both networks have to offer.

 

Overall score: 7.6 out of 10

 

Did you watch Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence? Would you like to see a Christmas themed Darrow & Darrow movie? Let me know in the comment section!

 

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen