As I looked at the blogathon schedule for the rest of 2025, I discovered how few events were announced. This includes my upcoming blogathon, The Food & Film Blogathon. Despite the limited amount of blogathons, I wanted to provide more blogathon related content to my readers. So, I have decided to participate in Genre Grandeur! I have written reviews for this year-long blogathon before. However, the last time I participated in Genre Grandeur was October 2023, when I reviewed Christmas at Castle Hart. With July’s theme being “Movies Featuring Weddings”, I knew there were a lot of options at my disposal. But I wanted to talk about a movie that was more off the beaten path. When I learned there was a Perry Mason film revolving around a wedding, I knew I found the perfect title! Some of the movies from the Perry Mason TV film series have been covered on 18 Cinema Lane. These pictures have received likable reviews, as I have enjoyed them to varying degrees. How will this film, Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride, compare to those other entries? Keep reading my review to solve this mystery!

Things I liked about the film:

Stand-out performances: In a mystery film, there is sometimes that one actor or collection of actors whose performance shines the brightest. That kind of performance came from Merle Kennedy, Brian McNamara, and Heather McAdam in Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride! The film’s titular bride is a pop star named Kaitlynn Parrish. From her style to her songs and even her dance moves, everything about Kaitlynn’s celebrity persona feels very Madonna-esque. But throughout the movie and also at the wedding, Kaitlynn’s personality is quite different. Heather McAdam portrays her character as a sweet, down-to-earth woman who hasn’t let fame and fortune get to her head. Instead of becoming a self-centered “bridezilla”, Kaitlynn shows concern for her dad’s legal situation. When Kaitlynn’s dad receives a phone call from a commissioner, the smile she had on her face as she walks into the room immediately melts into a look of worry. As she talks to her dad about the commissioner’s call, Kaitlynn’s tone of voice is filled with concern and there’s even a sad look in her eyes. She also suggests asking Perry Mason for help. Kaitlynn eventually goes back to appearing happy when her dad is in a better mood. Scenes like the one I described present a good example of how, sometimes, an entertainer’s real-life persona is quite different from what they present in the spotlight.

Brian McNamara portrays Sam Wald, a groomsman in Kaitlynn Parrish’s wedding. Merle Kennedy stars in the movie as Suzy Richards, a fan of Kaitlynn’s. What both Merle and Brian have in common is how their performance was charismatic! It also helps how their ability to adapt from scene to scene was effortless! Because of how strong Brian’s and Merle’s performance was, it allowed Sam and Suzy to be more intriguing. These elements made me look forward to seeing the characters appear on screen. I honestly wish Merle and Brian were given more material to work with in this movie.

The wardrobe: The Perry Mason TV movies are “contemporary” mysteries grounded in reality. This means the characters’ wardrobe not only runs the risk of appearing mundane, it also runs the risk of becoming overlooked. In Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride, however, some of the female characters’ wardrobe stood out to me. One of my favorite outfits appeared toward the beginning of the film. When Suzy is first introduced in the movie, she wears a red suede jacket with matching shiny red Doc Martin boots. Her outfit also includes a white shirt, black shorts, and black knee-high socks. My favorite piece was a black, cross-body purse with a silver buckle and silver corners. From what I could see, the purse looked like a mini trunk. The outfit I described was not only a great contrast from the other characters’ wardrobe, it also wonderfully represented Suzy’s personality! These results helped outfits like Suzy’s be memorable!

The set design: When I reviewed Perry Mason Returns and Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love, I talked about the set design as one of the strengths of both films. The exterior and interior of the highlighted spaces effectively visualized how well-off the characters are. Kaitlynn and her fiancé, Gary’s, wedding in Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride takes place in a large mansion. This mansion appears built out of warm-stone brick with cream borders around the windows and main door. To the left of the mansion is a multi-paneled cylinder, making the building look like a castle. With manicured foliage in front of the mansion, one might mistake the structure as a dream out of a fairytale! Later in the film, the office of a music producer named Jake Lubin is shown on screen. This space has a high ceiling, large windows, and a massive indoor balcony. Metal support pillars and frosted glass railings give the office a modern industrial style. Platinum and gold framed records represent Jake’s success as well as compliment the cream, silver, and gold color palette. Once again, the set design of Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride provided visual clues for the characters’ social status.

What I didn’t like about the film:

Lack of urgency: The Perry Mason television film series doesn’t rely on suspense or adrenaline. But the mysteries provide intrigue to keep the viewers invested in what’s happening on screen. The mysteries also provide characters with a sense of urgency, as they race against the clock to solve the case. However, Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride lacks that sense of urgency. Perry, Della, and even Ken meanderingly take their time building a legal case and questioning suspects. These characters act as if they don’t have a deadline or limited time frame to work with. This lack of urgency sometimes made the movie boring, as well as sucked the energy out of the story.

Things that don’t make sense: Ken Malansky suspects he’s being followed. Yet he doesn’t lock his car doors when he leaves his car to follow a lead at a music club. As Ken questions the music club’s owner, someone plants a recording device inside Ken’s car phone. When Ken eventually drives away from the music club, the car that was following him can clearly be seen through the front window of Ken’s car. That’s because the car following Ken was parked a few feet away from Ken’s vehicle. Decisions like Ken leaving his car doors open and ignoring the suspicious car created parts of the story that didn’t make sense.

Missed creative opportunities: My reviews for the Perry Mason TV movies have addressed the creativity each story had to offer. These creative choices helped give the movies a unique identity that was memorable. But Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride was a lackluster film because of the creative opportunities that were missed. Gary, Kaitlynn’s fiancé, has a sister named Hannah. After her music career failed, Hannah decided to pursue a legal career. She even tells Perry how she will soon take the bar exam. This career shift could have provided a subplot where Hannah either assists Perry in solving the case or where the script explores the concept of a celebrity taking their career in a different direction. Sadly, Hannah’s new career plan has little to no bearing over the story of Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride.

My overall impression:

As I mentioned in my review of Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride, some of the female characters’ wardrobe stood out to me. There were outfits I really liked, with Suzy’s aforementioned introductory attire being one of them. But similar to what I said in the past about a film’s scenery, this movie’s wardrobe couldn’t save the film. Out of the titles from the Perry Mason TV movie series I’ve seen and even reviewed, Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride was an under-cooked and uninspired entry. While there were stand-out acting performances, they weren’t truly given a chance to shine. That’s because the actors’ respective characters did not have consistent enough appearances in the story. The movie featured so many creative opportunities that were missed, not allowing the story to be memorable or unique. It also doesn’t help that the picture lacked a sense of urgency. With any movie series boasting over ten titles, there’s going to be at least one “bad day at the office”. Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride was one of those days for the fictional detective.

Overall score: 5 out of 10

Have you seen Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride? Are there any films from the Perry Mason television movie series you’d like to see me review? Let me know in the comment section below!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen