Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home’

5/19/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There was a time in television history, where the crime story was a vastly different type of show. For in those days, crime stories were all about plucky investigators that were emotionally strong and hyper intelligent, so they could solve dark crimes with ease and put the audience at ease in doing so. Because murder is a dark business and hard to swallow, and a kind person solving them helped to soften that blow. But the end of shows like Columbo and Murder She Wrote, gave rise to a grand experiment in the genre. For just like that, crime stories went hard and really examined the power of crime and its impact upon us and that has brought forth some dark serials that hold nothing back. The kind that now dominate the landscape.

Which audiences are enjoying and are learning from, but they do love the escapist nature of crime stories, of justice being served by good people in the world, sometimes ones that don’t carry a badge. Which is why, the cozy mystery was given life. Since this fairly new subgenre features that more lighthearted approach to crime serials and make it accessible to all once again. In fact, they’re so popular now that they are everywhere on streamers and they’re making their way into mainstream as well. Since the Hallmark Channel has embraced the majesty of the cozy mystery and they’re truly mastering the formula, as to what makes them great and so accessible, as evidenced by the charming and engaging cozy mystery that aired on the network the other day, Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home.

For this is a cozy mystery that introduces us to a former combat doctor named Doctor Rachel Hunt. Who moves back home in this story with her kids to start over in life. For Rachel’s husband didn’t make it out of wartime, and going back to where Rachel’s life began seems like the right place to hit the reset button. And since she is a knowledgeable doctor, she easily finds work at a local family practice and finds joy and peace in helping others and giving them good news or guidance in their health issues. But one day, when a perfectly healthy man dies of seemingly natural causes, Rachel’s world is turned upside down. Because she knows the science, she knows a sudden death isn’t possible and now with the help of Detective Jack Quinn, Rachel will stop at nothing to prove that murder has descended upon her hometown.

Which is a plot that brings forth, a perfect cozy mystery. One that truly showcases why this subgenre is thriving right now. Because what makes a cozy mystery great, is an engaging lead character that we can connect with, one that has a heart of gold and truly wants to do good in the world and well… Rachel is indeed just that. After all, she’s served her country, she’s overcome loss, and she truly wants to help people and that… immediately allows for the audience to connect with her and believe in what she stands for and has us rooting for her at every step. Granted, there is some level of disbelief one needs to apply to this, since she does get incredible access to an ongoing investigation, but that’s okay. Because that’s part of the fun and part of the charm, and part of the escapism of the story.

Plus, it can be forgiven simply because, the case at hand is pretty darn juicy. After all, every layer that Rachel peels back harbors dark secrets and ugly motives, the kind that keep the audience guessing from start to finish as to who might have caused harm here and that too… is engaging and delightful and truly helps us to just lose ourselves in a feel-good story. Because justice is served by the end of this tale and Rachel is indeed quite the hero. But what also makes this story of note, is that it works hard… to really spread joy and good messages along the way. Because there’s a lot of positivity to be found in meeting a character that wants to overcome their traumas and there are even wonderful moments with her children that speak to the nature of respect and the power of family.

Which is why we call this the perfect cozy mystery. But of course, we’d be remiss to not point out, that in order to truly pull of a cozy mystery of this caliber, one needs great acting and that’s here too. Because Amanda Schull offers up a very deep and complex performance as Rachel in this story. One that sells the character as an everyday person getting by in the world, and Brendan Penny does a wonderful job of playing off of her as Jack. But truly, what makes this story so worth your while, is that it makes you feel good. It makes you believe that good can triumph over evil and that the bad guys will indeed be brought to bear, and that… is what a cozy mystery does best, and featuring every element that makes them worth our time informs us… that Hallmark is only going to send more of these our way, and they will undoubtedly bring the same joy and safety that we find here.

Watch ‘Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home’

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