Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery

I could accept the formulaic script, predictable plot, and two-dimensional characters of this film-I watch this kind of movie to relax and not have to think too hard. But trying to pretend that British Columbia was Maine was more than my imagination could handle! If an east coast location and American actors were too expensive, why couldn't they have tweaked the story to suit a west coast setting? Professor Fielding could just as easily have been searching for artifacts of Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest or Native American burial sites as trying to prove the existence of an early Pilgrim settlement. It was so ridiculously obvious that this was not Maine that I couldn't think of anything else throughout the entire movie.

This movie was OK. Not as good as a Garage Sale, Aurora Teagarden or Mystery Woman Mystery, but OK.

But what I found REALLY distracting was the casting of the actor who played Will.

There were repeated references to Emma having spent her summers there in Maine as a teenager, with Will.

However, Emma appears to be in her early to mid 50's (yes, the figure of a young woman, but facial close-ups reveal an "appearance age" or early to mid 50s).

Will, despite his dime-store dye job, appears to be in his early to mid 30s.

So when Emma would have been a teenager, Will would have been somewhere between a toddler and not-yet born.

Creepy.

Actors need to look at themselves in the mirror and ask these questions.

1) Am I under thirty-five? 2) Am I handsome? 3) Does my beard fill in completely? 4) Do I have the self-discipline to keep my beard well trimmed? 5) Again, am I handsome?

If the answer to those questions is not a firm yes, that actor must refuse to be shot with the kind of whiskers that make them look like they haven't bathed. The lead actor in this movie may be self-disciplined about shaving but he's a firm no on the remainder. Therefore, he must either cease seeing himself as someone whose looks can be enhanced by the kind of scruff.

This movie would have been more relaxing if the lead actor had asked himself those questions. He should also button another button on his shirt and reconsider the necklace.

Yikes folkes, there is a lot of negativity in the reviews, which surprises me a little, especially towards Courney Thorne Smith, regarding her acting , her age and her looks. I like her very much and found the ageism comments very harsh, and as for her face ?, name any actress that has NOT had a bit of help along the way!!

So , back to the movie, I really enjoyed it for what it is, a light hearted daytime mystery thriller, kept me interested and I really liked the cast members , not as wooden as many other mystery dramas ( namely Garage Sale Mystery movies ) I give a 7 rating, well worth a watch!!

I knew this was going to be a groaner in the very first scene, when some immaculate archaeology students who'd supposedly just been working a dig stood up with perfectly clean clothes and shoes, neat coiffed hair, and not a trace of dirt under their fingernails. It got worse from there. It's a bit of bubblegum, not even close to the level of even the worst British mysteries. Don't waste your time with this potboiler.