Questions about loyalty and justice are at the heart of this seventh McBride movie. Police detective turned lawyer Mike McBride confronts a difficult case when his mentor, Grayson Franks (Madison Mason), is stabbed to death in his driveway. The police quickly arrest a motorcycle mechanic, Juan Lobell (Michael Esparza), as he tries to pawn Grayson’s missing watch, but Juan’s sister, Marell (Dianna Miranda), and McBride’s own conversations with the suspect convince the lawyer of Juan’s innocence.
He agrees to take the case, but that means coming face-to-face with Grayson’s messy personal life. That wouldn’t be a problem if Grayson, a well-respected attorney, hadn’t also instilled in McBride a fierce commitment to justice, something that has shaped McBride’s entire approach to his profession. If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the course of this series, it’s that the scrappy lawyer will always go to bat for the little guy, and it’s a quality reinforced from years working at Grayson’s side. Defending Juan means exposing some of the unsavory aspects of Mr. Frank’s life, however, namely his extramarital affairs, and the last thing McBride wants to do is to tarnish Grayson’s memory and cause the family more anguish. The cost of staying silent weighs on him, and if this were an episode of Foyle’s War, that conflict would be pushed to the forefront. But this is Hallmark, and McBride’s inner turmoil is treated with a light touch, thus wasting a good opportunity for the movie to rise above a routine whodunit.
It is entertaining at least, and McBride tackles two mysteries at once. Besides finding Grayson’s killer, he also needs to uncover the identity of the deceased’s lover, a woman who could break the case or who could turn out to be the murderer. He gets a better picture of the victim’s final days from Grayson’s wife (Cindy Pickett), son (Brian McGovern), and assistant (Delaine Yates), but they’re hesitant to help turncoat McBride exonerate Juan. The behavior of Juan’s best friend, Marco (Isait De La Fuente), adds to the confusion and raises more questions about the killer and their motive.
Betrayal lurks around every corner and finds its way into all sorts of relationships. That’s what makes this movie interesting. Lesser installments of the series tend to be ones that focus too closely on a small circle of suspects and associates, most of whom share a similar profile, but this one widens the scope of the story. I could have done with juicier parts for Grayson’s wife and son, but his assistant and the accused compensate with their thoughtful presence. What I definitely don’t need are lazy stereotypes of Latinos. For a show that takes place in L.A., there’s a whole lot of white folks in McBride-land, and the one time a movie does feature Latinos, the creative team resort to the worst clichés. McBride’s trust fund colleague, Phil Newberry (Matt Lutz), knows the Lobells because their mom was the family maid, police detective Roberta Hansen (Marta DuBois) wrongly assumes, as she is wont to do, that Juan belongs to a gang, and Marell’s friend leans into his actual gang member part with such hammy relish that the scene felt like a slow-moving hate crime. I know this is an early aughts production, but damn if this doesn’t highlight an the industry’s persistent diversity problems.
**Spoilers at end of post
Released: 2006
Dir: John Larroquette
Writer: Brian Clemens
Cast: John Larroquette, Marta DuBois, Matt Lutz, Madison Mason, Delaine Yates, Brian McGovern, Michael Esparza, Cindy Pickett, Dianna Miranda, Melissa Keller, Isait De La Fuente
Time: 90 min
Lang: English
Country: United States
Network: Hallmark Channel
Reviewed: 2021
** SPOILERS **
Spoilers: Dean Franks killed his father, who was having an affair with his wife, Rochelle. Dean found out when Kathy passed along receipt for the dress. He saw that Rochelle had the same dress in her closet but knew that neither of them had bought it. Suspicious, he returned early from his meeting and drove by his dad’s condo, spotting Rochelle’s car and all but confirming the affair. He then went to his dad’s house, waiting until Grayson came back to kill him. As McBride suspected, Dean took the watch and wallet to make the murder look like a botched robbery. When Dean found out that police had arrested Juan, he persuaded Marco to hide the bloody knife in Juan’s toolbox. McBride uncovers the truth when he finds out that Rochelle’s car was ticketed near the condo on the day of the murder. He further backs up his theory with a bank statement that shows Dean withdrew $25,000 at the same time Marco received that same amount. Dean tearfully admits to his crime and apologizes to his mom while Rochelle runs out of the courtroom.
Fits of Fury 