I rounded up my final Nora Roberts made-for-TV flick, Montana Sky this week, and I must say, it wasn't much of an improvement over Blue Smoke or Angels Fall; I guess the dizzy, trashy Carolina Moon was the sole gem among this lot of 2007 productions. (you can click on those titles to read the individual reviews). Gorgeously shot in Canada (as were the other three), Montana Sky starts out like it may have some kick to it, but various subplots shuffle in and out frame, diffusing the impact of the pulpy storyline. I suspect too much was abridged in the adaptation from novel to film.

Tough-as-nails, gorgeous cowpoke Willa Mercy (Ashley Williams) has her hands full. Her carousing, emotionally cold father has just died and left his vast Montana ranch to her. And to her two half-sisters, who are "nothing" to her: Lily (Laura Mennell), a scared, abused woman running from her violent ex-husband Jesse (Scott Heindl), and Tess (Charlotte Ross), a sexed-up Hollywood screenwriter. Evidently, their father did had a sense of humor: to inherit their shares, all three women must live on the ranch, together, for one year, or the land is forfeited back to the conservancy, run by the local Indian tribe.

As difficult as it is for no-nonsense Willa to get accustomed to these two strangers living on her ranch (particularly the sultry Tess), it's even more trying that her father also stipulated in his will that next-door-neighbor Ben (John Corbett) act as official overseer of the ranch during the one year probation period. Ben, who was once offered 10,000 acres by Willa's father to marry her, has a love/hate relationship with Willa that for the past few years has tilted only towards "hate." But there's still an undeniable physical attraction between the two - which only infuriates the socially awkward Willa more.

Into this rather Shakespearian drama comes the specter of someone mutilating cows, horses and dogs from the ranch - as well as killing off and scalping ranch hands. Is it Lily's ex-husband? Is it Ben, who Willa states always coveted her ranch? Is it the sheriff, Nate (Aaron Pearl), who has a hankering for smoking hot Tess? Or is it Ham (James Baker), the crusty foreman who doesn't like taking orders from a woman?

There's enough plot for four movies in Montana Sky, but with a running time of only 95 minutes, much of what is presented is abbreviated to the point of pointlessness. Many of Montana Sky's scenes play out like shorthand versions of longer scenes we've watched in other, better films: the rough-and-tumble, sexually tense bickering between Willa and Ben; the anonymous serial killing of the murderous stranger; the sexually dominating tactics of Hollywood Tess (watch her throw a big handful of condoms on Nate's coffee table, in anticipation of what could only be an Olympian session of lovemaking); the tentative love scenes between Lily and her new suitor, Adam (Nathaniel Arcand).

Montana Sky starts out with just the right amount of sass and irreverence, with the funeral of the never-seen Jack Mercy. Diane Ladd as Bess (what her role on the ranch is, isn't clearly stated) gets off a few funny cracks, and Ashley Williams' performance is a pleasing mixture of grit and submerged femininity. The immediate arrival of the sisters continues the spark - particularly funny, sexy Charlotte Ross as "that Hollywood fruitcake" Tess - while rugged John Corbett strikes all the right notes as the frustratingly charming man that walled-off Willa desperately doesn't want to fall for again.

Unfortunately, all of that potential drama is lost to the silly, clichéd ritual killings and mutilations (which are unimaginatively staged - Pickles the ranchhand's death is particularly amateurish). Every time the story of the sisters' relationships with each other and their new boyfriends got interesting, another cow was carved up, ruining the pace of the central drama and delivering phony non-scares that wouldn't convince a five-year-old (Nora Roberts isn't exactly expert in hiding her villains or making it difficult for us to figure out who's killing whom). I can't believe I'm writing this, but I just wish they had stuck with the relationships in Montana Sky and left the ridiculous, yawn-inducing killings to another movie (which I guess is the equivalent in movie terms - for a movie critic who normally loves action and suspense movies - of saying, "Can't you just hold me for once? Isn't that enough?") If my final request of Montana Sky is the equivalent of "Can't we just cuddle?" then believe me - there's something seriously wrong with the suspense elements of the film.

The DVD:

The Video:
The anamorphically enhanced, 1.78:1 widescreen image for Montana Sky is quite good, with the stunning Canadian vistas properly valued with no transfer issues I spotted. A sharp, clear, nicely graded picture, with little or no grain.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 5.1 audio mix for Montana Sky is, like the other Nora Roberts DVDs out this year, quite a nice surprise - it's more than enough soundtrack for this particular film.

The Extras:
There are no extras for Montana Sky.

Final Thoughts:
Couldn't the serial killing/mutilations have been left behind in the Montana Sky adaptation? Unfortunately, the chick flick elements of the Nora Roberts multi-plot framework get shunted to the side every time an artificial jolt is needed before a commercial, so Montana Sky comes off both as totally unconvincing slasher film and tentative, undeveloped family drama. Rent Montana Sky for the performances and the sweet location work (if you don't see it listed in your TV Guide this month).