If you’re a homeschooler, you’re well aware that homeschooling doesn’t always take place during the morning. Homeschool often looks like night school or weekend school, and while movie watching outside of the home often takes place, it can get pricey if you’re attempting to do it once a week with five people. It’s always nice to browse our streaming services and find movies that are perfect for a homeschool friendly movie night.
I received a copy and compensation for sharing this movie with you in exchange for my honest opinion.
Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s
Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s is a homeschool friendly movie that the entire family can watch without censoring any scenes for children in the home. When we first started watching I immediately felt like we were watching a child-friendly version of a Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie. Very big on wholesomeness while providing a plotline that’s easy to follow. It does get a bit cheesy at points, but for a movie safe for my kids to watch, I’m willing to deal with a bit of cheese instead of archaic ideas of homeschoolers. The children nor their parents are prude, but they are quite focused on doing the right thing at all times, and it becomes a bit predictable.
Bethany Shanholtz is a strong female lead in a sea of movies which have the women as folks to be saved, or super snarky individuals. Bethany rolls her eyes quite a bit when exasperated with the people she comes in contact with, but she uses quite a few of the techniques she used during her forensics homeschool courses to help solve a mystery that starts when she moves back home after living a life as a government agent.
Grab a bowl of popcorn and check out these trailers and our thoughts on this homeschool friendly movie.
Synopsis of Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s
Bethany Shanholtz, a beautiful young government operative, moves back to her rural hometown to get away from the spy life. But townspeople start getting murdered and her government bosses convince her to investigate, unofficially. She’s not allowed to use agency resources so she calls upon local friends from her childhood as a homeschooled farm girl.
The investigation quickly leads to Bethany’s ex-boyfriend Jamie and the mystery surrounding his sister’s mysterious death many years ago. The closer Bethany gets to the answers, the more the murders seem to be related to her own past, and the town’s future.
Pros Of Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s
Strong Homeschool Foundation
The film opens with the children deep in the throes of a homeschool lesson from one of the parents, and we all immediately know that this is a co-op lesson. Then we’re immediately grateful for those parents who extend our village and help teach our children just as deeply, as we do. Answering questions and leaning fully into their nerdiness to show that it’s normal.
Comic Relief Without Shame
There are plenty of spaces in which the actors and actresses poke fun at themselves and the misconceptions about homeschooling that I’m sure every homeschooling family has heard. Every preconceived notion about what learning looks like in our homes came up. There’s even a tongue in cheek quip about physical education to which my youngest daughter replied “does EVERYONE think that we don’t get enough exercise? “
Parents Who Aren’t Oblivious
I’m a fan of lots of kid based television channels, but one of the biggest gripes I have about the programming is how daft the parents are. It isn’t cute to me, and in no way does it show how we interact with our children. Often times those parents have no idea what their children are doing right under their noses, and it’s kind of infuriating. In this movie, the mother of the main character is relatable and I love the hands off approach that she has with her children. In a world where people think that all homeschool parents are hovering non-stop, it’s good to see an alternate point of view.
Creative Compilation by and for Homeschoolers
This entire movie was written, produced and directed by a homeschooling dad and children who were homeschooled.
Cons of Mount Hideaway: Exes and Oh No’s
The Plot is a Bit Muddled
The plot of this movie confused me in some spots, and definitely confused my children. We knew that there was a murder and that our main character is tasked with figuring out who the murderer is. While murder is a bit of heavy subject matter for children in general, this movie deals with it in a very simple way, without over simplifying the issue. It’s still hard to follow though.
There’s A Cliff Hanger That Comes Out of Nowhere
The cliff hanger leads all of us to believe that there will be another movie to wrap up the open ended questions – which would be a weird reason to create an entire movie.
Consensus
Overall, we thought the movie was cute, wholesome and a great watch for the cost. It’s a good way to showcase what homeschoolers can do creatively, and with the support of their parents and co-op teachers. If you’re up for spending seven bucks and hanging for an afternoon or evening with your children and having a lighthearted time, this is the movie for you!
DVD with Special Bonus Features
Now available on Amazon in most countries. The DVD includes the feature film plus the following additional video features –
- The Movie Trailer
- Special Effects Breakdown and Explanation
- Cast and Crew Reactions to Seeing the Movie for the First Time
- The mini-documentary, “A Homeschool Dad’s Perspective on Movie-Making”
- A Behind the Scenes Musical Montage set to the original bluegrass tune “Mount Hideaway Blues”