We watched “Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story” and the trailer of the Hindi movie “Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan” on the same day. Two unrelated pieces of content from opposite ends of the world, yet the question we are asking universally applies to pretty much everything we have been watching lately: are writers okay? The pressure to create is so great that quality is taking a hit like nothing else. When it comes to the “Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story,” the solution to the mystery could not be any more painfully obvious. Plus, it was so clear that whoever wrote this was probably running on fumes because the only thing they could come up with to keep the narrative engaging was a screaming match between Stephanie Mills and Thomas Miles, who play Birdie and Gabe, respectively. Either way, let us see how this story goes.
Spoilers Ahead
Problems with Birdie’s Bakery
Gabriella Boudreaux (Ella) lives with her father and has been arrested for a robbery that she committed. Her father asks her grandmother, Birdie, to help out, which she does, on the condition that Ella come and live with her. Birdie is a baker and runs “Birdie’s Bakes” along with a reality show of the same name that is centered on the daily life of the bakery. Ella does not want to live with her grandmother because she believes that their family was abandoned by Birdie. Birdie had never accepted her daughter’s marriage to Joe and had stopped talking to her. Ella had grown up poor and was unable to go to college. Additionally, when Ella’s mother fell sick, Birdie did not help them out. Ella holds it all against Birdie, though the latter says that all she and her father needed to do was ask her for help.
Nevertheless, Ella goes to live with Birdie and starts working at her bakery, though she says that she doesn’t want to be a part of the reality show. But a conflict arises soon enough when Ella finds that one of the items on the menu of Birdie’s Bakes is what they call a T-cake, named after Ella’s mother, even though the recipe isn’t Tasha’s. Ella is furious at her grandmother and confronts her when the cameras are running. Gabe comforts an upset Ella and tells her that she needs to show some grit if she wants to make her grandmother listen to her. Ella understands the assignment and makes a pie according to the real recipe from Tasha. Watching this interaction, one of the reality show producers tells them that she wants to capture this family dynamic for TV, but Ella refuses. However, when they inform her that since she is a stereotypical teenager who has no sense of place or time and interrupted a recording by putting herself in front of the camera, they have a legal right to use that footage unless she agrees to shoot a more sanitized version of it. Seeing no way out, Ella agrees, and they shoot the segment for the show, where Ella gives her grandmother a piece of the pie and jokingly tells her that she will never share the recipe with her.
Later that day, Birdie tells Ella that it was the most streamed episode of their show, and she should be proud of helping her family. She also opens up and explains to her why she cut ties with her mother. Birdie had gone to med school but had to drop out when she got pregnant and needed to start earning for her child. Since she couldn’t fulfill her ambition, she wanted Tasha to be as successful as possible, and it looked like that might just happen since Tasha was always at the top of her class and got into a prestigious university. But then she also got pregnant and had to drop out. Ella tells Birdie that her mother had enrolled in college and was about to go back when she passed away. But Birdie reminds her that even Ella dropped out of college. It was Birdie’s thwarted pride in her daughter that had forced her to cut ties with her, and though she doesn’t admit that she was wrong yet, she wants to make up for it by taking care of Ella. Either way, this heart-to-heart has brought Birdie and Ella closer, with some of their hostility disappearing.
The Burglary
One day, when Ella is home alone, she senses that someone else is there. When she goes downstairs, she finds her grandmother’s jewelry box outside. But seeing that nobody else is there, she goes back in when her grandmother comes back and inquires about the box. Ella says that she doesn’t know and goes to her room. The next morning, when Ella is ready to go to the bakery, she finds her grandma unconscious on the floor and quickly calls for help. In the hospital, Ella tells the head of security that she had noticed some irregularities with her grandmother’s medicines and suspected that someone was tampering with them. She promises to look into it.
The next day, when Ella goes to the hospital, she finds that it is all back to business, with the reality show continuing its shooting with Gabe, his child, and his baby’s mother, Larissa. Once they are off camera, Birdie tells Gabe and Ella that she has leukemia. She also announces that she plans on splitting the bakery between them both. Remember what we said about the writing being bad? Gabe’s first reaction upon learning that his mother had cancer was not shocking but to say that she couldn’t be working. It is as if he just learned that she has a cold. But let us suppose for a second that the scene was such because of the lack of time for good dialogue due to the short runtime. Then why was there so much time for the sermon that followed with Pastor Trey? We are not questioning anyone’s faith but the creative choices made here.
Nevertheless, Gabe doesn’t like his mother’s decision to split the bakery since he believes that he deserves more. Things are also not good in his personal life since his baby’s mother keeps demanding more money from him. But Ella’s life is going well, and she takes her relationship with Khalil to the next stage. However, when she returns home in the wee hours of the morning, she is attacked by an intruder in the house and is knocked unconscious. When she wakes up, she finds that the house has been burgled. Even this aspect is covered by the reality show, but this time, Birdie is not able to hold herself back and publicly accuses Ella of the burglary, saying that this is no different from what happened in the past.
Ella is ready to leave, but Khalil encourages her to stay and fight. Ella sees the merit in that, but it is easier said than done. When even the customers at the bakery start looking at her accusingly, Ella has had enough. She finds that her arrest a few months ago is now a matter of public record, and Ella is forced to reconsider her decision. She wants to leave, and that is when Birdie talks to her. Ella reveals that she was with Khalil the night of the robbery, and that is corroborated by the CCTV. Ella didn’t want to explain herself because she felt like she shouldn’t have to. Meanwhile, Ella had been taken in by the police, but Zoe’s evidence got her out. Things are further smoothed over when Birdie clarifies herself on the reality show while announcing that she is giving half of the bakery to Ella. Again, this does not sit well with Gabe. He feels that he has a greater right to the bakery, but Birdie holds that it was Tasha who raised Gabe when she was busy building the business. Additionally, Gabe had gotten into quite a few irresponsible scuffles over the past years, and Birdie had always bailed him out; therefore, she had the right to give the property to whoever she wanted.
Meanwhile, Ella is still doubtful about her place in Birdie’s business. Birdie overhears her telling her father that she wants to go back because of what happened. That is when Birdie tells Ella that her joining the show has helped them retain it since it was on the verge of being canceled. Ella’s addition brought in a younger demographic and a renewed interest, which is helping businesses.
The Plot Thickens
Honestly, the plot is as obvious as the nose on our face. Ella is getting phone calls to go back home, and she is being followed while on a date with Khalil. She informs security about it all, but nothing really comes of it. As for Gabe, it turns out that he has been stealing from his mother and spending it recklessly. He has opened a new branch in Detroit, and it is taking longer than usual to start running. He is also not making the necessary payments to Larissa, even though Birdie has given him the money for them. He makes Ella and Birdie take life insurance along with health insurance, placing himself as the sole beneficiary. But he is never asked about any of this. However, the last straw is when Birdie finds the obnoxious amounts of money he has spent on the bakery in Detroit, even though it is not making money yet. She has had enough, and they get into words. When Ella tries to intervene, she is shut down by her uncle.
Later that day, Birdie speaks to Ella about the siblings. She tells her that Tasha was always a good child, and she also made sure that Gabe stayed good, despite his recklessness and bullying nature. The grandmother and granddaughter are alright, with everything forgiven as the last vestiges of the pride that stood between them go away.
Who Was Trying To Harm Ella And Birdie?
We were desperately hoping that there would be a surprise and that Gabe would not be the villain. But the writers were exhausted, so they chose the most basic option available. Gabe is indeed the villain. He comes back to the bakery, and upon finding Khalil there, he knocks him out and ties him up. Gabe tells Khalil that Ella would have left a long time ago if it were not for him. When Ella comes to meet Khalil, Gabe meets her first and lures her in. She is in a precarious position and can’t really escape. However, her grandmother notices that Ella has been gone for a long time and asks security to activate the tracking device on her phone. They find that Ella is with Gabe and understand that she is in danger because of him.
Gabe tells Ella that he never wanted to hurt his mother, but he wanted more control over the bakery, which he felt he was owed. He tells Ella that he loves Tasha and likes Ella, but he needs her to go, which is why he gives her a pie with nuts in it. Ella is allergic to them, and Gabe had her EpiPen. Birdie reaches there, and she demands that he return the EpiPen, but Gabe has murder in his eyes. Luckily, Khalil manages to free himself and knocks out Gabe. He gives the EpiPen to Ella, saving her life. At the end of “Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story,” Birdie is talking to the camera. She tells them that she is in remission and that she regrets letting her pride get in the way of seeing her daughter during her fight with cancer. This is also the last episode of Birdie’s Bakes, the reality show.
Later, Birdie is going on her first holiday in decades, and she checks in at the bakery. Ella has gotten into university, and Gabe is waiting to be sentenced. It looks like the family has forgiven him and is going to ask for a lighter sentence. They end the phone call with plans to open Birdie’s Bakes in LA once Ella graduates and declare that they love each other. Joe is back in the bakery, and the family is together again, selling the Tasha pies that are their bestsellers.
Final Thoughts
Maybe “Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story” couldn’t have been a better movie, but it could have been titled better. Yes, Birdie’s pride got in the way of her seeing her daughter, but that was not the plot of the film. It wasn’t Gabe’s pride either if there was going to be that argument. It was his incompetence and entitlement. We don’t have any thoughts about this movie except that it was really underwhelming. We would change the channel if this was on TV.
