Diane loves HALLMARK movies. She watches at least one HALLMARK movie per week. I’m not that enthusiastic about HALLMARK movies mostly because of the formulaic and predictable plots. However, I will watch an occasional HALLMARK MYSTERY MOVIE with Diane. Yes, some of those can be formulaic and predictable, too. But on some occasion, a HALLMARK MYSTERY MOVIE can prove to be entertaining. That was the case with the new silly The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango.
When a high-profile CEO (brother to a U. S. Senator) is murdered on the eve of his company’s corporate event in Malta – a high stakes ballroom competition between senior executives – Detective Bailey is sent undercover as one of the contestants to find the killer.
The murder victim runs an international dancing school. He insisted on a dance competition each year at the company’s corporate event where members of the management team would be judged and promotions and demotions resulted.
Detective Constance Bailey (Lacey Chabert) is a brilliant police detective who prefers to work alone. She’s been through three partners in three years because she doesn’t play well with others. Bailey is over-due for promotion, but needs to solve a Big Case to get it. Her Captain reluctantly agrees to send Bailey to Malta to help INTERPOL solve this murder at the request of the Senator. Bailey is supposed to go undercover as a recent management hire of the international dancing school.
The only problem? Bailey can’t dance. To convincingly compete, Bailey must team up with charismatic and free-spirited performer Sebastian Moore (Will Kemp). But with a killer on the loose and a growing list of suspects, it’s going to take more than a little fancy footwork to solve this case. Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp have great on-screen chemistry and I appreciated the humor of Sebastian Moore claiming he was a great detective because he watched COLUMBO. Detective Bailey teases Moore by calling him “Poirot” and “Inspector Morris.” Set the bar low, and you’ll enjoy this twinkle-toed mystery! GRADE: B
No way! My wife loves Hallmark movies and I retreat to my office when they’re on! Even the dog leaves the room!
Bob, I usually retreat to my office, too. But Diane went to see SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE with me so I figured I owed her a HALLMARK movie in reciprocity.
I’m invoking Thumper’s Rule on this one.
Michael, Thumper’s Rule was also my mother’s rule. I’ve tried to follow “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all” most of my Life.
Jackie agrees you owed her one, but she is not a big Lacey Chabert fan. She watches some Hallmark movies at Christmas, but otherwise, not so much.
Jeff, Lacey Chabert is not my favorite HALLMARK actress, but I do like goofy Will Kemp!
Sounds hideous. I had few rules when dating but one of them was I would not date a woman who watched Hallmark movies. Or listened to Celine Dion, Kenny G or country music or read romance novels.
Steve, your criteria whittles down your selection to maybe 1 in 10 women! All of Diane’s friends love HALLMARK movies, Celine Dion, Kenny G, and romance novels. Country music is 50-50.
I have one neighbor who loves Hallmark movies. She is also a Qanon follower.
Steve, we don’t know any Qanon followers…but I’m sure they’re around Western NY somewhere. Meanwhile, the smoke from Canada is clouding our skies and fouling our air!
Jackie likes the Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries, which will be shown on Hallmark about 10 days from now.
Jeff, Diane likes the Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries, too. It has a looooong story arc with the cop’s past in Boston.
When I was a kid, the Hallmark name on a TV show was a sign of high quality entertainment: Prestige productions with respected actors and talented writers.
Just thought I’d mention it.
Dan, you’re right. But HALLMARK took in $5 billion in revenue in 2022. That’s a lot more than HALLMARK took in during the 1950s.