MatchMaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill

I loved this movie. Great acting by the whole cast. The protagonists complement each other well. If you are looking for a fun time I would highly recommend it. Ignore the negative reviews.

It's the third movie in Hallmark's Matchmaker Mysteries series. There is a series of thefts at the museum and Nick Columba (Bruce Boxleitner) is hired to solve the case. Matchmaker Angie Dove (Danica McKellar) is with her father Nick when they find a dead body. Angie smells poisoning and Nick calls in Kyle Carter (Victor Webster) for the homicide.

I want this to be a father-daughter crime solving team series. This starts with the father-daughter team but it's them stumbling upon a murder. This reminds me of the conspiracy theory that Murder, She Wrote is actually about Jessica Fletcher as a serial killer. How does one stumble upon murders over and over and over again? Paige's cry "Again?" is a fun meta-scream but it doesn't actually solve the problem. Is she going to keep stumbling upon murders for every movie? This is Hallmark stuck with its standard operating procedure and it's losing any potential for original thinking. The father and daughter don't really work together. It would be so much easier for them to team up and solve his old cases.

Angie and Kyle try to build chemistry but still struggles in this movie. They're not really teaming up anyways. In fact, nobody is teaming up with anybody. More often than not, these three are investigating on their own and randomly run into each other. That's this show's common move where the characters keep bumping into each other. If people get paired up, they get an opportunity to build better chemistry. Surely, Angie and Kyle need to build chemistry. Finally, Angie's TV show looks boring. There must be some imaginative way to spice it up. This franchise is relying more and more on the mysteries. The series is working less and less.

I wish I could like the Matchmaker series but this is the last one I'll probably watch. I know some people like Danica McKellar but I find her acting style extremely annoying. In every role she is perky to the point of making me nauseous with all her eye widening and grinning and high pitched voice. Her posture looks like she's deliberately trying to thrust her chest out while sitting, standing and walking. That may be her natural posture but it looks unnatural. And her talking the killer out of shooting her is ludicrous. The entire matchmaking plot line is boring unless you're a fan of those reality dating shows. I've always liked Victor Webster but he's yet another Hallmark leading man who acts like he's not remotely physically attracted to his leading lady. The supporting cast is no better with the exception of Bruce Boxleitner. You can tell he's an experienced actor and he acts very natural in his role. The rest of them ham it up so badly they could be served as Easter dinner. I don't understand why Hallmark sticks with this series. They've done such a great job with the Mystery 101 and Teagarden series as far as casting and plots. It's as if they've assigned their "B" team to this series.

And I think it's about time Hallmark considered creating a mystery series with older leads like Boxleitner. There are plenty of experienced actors who could do a great job with that and I, for one, would like to see Hallmark diversify the age group of their leading actors. I'm betting a large part of their audience is over fifty.

This movie series is great. I love seeing Bruce Boxleitner (Scarecrow and Mrs. King). He is the best mystery solver ever. Danika McKellar (Wonder Years) and Victor Webster (Continuum) make a great team.

Standard Hallmark mystery formula but the acting is so bad it doesn't even rise to their low quality standards. I realize they have programming hours to fill but they would probably save a lot of money by using local theatre groups instead of these yokels. I feel sorry for Bruce Boxleitner. He must owe someone a favour to be associated with this drivel.