Curious Caterer: Forbidden Fruit

Used to love Curious Caterer, but they are losing me. It was a good installment, but not that good as it used to be. The mystery was fine, but not really engaging.

Goldy is catering at the concert, the guitar player gets electrocuted. Of course the police - that was present at the event - cannot solve it themselves.

Star of the episode was Sarah Strange - Dani from Garage Sale Mysteries. She was brilliant as a cool, tough no-nonsense manager.

The let-down of the film was this whole Goldy - Tom date storyline. Hallmark painted themselves into a corner again with the slowburn romance that drags on and on, and the characters are not getting any younger. Their teenage angst over a date (while they are obviously over 40, Goldy is a mother of a teenage daughter) is stupid even by Hallmark standards.

I am loving how they are building the relationship between Goldy and Tom. The theme of this entry of the Curious Caterer is first date. Goldy and Tom are set to go on their first date and Tom has procured tickets to Goldy and Marla's favorite band from their youth.

I won't lie the fan girl and first date bits allowed for a dynamic that was stilted and awkward in the beginning...but that might have been intentional. As the show hit its stride, we got to see the Tom and Goldy that we know and are growing to love. And that kiss...let's talk about it because it was smoldering. Wow! Perfection. I think romantics like me will love it and as such love the Curious Caterer entry.

Before their first big concert date night, Goldy gets asked to cater the event at the last minute. I appreciated that Marla volunteers to help out so she doesn't have to skip her date with Tom altogether...and I appreciated that she brought him baked good by way of explanation and apology. I also appreciated how Tom handled the situation. I'm really starting to appreciate how they work together and play off one another to solve the actual crime. And the crime...murder. Before the first note is sung a member of the band is electrocuted once they touch the microphone.

Goldy and Marla make the most hysterical murder board ever, but my favorite scene has to be Tom and Goldy spit balling off of the murder board in between him guessing ingredients in her baked goods...but the kiss, well that was the best part for this romantic. I am happy to say it isn't the only one either!

This is one of the few Hallmark Mysteries that has really worked on building a solid partnership between the non-detective and detective. I really am starting to enjoy Nikki Deloach and Andrew W. Walker working together.

This is a strong recommendation from me to fans of Hallmark mysteries and romantics like myself.

The Chemistry between the two leads is no surprise - not sure how many Hallmark movies they have been in but the chemistry is always powerful. The Mystery itself was complicated but intriguing - there were plenty of clues and cudo's to the reviewer that figured out the culprit - I had no clue ( pun intended ) The supporting cast was adequate but unconvincing is some cases , the direction could have been sharper but all in all it was a good watch and all things considered a possible inflection point for a Hallmark mystery series in that unlike Ruby Herring and Mystery 101 - the romantic leads may actually continue as a couple - ala Hart to Hart.

I'm a big fan of the Curious Caterer movies, but I didn't like this one.

The band characters were fairly boring and several of the guys were interchangeable making it hard to follow. Stop throwing a zillion names at us to explain a plot. That's hard to follow. Just write a good plot.

I've always liked that the characters in these movies were somewhat realistic, but at least one character, the super fan, was too over the top and silly.

I couldn't stand the way Goldie behaved. She seemed less like an adult in charge in this and more like she was a tween jumping up and down and giggling at the band.

I think getting Goldie & Tom together this soon is a mistake. They'll lose the undercurrent.

And, finally, there was a lot of really bad hair in this. Goldie's new bob is bad on her face and it looked fluffy and sometimes fuzzy. Tom is parting his hair down the middle, which is a giant no. The stubble makes him look 10 years older. Sara Strange's short hair leaves me speechless. I hope it was a wig.

All in all, this was a real disappointment.

I was super excited to see a new Curious Caterer. I've read all the books and enjoy seeing them made into movies. I'll say up front, having watched the commercials for the movie, I was a little worried I might be tuned off by Nikki DeLoach's but it worked for her. This movie is a must see.

The story was a good mystery. It offered a lot of twists, but kept one involved and interested in the movie. The regular cast and the guest cast did a great job.

The chemistry between Andrew W. Walker and Nikki DeLoach was fantastic.

I'm really hoping they continue this series. It rivals Mystery 101 and Aurora Teagarden.