Dance and detect
This was an enjoyable Hallmark mystery, lightly plotted with fun and interesting lead characters. Also, pretty much like all Hallmark mysteries, it is a pairing of a male and female who are typically "oil and water" at the beginning, and gradually come to respect one another, and their different approaches and perspectives.
When these Hallmark series work, it is usually because of the writing and the chemistry between the male and female leads.
Lacey Chabert plays the stiff, loner detective very well. Her character is polite, but tightly wound, and serious minded. Lacey does a good job playing gradually loosening up. Her reveal of her mother's death at 14, and how that affected her ever after, was very believable.
Will Kemp, who I was not familiar with, was equally good, playing a character that could have been written, and acted, as a caricature in so many different ways. Kemp kept the character grounded, while also making him funny, intelligent and charming.
The other feature of Hallmark mysteries that often makes or breaks the show is the banter between the lead characters. As another reviewer mentioned, Detective Bailey, calling the dancing instructor by different fictional detective names every time she wanted to bring him back down to earth, was funny, and gradually became sweet as their partnership grew.
The mystery itself was okay. But the setup really made no sense. No police detective would ever have an unknown civilian as a partner in an undercover operation, never mind the added complication of making them husband and wife.
There were other implausibilites. But all that is just nit picking, so far as I am concerned.
As long as the mystery itself is agreeable, and the solution doesn't strain credibility, I'm generally content with Hallmark mysteries. As I said, it is the writing and chemistry of the performers that matters most to me.
And The Dancing Detective delivers on both counts.
When these Hallmark series work, it is usually because of the writing and the chemistry between the male and female leads.
Lacey Chabert plays the stiff, loner detective very well. Her character is polite, but tightly wound, and serious minded. Lacey does a good job playing gradually loosening up. Her reveal of her mother's death at 14, and how that affected her ever after, was very believable.
Will Kemp, who I was not familiar with, was equally good, playing a character that could have been written, and acted, as a caricature in so many different ways. Kemp kept the character grounded, while also making him funny, intelligent and charming.
The other feature of Hallmark mysteries that often makes or breaks the show is the banter between the lead characters. As another reviewer mentioned, Detective Bailey, calling the dancing instructor by different fictional detective names every time she wanted to bring him back down to earth, was funny, and gradually became sweet as their partnership grew.
The mystery itself was okay. But the setup really made no sense. No police detective would ever have an unknown civilian as a partner in an undercover operation, never mind the added complication of making them husband and wife.
There were other implausibilites. But all that is just nit picking, so far as I am concerned.
As long as the mystery itself is agreeable, and the solution doesn't strain credibility, I'm generally content with Hallmark mysteries. As I said, it is the writing and chemistry of the performers that matters most to me.
And The Dancing Detective delivers on both counts.
- wjspears
- Mar 15, 2024