Pros: Strong leads in a fun mystery
Cons: A couple supporting performances are weak
The Bottom Line:
Valuable book
Basis for this mystery
Lots of fun to watch
“You Want to Delay Going to a Game to Buy a Book?”
I’d written off the Gourmet Detective franchise at Hallmark
since it’s been three years since we last visited Henry, Maggie, and the rest
of the gang. I was delighted to learn we
were going to get a new movie featuring these characters, and Roux the Day
was worth the wait.
San Francisco detective Maggie (Brooke Burns) is delighted
that she has finally gotten Henry (Dylan Neal) to agree to attend a baseball
game. However, he just has one stop to
make along the way. He’s been hired to
authenticate and bid on a chef’s book for a closed restaurant at a charity
auction. For those, like me, not
familiar with the term, a chef’s book is the book used in a restaurant that
holds the master recipes everyone uses when they cook there. It has notes and scribbles and is fascinating
for those into the foodie scene. This
particular chef’s book has been missing since the restaurant closed years ago.
When Henry and Maggie arrive, they learn the book has
already been sold. Being resourceful,
Maggie learns who bought to book, and they arrive at his shop only to find
dead. With the game now just a memory,
the two are plunged into another baffling case.
Who has the book? Is it worth
killing over?
This movie soars because of the chemistry between the
leads. There is an ease between them
that makes their scenes sparkle and their banter seem effortless. It is a pleasure to watch the two of them on
screen together.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they are working on a puzzling
mystery. We quickly get some good suspects,
and they kept me guessing until we reached the climax. I’m a little surprised at how the climax
unfolded, but I’m not going to complain too loudly since it gave us a fun,
suspenseful scene.
I appreciated how it took both Maggie and Henry to solve the
crime. They both contributed things
along the way that ultimately solved things.
As much praise as I gave Brooke Burns and Dylan Neal, there
are some weaker performances from the rest of the cast. The Hallmark cheese is kept to a minimum in
the script, but there are a couple of actors who still manage to give us a
small dose along the way.
On the other hand, I enjoyed getting to see the rest of the regular
supporting cast again. This is
especially true of Bruce Boxleitner, who plays Henry’s father. He gets a fantastically funny scene at one
point, and several other good scenes.
I’ve been a fan of his for years, so any time he pops up in something
I’m watching, I enjoy it.
Roux the Day was another fun mystery that left me
smiling when I finished it. Let’s hope
we get to revisit these characters again soon.
Thank you. I wondered if the Gourmet Detective hallmark movies were based on the novels? I caught a little of the movie after Sanditon on pbs.
ReplyDeleteDiana