“There Are So Few Things I Can Keep from You Already, Miss Curious Caterer. This Will be One of Them.”
While I am enjoying the new potential mystery franchises that Hallmark has been releasing recently, it’s nice to return to a familiar set of characters. We were lucky enough to get to do that twice in April. The second of those movies was Foiled Plans, a return to the Curious Caterer franchise.
Goldy Berry (Nikki Deloach) is thrilled to get a job catering for Sir Alistair Harrows, who owns a castle outside of Elk Park. He’s hosting a fundraiser for Elk Park Prep Academy, and Goldy is providing the dinner. Alistair is especially proud of the school’s fencing team, and Goldy’s daughter is a member.
When Alistair goes to make an announcement after dinner, he collapses and dies. It is quickly apparent that he was stabbed with a fencing blade. Fortunately, Detective Tom Schultz (Andrew W. Walker) was also attending since a snow storm has come up and stranded the guests at the castle. Can Goldy and Tom figure out what is going on?
This movie definitely gave off Agatha Christie vibes between the storm trapping everyone at the castle (and a castle period) and the way the characters kept being connected. On the other hand, I did spot the culprit fairly quickly. Still, there was so much going on I was hooked and couldn’t wait to see what they were going to uncover next.
I love watching Goldy and Tom’s relationship growing in every movie. Yes, they are going slowly, but they are definitely getting closer. It helps that the actors have great chemistry.
And they make a great team solving this mystery. I appreciated that Tom didn’t even think about not including Goldy in this movie. Yes, it was probably a stretch in realism, but considering his limited resources, it makes sense. And I had to laugh at all the ways Goldy was able to resourcefully contribute to solving things in addition to tracking down clues.
The acting and writing for this movie were good. This is definitely one of the stronger Hallmark franchises out there.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie, despite the weakness in the plot. I had fun while watching it, and that’s all that matters to me. If you enjoy the Curious Caterer movies, you’ll be happy you watched Foiled Plans.
I also identified the culprit early, but overall I liked it too. I love that Goldy's and Tom's relationship is a slow burn. It feels like a natural progression. And I agree that it's one of the stronger Hallmark franchises. :)
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