Gourmet Detective (2015)

Simply A Masterpiece

Powerful

A Masterpiece!

Blistering performances.

The general story arc was fairly good. I never saw that climax coming.On the other hand, when it comes to specifics, the plot was so full of holes, it would sink an aircraft carrier. The biggest factor in those holes was police procedure. I guess we can't count among them the fact these two were paired up to begin with given Castle went on for how many seasons with a very similar arrangement. But there were so many other obvious police procedure flaws, I won't even start to name them.The acting was decent. Neal and Burns got along about like you'd expect and certainly a lot like Castle and Beckett in the early days. Some critics refer to Maggie as bitchy, but her reactions through all the early scenes are exactly what should be expected when her captain has just handcuffed her to an amateur. Perhaps at the cooking demonstration at the top, she should have just kept her mouth shut, but her skepticism at Henry being labeled a detective is natural. She does eventually lighten up and they seem to almost like each other and end up carping at one another like a married couple.I think in terms of enjoyment, it is fair to compare this to Castle, although in my mind Castle brought a lot more humor to the table through a combination of lame theories and general bumbling.

I can't say this murder/mystery kept me in suspense but what did keep me on the edge of my seat (and not in a good way) was that irritating non-stop musical score that played in the background. I cannot for the life of me understand that between the producers and the director that one of them would not have advised the seasoned music director, James Jandrisch, to tone it down by at least 50 percent. My gosh, why do some of these lighthearted formulaic murder/mystery films that contain a dash of romance and family dynamics almost always seem to want to make the background music attempt to lull us into falsely believing that we are watching something that is (not) comparable to the classic 1967 suspense film Wait Until Dark that starred Audrey Hepburn and Richard Crenna.As for this film, The Gourmet Detective I much prefer the 2016 Canadian produced television crime series Private Eyes that stars Jason Priestley, and Cindy Sampson, and is now in the middle of its second successful season. (My review on Private Eyes is dated December 31st, 2016.) I am comparing The Gourmet Detective to Private Eyes as the themes of these two shows are similar. You have a professional detective being the female lead and the amateur sleuth being the male lead investigator/partner. The difference between these two shows seems to end there when it comes to the partners on screen chemistry. Mrs. Shullivan and I agree with some of the other reviewers in that actress Brooke Burns character as Detective Maggie Price, comes off as a real hard nose no nonsense single mom, and her amateur sleuth partner Henry Ross (played admirably by Dylan Neal) who is much more friendly and talkative partner is continually being told to shut up by Maggie.The films pretense is sort of a poor man's version of the 1978 comedy/mystery "Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" A few of the culinary greats are being knocked off and it is up to Maggie to work with her talkative know it all amateur sleuth partner Henry to solve this whodunit.As I opened my review I will repeat that I found the background musical score extremely irritating and it distracted from the storyline, sometimes even attempting to challenge whether this film should be classified as a musical rather than what was intended which was a lighthearted murder mystery. The positive about this film is that it ended on a very happy family note and for that I raised my score from a 3 to a 4.

I completely disagree with the other reviewers that think Brooke Burns comes off bitchy. She is cute,and funny and the chemistry with Dylan is perfect. She is a female cop that wants to be taken seriously and Dylan has her flustered because she is attracted to him. I love all of the Gourmet Detective movies and I loved her in undercover bridesmaid. She is funny and cute and her smile just lights up the screen. To the other viewers: STOP BEING JEALOUS!! ....and just for the record, I am a 59 year old female who is happily married to a guy. So I am not some guy panting over her. I like her for her talent.

First of all I like Dylan Neal in almost anything. He's a cool actor and in this is perfect for the part. He says more with his looks than words could tell. But Brooke Burns is no match. She comes off snippy and bitchy. Has a real attitude in this film. Put them together and he comes off the winner in this mystery/comedy.Everyone is under suspicion in this cooking/killer text. It does take a while to figure who is who and such. Can be confusing. But maybe they are trying to make that happen in this film.But Neal makes the film work. He is subtle and charming in his approach to his character. Sort of a modern day Thin Man type. But Burns is no Myrna Loy. I just feel she has an edge that doesn't mix with this type of film. She has one look - that of disgust. With everyone else in the movie. And her mouth bothered me. Strange looking and like a tight jaw.There is also an array of assorted character actors representing chefs and police that mingle in and out the plot. But the two leads are the main focus and solving the crime. And Dylan Neal wins my focus and applause.