The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango

I have grown to appreciate Lacey Chabert through her work on Hallmark (although I did grow up watching Party of Five) and I thought she did a great job in the Crossword Mystery series, so I was delighted to see her back in a mystery series. Lacey plays a detailed oriented and independent police detective Constance Bailey. Her boss has noticed that she does not work well with others...so when the opportunity comes up to prove herself by partnering with a detective in Malta, Constance jumps at the chance.

There in beautiful Malta she meets her contact who explains that if she is up for it she will be going undercover as one half of a married couple in Malta for an executive dance competition. Enter Sebastian Moore, dance teacher extraordinaire...played by Will Kemp (who honestly steals the show). Together, while blending in with the other executives, they dance...interrogate, investigate and solve a murder of an American CEO.

I am a former dancer (although as a dancer you are never really "former"...you are just a dancer) and a big fan of mysteries, so this mystery series was really made for me. I loved Constance's teal dress with the orange and white flowers, gorgeous! I really grew to appreciate this pairing and the characters of Constance and Sebastian. This is the second Hallmark film that I have seen in Malta and I have to comment on what a lovely and interesting backdrop it is.

I have trouble seeing how they are going to keep these two paired together for future murder mysteries, since they don't even live in the same city...but I want them to be put together again and I look forward to seeing more. This was decent as far as the mystery is concerned and a great start to a series. I can recommend this to cosy mystery fans...I think you should check this one out.

I was really looking forward to a new movie with Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp. I know these 2 are wonderful together so it was just an awful script. The disjointed plot, the sequence of events and the dialog was terrible.

I was hoping it would be a series but it's going to have to improve tenfold. It was as if they were short on time and cut out entire scenes that were integral to the flow of the movie. What a downer.

I've seen every Hallmark movie starring these actors so I know they are fantastic together but I guess even their chemistry can't save a bad movie. Please give them some decent material to work with next time!

If you get the chance, watch them in Love, Romance & Chocolate and Christmas Waltz. I have watched these movies many times over! Absolutely love both the acting and the scripts!

Hallmark Mysteries and Movies might have a new series - The Dancing Detective starring Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp.

In Chabert's latest iteration, she is Detective Constance Bailey who goes undercover to find out who murdered the head of a corporation. This corporation is kind of like the old Arthur Murray Dance Studios - they own these ballroom dance places everywhere. This is their annual get together where the execs participate in a dance competition.

So the premise is ridiculous. Despite this, no expense was spared. It was filmed in beautiful Malta. I will say Lacey's gowns were hideous, very matronly.

I thought Will Kemp's first scene as a dance teacher was wonderful.

Unfortunately there just wasn't much of a script. The other thing is, people are too familiar with Dancing With the Stars and know Lacey couldn't learn those dances with a couple of rehearsals.

I don't know if this will be a series. Typical Hallmark fare though with better scripts this could have potential.

High profile CEO Mark Aston is poisoned in Malta. He's the brother of a Senator who insists on sending his own investigator. In Lorimar Cove, New York, detective Constance Bailey (Lacey Chabert) is obsessive and likes to work alone. She gets sent to Malta. She is forced to go undercover in a dance competition, but she can't dance. Her dance partner is arrogant teacher Sebastian Moore (Will Kemp) and they are pretending to be married.

The setup is way too clunky. The heart of the movie is Chabert and Kemp's chemistry. It's the classic 'she's frustrated and grows in love with him'. Chabert is always lovely. Kemp has the nice combination of infuriating and endearing. They are good together. That's half the battle with any Hallmark movie. It's too bad that the other half isn't that good. The writing definitely needs help. This is much more about seeing a non-dancing Chabert trying to dance. It's her own Dancing with the Stars.

This is a treat for the eyes. The scenery is lush, and it's beautifully shot. There is a retro-glam feel to this that's reminiscent of 1960s films.

The dancing is wonderful, and the dance scenes were my favorite parts. The tango rehearsal in water and the black & white dream sequence were standouts.

Will Kemp really is the star of this for me. He is a wonderful dancer, a good comedic actor and has loads of charm.

From other reviews, it seems some didn't care for Lacey in this. But her character was meant to evolve, and she does. From a stiff detective who is anti-social to quipping with Will's character. I thought they were a good pairing.

The mystery was the least of it for me. I think they were so many moving parts - the dancing, showing the scenery and building their partnership, that it was a bit hard to fit everything in. That said, there are some stellar parts to this movie. I would watch another installment.