I confess I am a huge cosy mystery series fan and I have enjoyed several of the series on Hallmark tremendously (especially Hannah Swensen, Aurora Teagarden-the original and Mystery 101). I haven't read that many, but I have enjoyed the ones I have. Having said that, I was unfamiliar with this particular cosy mystery series...Gilded Newport Mysteries, but I might add them to my to read list and I am looking forward to more Hallmark films.
I will talk about the elephants first before tackling what I did like. There are tons of inaccuracies in this film...from dialogue, to sentiments, to names, to antiques, to race, to etiquette, and ultimately the actual location. Unfortunately, it seems to be very popular these days to apply 2024 sentiments to even period pieces, which in this case is even more of a shame since there really is popular source material to draw from. If you can ignore all of that...aka press pause on the logical part of your brain, there were some enjoyable moments and I am likely to be kind when they are attempting to start a new mystery series which can sometimes get off to a bumpy beginning. The lead actress, Ali Skovbye, was lovely as Emma Vanderbuilt-Cross, our lady's entertainment reporter and amateur sleuth. It was really fun to see Danny Griffin outside of Fate the Wynx. He looked fantastic in period costume as Detective Jesse Whyte and potential romantic suitor to Emma. It was fun that they used a real life mother and daughter acting duo to play the Vanderbuilt mother and daughter, April and Ava Telek. Geoff Gustafson appeared outside of his beloved role as one of the Postables, as Emma's editor and boss. It was a bit role...but fun to see him nonetheless.
I loved seeing all of the antiques, as a collector that is always a fun pastime for me. The clambake at The Breakers was an entertaining pursuit to depict with it's festive crowd. I would definitely give this series a second chance and I feel like the mystery itself is a stronger offering than some that I have seen...but I am not sure that it makes it into my recommendations quite yet.
I will talk about the elephants first before tackling what I did like. There are tons of inaccuracies in this film...from dialogue, to sentiments, to names, to antiques, to race, to etiquette, and ultimately the actual location. Unfortunately, it seems to be very popular these days to apply 2024 sentiments to even period pieces, which in this case is even more of a shame since there really is popular source material to draw from. If you can ignore all of that...aka press pause on the logical part of your brain, there were some enjoyable moments and I am likely to be kind when they are attempting to start a new mystery series which can sometimes get off to a bumpy beginning. The lead actress, Ali Skovbye, was lovely as Emma Vanderbuilt-Cross, our lady's entertainment reporter and amateur sleuth. It was really fun to see Danny Griffin outside of Fate the Wynx. He looked fantastic in period costume as Detective Jesse Whyte and potential romantic suitor to Emma. It was fun that they used a real life mother and daughter acting duo to play the Vanderbuilt mother and daughter, April and Ava Telek. Geoff Gustafson appeared outside of his beloved role as one of the Postables, as Emma's editor and boss. It was a bit role...but fun to see him nonetheless.
I loved seeing all of the antiques, as a collector that is always a fun pastime for me. The clambake at The Breakers was an entertaining pursuit to depict with it's festive crowd. I would definitely give this series a second chance and I feel like the mystery itself is a stronger offering than some that I have seen...but I am not sure that it makes it into my recommendations quite yet.