Director: Brian Shackelford
Writer: Brian Shackelford (Screenplay) Joyce Fitzpatrick (Story)
Starring: Gabriella Pastore, Ja’ness Tate, Carlos Coleman, Diane D Carter, Kim Akia, Donovan Williams, Orlando Cortez, Tim Davidson, Davey Moore
Plot: Two teenage girls of color named Gabby and Lulu, become amateur detectives in their small town of Hidden Orchard, when a new Air B and B in their neighborhood gets robbed. Everyone in town is a suspect, and these young sleuths are determined to find out who did it and why.
Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Fun Family Film
Story: Hidden Orchard Mysteries: The Case of the Air B & B Robbery starts as we meet the two best friends, Gabby (Pastore) and Lulu (Tate) who know their neighbourhood like the back of their hands, which sees them getting an increased number of Air B & B properties in the area.
The two girls decide to start their own investigation into the robberies in the neighbourhood, involving the number of Air B & Bs, this will see them talking to everyone in the neighbourhood and learning more about the residents, things they didn’t know before.
Thoughts on Hidden Orchard Mysteries: The Case of the Air B & B Robbery
Characters – Gabby is dealing with adapting with a new stepmom in her life, she has a photographic memory which helps in how the two are investigating the case. Lulu is the best friend of Gabby, she wants to lead the investigation into the robberies, pushing Gabby into using her skills more often than not. The two best friends have excellent chemistry and have worked together for most of their young lives. We do meet a host of residents of Hidden Orchards, everyone is a potential suspect, with the girls knowing details about them all, needing to get to know more as they look to solve the crime.
Performances – Ja’ness Tate and Gabriella Pastore are great together, they make us believe they are best friends, with every interaction between the two feeling natural. The rest of the cast are strong through the film, bringing their characters to life with ease.
Story – The story here follows two girls that decides to work together to solve a spring of robberies in the area, which sees them putting together the clues, looking into the suspects from their neighbourhood. This does play into the amateur sleuth detective movies, with kids wanting to solve the crimes in the neighbourhood, we rely on the chemistry of the two leads to carry the story, with their determination being the reason everything could get solved. We might not get too involved with the crimes happening, but we are also focusing on friendship over anything else here.
Settings – The film uses the setting to show us how the neighbourhood is close and still manages to have secrets.
Scene of the Movie – Tanisha and Tyrique Watson are scene stealers in the film.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have seen more of the crimes.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable family film that shows the importance of friends, while trying to solve a neighbourhood crime, with excellent chemistry from the two leads.
Overall: Enjoyable Family Film.
