Murders at Barlume

The little Italian town of Pineta is drop-dead gorgeous, right on the ocean, part of Tuscany's Riviera (on the upper left curve of Italy's boot). Near the marina, just steps from the ocean, is a bar called the BarLuma. It's not much to look at, but location is everything. The owner, Massimo Viviani, 40s and divorced, has an unrequited crush on his waitress, Tiziana. The bar regulars include four retired curmudgeons. They've known each other for eons and their brains, boredom and unquenchable curiosity get them and Massimo involved in solving murders.Recommended! The first two episodes set the stage and that takes a little getting used to. The acting can be a little over-the-top, the humor sometimes male-centric and sophomoric, but the mystery plotting is good. By the third episode, I was familiar with the characters, in the swing of things and laughing out loud....episode 1... "The King of Games" Marina Corucci, journalist and press officer for politician Stefano Carpanesi, runs her car into a tree. Watching the news at the bar, the four cohorts tell Massimo, "There's something strange. Carpanesi just said on TV that he and Corucci met in '96... [Yet] remember the report we saw earlier, where Corucci and Carpanesi were in Vagli di Sotto? That village is located beneath an artificial lake, which is drained every 10 years. The last time was 1994."So they start interfering, uh, investigating, to the annoyance of Detective Vittoria Fusco of the Polizia....episode 2... "The Highest Card" The boys (as in the four codgers) start investigating a death they are sure wasn't an accident and dredging up a supposed suicide from the past. Their interference garners a threatening letter, which is pretty exciting....episode 3... "The Crap Tombola" One of the codgers, Massimo's beloved uncle Ampelio, just died. He leaves a letter for Massimo to read at his ceremony, after he's been cremated. Ampelio's letter is hilarious and well-befitting one of the intelligent cantankerous BarLuma regulars – "With all the alcohol in my body, I'll make a great bonfire." Massimo throws the ashes into the ocean front near the bar, except for the masses that the wind blows back onto the funeral attendees. And then the pharmacist's assistant runs over screeching that her boss has been murdered.Trivia: In between episodes 2 and 3, Carlo Monni, the actor who played Amelio, died. The episode is dedicated to him....episode 4... "Game for Five" After the farce of episode 3, Emo, Massimo's ex-father-in-law, joins as the new 4th codger. Marco, Tiziana's ex and a serious loser who doesn't realize it, finds a woman dead from a drug overdose in an abandoned building. He calls the police to report it, but they don't believe him because he's played pranks on them before. So he takes Massimo there. And Massimo realizes something isn't right....episode 5... "Chinese Whispers" BarLuma's favorite quartet are in the woods mushroom hunting. They are so unsuccessful that they decide to go to the Ristoranti di Veronelli for pappardelle with mushrooms instead. The owner, Gianfranco, says they're closed. But our regulars know for a fact that something else is going on. No one has seen Gianfranco's wife for three days....episode 6... "Action – Reaction" A married couple are having breakfast on one of BarLuma's outside tables, when the man suddenly keels over dead, foaming at the mouth. Detective Fusco says she has to shut the bar down in case it was food poisoning. Financial disaster looms for Massimo – his only option is to solve the case, fast.This DVD set has the first three series of "Murders at BarLuma." Each series has two 90 minute episodes, so without commercials these 6 episodes give you 485 minutes total of mystery fun. A possible caution: This is rather like cable TV in the U.S. There are occasional naked breasts and there is a lot of cussing and broad humor, especially by the quartet of elderly men who are very proud of themselves. The 1st episode has one character make a comment that is racially insensitive, but I noticed no more after that. English subtitles automatically run on the episodes on disc. There are no Bonus Extras on the discs.Trivia: The series is filmed on the Tuscan island of Elba (of Napoleon's first exile) and the island is proud of it. They even put up road signs for the tourists letting them know. The first three series originally aired in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Not included in this set, Series 4 aired in 2017 and Series 5 in January 2018, each with 2 feature-length episodes.I recently watched the whole six episodes through a second time, and enjoyed it more than the first time. The guys grow on you! 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.Happy Reader

This series started well and then about halfway through it seemed to lose focus. While I get it was shooting for humor, it went way over the toptowards the end, the episodes were fragmented and it seemed as if the director didn't know if it was a crime drama, slapstick comedy or just plainromance. The first episodes were excellent, not as complex as Motalbano with a bit more earthy language and sex but nonetheless well produced and acted. The later episodes were all over the place and frankly silly at times. Three stars for the first half which were fun. Based on the rest, I would not be looking for a second season.

i had high hopes for this show, with charismatic leads and a fun, quirky set-up. but by the sixth episode, it jumped the shark -- straight into an ocean of clichés and ridiculous scenarios. the sweet, lovely waitress becomes a jealous nag the second she becomes the bar owner's girlfriend. four old guys forcibly manipulate two intelligent, capable people into an engagement. most egregiously, after the jealous nag waitress takes a pool cue and starts physically destroying the bar, the four old guys join in to help her break it to bits -- but by the next episode, they're sitting in the bar again like they didn't just commit a felony, and the bar owner LETS THEM. no. sorry, it's just stupid. i'm out.

I love hearing the Italian, though I do cheat and read the subtitles as well. These are comedy drama mysteries, light for the most part and enjoyable. My only real issue is the lead character's growing issues with anger management. I don't find that funny. But I still enjoyed the series enough to purchase them on DVD.

The interaction of all the players was seamless and reminded us of Murder She Wrote series but with four times the fun. The actress Enrica Guidi takes the roll of the "girl next door" to the level of Sophia Loren in House Boat with Cary Grant. Mi complementi, brava!I am an independent writer and just received Bar Lume for Christmas. I plan to write a review in the next couple of weeks.Joel Patience

This is great fun. Had read a couple of the books and was very happy with what was done with the series. Much humor. I don't speak Italian but the subtitles are easy to follow. The characters are how I imagined them to be from the books. Laugh out loud funny.

This is a fabulous series. All episodes are great, but Episode 6 has an especially hilarious scene between the two main actors when they're tied up, Fillippo Timi (Massimo) and Lucia Mascino (Fusco).Six episodes so far, but at least two more have been filmed. LET'S HAVE ALL THE EPISODES, PLEASE!!

If you like watching the same story over and over again, this is for you. The leading man doesn't know how to shave his face and he day dreams constantly about his waitress. If you want to see female nude breasts and listen to old men endlessly complain and use filthy language, then this is the series for you. Your brain cells will atrophy but if that is not a problem for you, go for it.

I love this little series. It's a thoroughly pleasant thing to watch if you don't mind reading subtitles.

I expected an Italian take on comedy-detective story, and that is what I got, but more. It is a short series about human beings being human and laughing at all the foibles that go along with being human. It is absolutely delightful to see people who are able to laugh at themselves. Done through the culturally tinted lenses of Italian culture, it is universal in scope.