The Christmas Charade

This is the first 10 I have given a Hallmark effort - most are cookie cutter movies or series that if done well with good casting will receive a 7 or on a rare occasion an 8 - but this movie had it all - comedy, adventure, action and Romance - good grief could you ask for anything more - the casting was perfect. Rachel Skarsten was the perfect comedic, action and romantic foil for the loner FBI agent and the mix up to get them together on the wild adventure was priceless - the writing was crisp, the direction almost reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie , which for a Hallmark movie is high praise - I regretted deleting it off my DVR right after I did - I will certainly rewatch this unique Hallmark movie again. - Must Watch.

This movie had me at the opening scene. It wasn't the typical high-falutin female lead walking thru her house or office in the boiler plate business suit yaking on her phone with her (empty) prop coffee cup in the other hand. And bonus, no Hallmark hair ringlets, Merry Christmas to us!

I liked Whitney's parents, even if they were nosy and intrusive. It's always a pleasure to see Rob Stewart.

This one is my favorite of the 2024 movies so far. If you like the more light hearted Christmas movies, please give this one a go. If for no other reason than to enjoy the absence of the Hallmark ringlet hair!

Whitney is a librarian whose life is not that risky and adventurous, and that´s okay because she was raised like that. While going on a blind date, she accidentally sits in the wrong table, the one in which Special Agent Josh is undercover. So, she has no other choice but to follow the ruse,

I was no expecting to like this this much. Last year I watched Rachel Skarsten in a movie in which she goes undercover as a nanny and didn't really liked it. But, this premised sounded fun.

Corey and Rachel had great chemistry, and perfectly played their roles. The movie has a twist at the end that I didn't see it coming. And yes, maybe some things are not realistic, like the FBI things but as long as the romance is, i´m cool with it.

It's fun and maybe at the beginning quite slow but definitely makes up for it later, Corey Sevier also served as the director and just found that him and Skarsten have another Hallmark movie together, might check that out.

Definitely worth checking out.

The one thing I don't forward to in these Christmas movies are the same warmed-over tropes offered again and again by writers with no imagination.

The Christmas Charade broke the mold, even if it did offer a toned-down version of the "fake boyfriend trope". That element didn't dominate the story, and that made it easy to forgive.

Cory Seiver is one of the actors in these movies who can play different roles with different personalities. Not all of the actors have that talent. Here his serious FBI agent is full of engaging and amusing moments.

Rachel Skarsten does a great job as a quirkly librarian hooked on adventure romance movies. When they meet accidentally and insert her into his case, the dialogue and situations provoked some laugh out loud moments, which we find rare in these movies, but appreciate when they show up.

The story is funny and engaging, and actually manages to touch on Christmas in a more solid way than a lot of these movies do.

The Christmas Charade was pure fun and breezy joy from beginning to end. Rachel Skarsten (Whitney) brings a big dose of brains, beauty and comedic skills to this gem of a movie (pun intended), and Corey Sevier (Josh) hits it out of the park again as both actor and director.

The quick synopsis is: Librarian Whitney is on her way to meet a blind date at a restaurant. FBI agent Josh is headed to the same restaurant to meet a fellow operative who'll be posing as his date, and their assignment is to meet and gather info from a couple who are suspected art thieves at said restaurant. A date mixup ensues (the fellow operative is delayed by overzealous carolers) and Whitney is mistaken for Josh's date and quickly becomes involved in the covert operation, which involves a pricey Christmas necklace.

I loved the spy theme of the story, complete with Bond-esque music and not the usual cutesy background stuff played in most Hallmark caper movies. It's always fun to see Jayne Eastwood (The Santa Clause), and the rest of the supporting cast is great! This is a holiday must-see, so don't miss it.