chriscma60

Rachel Skarsten was the perfect choice to head this clever Christmastime adventure. She has the rare ability to project a gentle and vulnerable persona while clearly being a badass. Skills she displayed as "Alice" in the recent Batwoman series. A performance that should have garnered Emmy Award attention.

There's a threat to the royal family and agent Claire (Skarsten) is sent undercover as a nanny for protection. What follows is the unfolding of a conspiracy plot that goes into unexpected directions. At the same time, Rachel charms the family, and the disinterest of Prince Colin, who over the course of the story finds himself drawn to Claire. Its mutual, but there's a mystery to solve first.

What makes The Royal Nanny so special is its written and filmed as an espionage story. There's very little of the usual Hallmark Channel tropes. It takes place in the real world and the supporting characters are all portrayed by well cast and believable performers.

So, why the "10? This is so different from the usual Hallmark fare. I was really caught up in the first few minutes. If the writer and director have any other ideas, Hallmark should really listen. Maybe even another adventure for Claire.

Bravo!

While watching this I had a feeling of familiarity. It had the tone of Chuck Norris's first film, Good Guys Wear Black. Like that film it featured well known performers to bolster both the lead, Adam West in this case, as well as box office. Now this is not a good film. It's undernourished visually, with at least one too many songs from Buddy Greco. Still, Adam holds his own with the stilted dialog and more complicated than it needed to be plot. Nancy Kwan while beautiful is mostly wasted in what amounts to a series of cameo appearances that does very little to push forward a crime story as it morphs into a spy thriller. Nehimiah Persoff pretty much steals every scene he's in, as West's Johhny Cain spends much of his screentime listening rather than taking action. In the end, not a bad attempt to try to shake his "Batman" persona. Another attempt, with a more explosive and perhaps personal story with the same characters might have been worth it. Perhaps even as a new TV series.

A fair story full of the usual Hallmark tropes including small town Christmas festivals, job pressures and being trapped with a deadline. They usually work but seem a bit forced here. I really wonder if the nature of the relationship caused the production to be a bit careful. It also doesn't help that the two leads lack romantic chemistry. Still, its worth a watch.