The Christmas Charade

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.

I actually really enjoyed the two main characters in this Hallmark Christmas romance. I thought the serious FBI agent role of Josh was perfect for Corey Sevier, who had excellent chemistry with Rachel Skarsten. Whitney (Skarsten) is a play-it-safe librarian who stumbles into the middle of an FBI art theft operation being conducted by Josh.

Dropped down in the middle of the operation, Whitney gets read into the FBI sting by Josh and his boss. Whitney has to play Josh's fake girlfriend as they infiltrate a charity at an art museum in order to catch a thief before he steals a priceless necklace that only makes an appearance once a year.

I loved the Christmas-lite approach to this Hallmark Holiday romance...I also really liked the twist with Whitney's parents. The FBI training was fun and I really appreciated that Whitney actually had some skills that she brought to the table.

For me this was a surprise and I really enjoyed it and think fellow romantics will also.

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.

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!

Throughly enjoyable. Like prior roles in Hallmark Christmas movies "Royal Nanny" (MI 5 agent) and "Christmas Island" (Commercial airline pilot), Skarsten is now a character right out of Hitchcock's classic "North by Northwest": Rather than Cary Grant it is now her character that through mistaken identity becomes involved in a complicated plot to prevent a jewelry heist. With scenes that recall "Diehard" and "Mission Impossible I" from years ago "Christmas Charade" is a delightful romp in the "this is fun to watch" genre regardless of whether Karsten could really slide down a rope suspended from the overhead ceiling. If Tom Cruise can do it...push the "I believe" button and so can Rachel. I still have "Royal Nanny" and "Christmas Island" on my DVR...and "Christmas Charade" is now added to my "watch again" collection of Christmas movies.