The premise sounded really fun and have always liked the mix of Christmas and mystery (and mystery of any kind, not just murder) in film and television. Hallmark has always varied with their festive output, and 2021, in both the Countdown to Christmas and Miracles of Christmas/Hallmark Movies and Mysteries blocks, was very hit and miss. When they hit, the results were surprisingly very well done. When they missed, they missed big time.
For me, 'The Santa Stakeout' is neither one of the hits or one of the misses overall, though it is closer to the hits category. It is far from perfect and it isn't my definition of great, with a few big things that stopped it from being potentially one of the best of the festive season. But 'The Santa Stakeout' was clearly having a lot of fun with the premise, how could anybody not have fun with it, and doesn't waste it at all. Also think that it is not as cheesy as it sounds from reading the title.
A lot is good. Paul Campbell carries the film incredibly well, he has great comic timing (have not seen him show that before to the extent that he does here), he looks very relaxed and like he was enjoying himself and he doesn't overdo the egotistical aspect of the character, by the end of the film the character managed to be likeable. A lot of the playful banter between him and Tamara Mowry-Housley is very funny.
Personally found much of the story very engaging and that the mystery intrigued, don't agree that it dragged. It doesn't come over as too complicated but it isn't too overly simple either. The supporting cast are solid and deliver with gusto, with Joe Pantoliano really brightening things up in a performance on Campbell's level. It is pleasing visually and the audio doesn't overbear. The script is on the most part smart and very amusing.
Mowry-Housley is less consistent. She does have sparkling moments where she is funny and she certainly doesn't look bored, but she has a number of instances where she overplays and it comes over as forced. It also made me find it difficult to get behind her character when she was abrasive and over-bearing. She and Campbell do have chemistry and at its best it's playful and sparkling, but in their more antagonistic moments the writers go overboard and it was like they were straining too hard for laughs or something.
While the supporting characters are a colourful lot, there perhaps could have been less of them so that we could have gotten to know them more. While the story always engages and the clues are neat, the final solution was not really a surprise with it being considered strongly quite some way before the end.
Concluding, good fun and while my recommendation is not of the ecstatic kind it is not the dithering kind either. 6/10.
