Corey Sevier and Rachel Skarsten are reunited in this Christmas movie about intrigue after their last venture, Jazz Ramsey: A K-9 Mystery, failed miserably. This time around, they share a very entertaining story that is filled with action.
What Is The Christmas Charade About?
Whitney (Skarsten), a cautious librarian raised by home security experts, finds herself in a real-life adventure when a blind date mix-up leads her into an undercover FBI operation. Forced to pose as the girlfriend of Special Agent Josh (Sevier), she helps him track down an art thief targeting the Heart of Christmas necklace at a Christmas Eve charity ball. As the stakes rise, Whitney must embrace her inner action hero to save the day-and her family-just in time for Christmas.
It's not the first undercover role for Skarsten, who also played a spy in 2022's The Royal Nanny.
Did You Catch the Cameos in The Christmas Charade?
Whitney leads a boring life. As the only child of her over-protective parents, she always plays it safe. In the opening scene, she loses herself in a fast-action crime movie, and who are the two actors in the program she's watching? The first is Kristin Booth--the beloved star of Hallmark's Signed, Sealed, Delivered. The other is Jefferson Brown, another Hallmark staple who has appeared in supporting roles in several movies and series, like The Way Home. Hallmarkies LOVE surprise cameos!
The screenwriter for the movie is Kate Pragnell--Corey Sevier's wife--and Corey directs the film in addition to headlining it.
The Christmas Charade Is Over-the-Top at Times but Still an Enjoyable Ride!
Sevier sometimes over-acts, but he reins himself in quickly. His character is a cool and aloof loner who grew up in foster care and can't grasp what a family Christmas is like, let alone a pretend girlfriend partner.
The risk-taking and high stakes are invigorating and make Whitney feel alive. She proves to be a resourceful asset rather than a hindrance to the case. Along the way, a family secret is uncovered that makes sense of everything and helps solve the case.
There are several comedic moments in the movie. My favorite scene occurs when Josh is teaching Whitney basic skills for the job, such as texting while the phone remains in her pocket. He is able to text her complete sentences without looking, while hers are just a mass of random letters.
Whitney also claims to be a former ballroom dancer, which seems totally out of context for her life, yet when she's put on the spot at the Mistletoe Ball to dance, she leads Josh in a tango. It's not Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp worthy, but it's passable!
One of the most far-fetched scenes is when Josh and Whitney are chasing a perp onto the roof of a building until they realize he's just a decoy. Rather than race back down the stairs to safely apprehend the right person, Josh lassos a post on the first try, and the two jump off the roof. It is likely meant as a spoof of the genre, but it's still cheesy.
Another implausible scene is when Whitney and Josh commission a woman to craft a duplicate of the real necklace, and she manages to produce one in only two hours--as if she would have the exact gems in her inventory and could keep her business doors open that long without interruption.
By the end of the movie, Whitney jokes that she might want to join the FBI, which has fans wondering if a mystery series could spring from the movie. If so, we would all likely tune in!
The action, adventure, mystery, romance, and comedy of The Christmas Charade earns it 4.5 out of 5 stars at RomCom Review.
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