• Release year: 2023
• Director: Bradley Walsh.
• Producers: Shane Boucher and Caitlin Delaney.
• Screenplay by: Nina Weinman.
• Cinematographer: William Smith.
• Music by: Ari Posner.

Shotgun Commentary: surprisingly good for a Hallmark movie, no further comment needed.

Review

If you don’t like a Hallmark movie, you’re probably watching it wrong. It sounds condescending, but it is the truth. They are not clever, they are not original and, more usually than not, they don’t even have half-decent actors. However, they are the perfect entertainment for very specific situations, like when life is terrible and the thought of Christmas approaching feels less exciting than watching the paint dry. That’s when you should be watching these.

They are tacky, extra and completely ludicrous. They represent the spirit of Christmas exactly how it is understood now: too much, too quickly, and completely useless for your fulfilment as a human being. So, since the chances of you being able to run away to the desert for about two months are slim, might as well make the best of it. How? That’s when Hallmark movies come in.

Grab some booze or a sickly sweet mocktail, your favourite Yuletide snacks, and get cosy under a blanket. That’s all the preparation you need before watching one of these delightfully lame films that will make you happy and get you ready to embrace the oncoming capitalist storm.

The front-runner

Catch Me If You Claus is probably your best bet this year if Hallmark movies usually feel too much for you. It’s sweet and extra, but has an interesting storyline with problems that seem more relevant than the usual “we’re out of cookie dough” issues, and a female lead who surprisingly doesn’t move to a quaint town.

It’s oddly refreshing to see both the protagonist and her counterpart begin and end with the same goals and ambitions. A love story in which neither have to make incredible life changes nor adapt to the other person feels encouraging and realistic, even with the whole Santa Claus thing going on.

Work together ≠ One catering for the other

Their relationship is oddly relatable, especially if you are at a time when you are still figuring out your love life and your work life. It’s a reminder that you don’t need to change your personality or goals to find the right person for you, and you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to do so. A very necessary prompt every day, but especially in this festive season, when people feel pressured by their family to be who they aren’t.

That is not to say they don’t diverge from their original paths, of course, otherwise there would be no film. But these diversions don’t change them nor their ultimate goals. They serve to make the film interesting and fun.

Whostolit

Mystery is a very nice genre to mix in a Christmas love story if you want to spice it up. Adding an investigation to a film about Santa’s son and a reporter is definitely the perfect move. You avoid the cheesy montage of Christmas traditions with generic music in the background, and instead you get kidnaps, an investigation and the uncovering of a conspiracy. Not bad at all for a Hallmark movie.

Sparkly performances

The acting is quite good. The cast doesn’t overact as much as one is used to in these films and the main couple, Avery Quin (Italia Ricci) and Chris Claus (Luke MacFarlane), have excellent chemistry.

The only thing that completely threw me off was Claus’ voice. This is solely because I watch all Brothers & Sisters in Spanish where, for some reason, his voice is a thousand octaves higher, so it felt strange for MacFarlane to have such a deep voice. Other than that, the characters are well-built, and their relationship has a nice pace and ending, so not mad at all about it.

All in all, Catch Me If You Claus is a very recommendable film for people who have a harder time getting into the Christmas spirit. You’ll have fun with it and slowly accept your fate during these coming days.

Advice to take from this movie:

• If you want to be successful, don’t wear comfortable clothes and use a LED light face mask? Having the qualifications and experience required for a job is still not enough for women to get hired in the 21st century.
• If you ever have an open audition where you can just act anything, tell people your life problems very dramatically and you’ll get the role.
• If you’re looking for two people hiding in a group, do suspect of the only two hooded figures in there.

What’s your take? Are you a fan of Hallmark movies? Have you watched Catch Me If You Claus? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀

For more updates, chatting and additional content, don’t be shy! Check out my social media and connect!