'The Santa Stakeout' Review: Hallmark Christmas movie will have fans asking for more
'The Santa Stakeout' is a feel-good, and romantic movie, perfect for the Christmas season that's closing in on us. Thankfully, Hallmark has officially begun the countdown to Christmas with a bunch of new season's specials! A total of 41 new releases on the channel, with 'The Santa Stakeout' being one among the many, and a perfect addition to get a jumpstart to get your Christmas on! The movie is directed by Peter Benson, written by Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer. Tamera Mowry-Housley plays detective Tanya, and Paul Campbell plays Ryan in the movie.
'The Santa Stakeout' focuses on two detectives who have to pretend to be a couple (on account of work, of course) to work undercover on a heated case. As we all know how these things end, one can't pretend forever, and sooner or later, either party catches feelings. And so, their little game begins to unfurl and becomes something real, as they no longer have to pretend to be a couple since the work partners are secretly in love with the other!
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Tanya (played by Tamera Mowry-Housley) is reluctantly partnered with Ryan (played by Paul Campbell), to solve a case, who are basically polar opposites in pretty much everything, and have wildly different approaches as well. The case involves a series of robberies, heists, and murders taking place, of late, at elite parties around town. Ryan is an individual analyst, while Tanya is a criminal investigator. To bust open the case for good, Tanya and Ryan pretend to be a newlywed couple and change their names to Tasha and Rupert as part of their undercover mission.
Soon after, the "couple" shift into an empty, abandoned house, quite close to their numero uno suspect, Mr Miller, who also happens to be the head of the town's Christmas committee of the town's community. Tanya and Ryan actively indulge in the neighborhood festivities and celebrations so that nobody bats an eye towards them, and also to blend in with the crowd.
All goes according to the modus operandi at hand, so far. But of course, there has to be a twist. The so-called newlyweds slowly start having feelings for one another, as is the case in most plans as such! So on that account, they attend more parties to celebrate the season's greetings but don't have to pretend anymore, since they enjoy each other's company. The partners start to see each other in a different light and eventually fall in love, as they get caught up in the town's celebrations. Soon, their game of pretense comes to an end as it becomes more of a reality. Before you know it, the Christmas magic of the holiday season somehow makes their investigation enjoyable than it ideally should!
Both Tamera and Paul played their characters so perfectly, that one can literally see the transition in their character developments; from being annoyed to working together at first, to being thankful for the love that was a blessing in disguise.
All in all, Tanya and Ryan share a wonderful chemistry, and the movie in its entirety is just adorable. You'd not want the movie to end, and will definitely root for love as special and magical as theirs!
What's more, the movie will air throughout the holiday season as part of Hallmark's Christmas countdown, so catch 'The Santa Stakeout' along with other films from now and through Christmas.
