Watch a Clip From Hallmark's Surprisingly Sexual Christmas Movie
Romance is typically a part of any Hallmark Channel holiday movie, but Nov. 8’s Charming Christmas, starring Gilmore Girls’ David Sutcliffe and Dexter’s Julie Benz, adds a little something extra.
Related: First Look at Mariah Carey’s Hallmark Holiday Movie, ‘A Christmas Melody’
Sutcliffe stars as a man who plays Santa in a family-run department store that could, if the business-minded daughter (Benz) gets her way, soon be going national. It’s not just the fact that when he’s not wearing the Santa costume Sutcliffe walks around looking dreamy in a variety of Henleys.
Here he is in grey:
And in white, underneath a button down:
And in white, underneath a leather jacket and standing in front of a sleigh like he’s Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles because HE MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE REAL SANTA. (If he is, we want a sequel, please.)
It’s that Sutcliffe delivers his lines in a tone that’s both extremely kind and unexpectedly seductive. Take, for instance, our exclusive clip at the top of this post. It’s a scene in which his character, Nick Klaus (!), tells Benz’s, Meredith, all about the pickle tradition. Whether or not you’re aware that that’s a real thing (the child who finds the pickle ornament on the tree gets an extra gift from Santa), the scene plays more than a bit suggestive. Especially when the music takes a romantic swoon as their hands touch while hanging the ornament on the tree. “Oh here,” Sutcliffe coos, raising her hand higher. “Yeah, right there.”
“How’s that?” Benz asks. “It’s good,” he answers. And then, they almost kiss.
If you think we’re crazy, wait till you see the scene in which Nick takes Meredith shopping for his Christmas tree. “I’m looking for something strong, something that will last last, won’t bend too easily but is soft enough to touch,” he says.
“I want to find that, too,” she says. Count us in!
Related: Watch the Trailer for Hallmark’s 'Northpole: Open for Christmas’
Hallmark’s other new film this weekend as the 24/7 Countdown to Christmas continues is Saturday night’s Ice Sculpture Christmas (8 p.m.). You’ll miss the double entendres, but it’s still highly enjoyable as the heir to a country club throne (David Alpay) enters an aspiring chef/current dishwasher (Rachel Boston) in the club’s ice sculpting contest against her boss, Chef Gloria (Brenda Strong). You’ll learn enough about ice sculpting to want to take a class yourself. And, for those keeping score, there’s another Folgers product placement.
Charming Christmas premieres Sunday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. on Hallmark Channel.
