A Christmas Masquerade

source: A Christmas Masquerade

There were some interesting variables in the movie: The first time I've seen a Polish family. The babcia looked Polish to me, as did Nora, the daughter. Although I'm half Polish myself, I never heard about the live carp in the bathtub. I had to look it up. It's a thing. Instead of a prince, it's about a potential ambassador. So different profession. And he grew up in the US, so no fake British accent! Yay! Being that this is an Up movie, I thought it odd that a woman deciding to have a baby "by herself" without a father present, was an aspect of the movie. Yes, very 2022, but I'm not a fan of this trend. JMO. Kids need a father. However, it is another difference about this movie. The conflict is same old same old: In the beginning, the lead didn't want to go to a masquerade ball using her boss's invitation, because she wanted to "be herself"...with a mask on...lol. The entire movie is her and her boss switching identities, so they are as far from being themselves as one can get. And predictably, when the male lead finds out, it's the same old " you lied to me!" offense and rejection. I never like those standard tropes, but I'm halfway used to it by now, since it's so common in many of these romcoms. It was okay for one watching.

source: A Christmas Masquerade

The premise of impersonating the boss isn't that common to begin with, but this movie goes a step further because the viewer knows from the start that the boss fully supports it and even volunteers to babysit for the duration of the switch. The result is that this premise becomes more like the twin identity swap. The dynamics between Julianne and Lara are a bit weird. The real Julianne acts more like the boss than the real Lara, who is the boss. There is some fun in all the antics related to keeping the real identities secret. The dialogue and acting are both good. Erin Agostino is an elegantly beautiful woman and the director takes great advantage of that. She is nothing like the financially struggling assistant you might expect in this type of story. When she attends a high end social function, she definitely looks the part. Michael, the wannabe ambassador settles down quickly from the playboy persona and afterwards David Lafontaine has some good chemistry with Agostino. There's all the usual "do you like her", "we're just friends", and "there's something I need to tell you" which gets interrupted, but the viewer knows there is going to be a conflict, although it's not certain how that will unfold. It is quite effective and believable, at least as much as anything in this story.