Tonight's Movie: Sealed With a List (2023) - A Hallmark DVD Review

SEALED WITH A LIST (2023), a quirky, somewhat different yet quite enjoyable Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, has just been released on DVD.

Katie Findlay plays Carley Kincaid, who is passed over for a company promotion in favor of the boss's wealthy but undedicated son, Wyatt Redmond (Evan Roderick).

When Wyatt makes a critical mistake, Carley impulsively decides to "fall on her sword," takes the blame herself, and quits her job. She wants to use the opportunity to reset her life, which has been stuck in a rut, and perhaps achieve her dream of moving into fashion design.

Months earlier, with the encouragement of her best friend Jamie (Kelcey Mawema), Carley had made a "to do" list of goals she wants to accomplish and she sets about working on the list...with the initially unexpected help of Wyatt.

As Carley and Wyatt work on the list and Carley develops plans for a new career, they each evolve and grow, while also growing close.

As mentioned, this is a somewhat atypical Hallmark Christmas film. It perhaps has a little more of an edge than usual, with Carley harboring sad memories of being abandoned by her father, while Wyatt experienced the loss of his mother at a young age.

It's hard to put to words, but bubbly Carley doesn't "feel" quite like other Hallmark heroines, while Wyatt is about as "bad boy" as a Hallmark leading man gets. Both Carley and Wyatt fall out with their remaining parents during the course of the film and then must work to rebuild the relationships.

At the same time, they're each quite likeable, and the evolvement of their characters and relationship feels natural. It's believable that Carley and Wyatt are creating a relationship made for the long haul.

The Christmas setting is partly coincidental to the story, which would play well set at any time of year, yet there are some significant Christmas moments, especially revolving around Wyatt's memories of some special tree ornaments.

The script by Melynda Bissmeyer, Emily Ting, and Robin Gadsby, based on a story by Bissmeyer and Ting, is quite good. It works in the needed background exposition smoothly and has some delightful, witty moments. The supporting character of Wyatt's family housekeeper Gertrude (Ellie Harvie), who helps Carley brush up on her sewing skills, is particularly fun.

The somewhat traditional Hallmark "Christmas baking" and "tree decorating" montages have been overdone at this point and the movie might have been better off skipping them in favor of scenes with dialogue, but otherwise this is a strong 84 minutes which I quite enjoyed.

SEALED WITH A LIST was directed by Lucie Guest. It was filmed by Ryan Petey, with New Westminster, British Columbia, standing in for New York City.

The Hallmark DVD looks and sounds good, as expected. A captioning option is provided, but otherwise there are no extras.

Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Hallmark for providing a review copy of this DVD. SEALED WITH A LIST may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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