A Royal Christmas (2014) Reviews

• Liked this despite myself

  juneebuggy2014-12-18

  I liked this despite myself, it was just so horribly addictive even though you knew exactly what was going to happen about 5 minutes in, right down to the little orphan girl and the Queens first love. This has a fairy tale (Cinderella or Pretty Woman) like quality to it which I guess we all secretly covet or at least Hallmark thinks we do. Here a prince posing as a common (college student) must reveal the truth about his royal lineage to his girlfriend -a seamstress from Philadelphia- who then must try to impress Leopold's mother, Queen Isadora when the couple travel to the castle (in the made up land of Cordinia) to spend the holidays with his family. I did enjoy Stephen Hagon who played the Prince, just a nice guy and his love interest (Lacy Chabert) was okay too, a bit too perky maybe. Jane Seymour was actually very good here, she gave me several laughs with her sneering, cold, bitchiness. There are some fun 'Upstairs Downstairs' or 'Downton Abby' moments as "Emily" bonds with the castle staff and I suppose this couple is meant to resemble William and Kate to further pull us into the fantasy. Regardless, I enjoyed this is a very simple sort of way. 12/16/14

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• The formula works

  phd_travel2016-01-02

  I enjoyed this Hallmark movie. The formula works - a girl falls in love with guy who turns out to be a prince. They travel to his European kingdom where she doesn't quite seem suitable enough a match. The lead actors are watchable enough. Lacey Chabert isn't stunningly beautiful but she is likable and isn't annoying. Jane Seymour acts well as the disapproving queen. She is still very slim. It's refreshing to see an actress not having undergone plastic surgery, unlike some actresses of her age. Her real life daughter Katie Flynn has a role here. The prince's accent sounds a bit un royal at times. One fault: The costumes are a bit cheap looking even taking into account it's a TV movie and not a big budget feature like "The Princess Diaries". Worth one watch.

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• A seasonal delight

  barryrd2015-12-07

  A Royal Christmas is a glossy piece of holiday fluff. It's Christmas and who doesn't like a well put together, seasonal movie. Well to start with, some of the critics don't. But we always look for that next classic Christmas movie to go along with Miracle on Thirty-Fourth St., Alistair Sims' or George C. Scott's Scrooge, The Bishop's Wife, Christmas in Connecticut, The Holly and the Ivy and a few more recent ones that come close to being in the classics range like Home Alone or The Santa Clause. Of course, the great ones don't come along every year. As for this one, I really did take to the leading characters and actors in the movie, with longtime movie stalwart Jayne Seymour as the Queen, adding icing and some icy behaviour to this Christmas cake of a movie. She was impressive in her role as the mother from hell combined with her other role as an elegant and charming Queen of a fantasy land that reminds us of Monaco or Liechtenstein. Lacey Chabert, as the fun-loving seamstress/designer, is a girl with talent and personality who charms the Queen's son and the palace staff (if not the guards) and Stephen Hagan as Leopold James, the Prince Charming who certainly filled the bill as the tall, well-tailored prince madly in love with the girl of his dreams. Katharine Flynn as the wannabe bride, the Duchess of Warren, was the only weak link in an otherwise fine cast. The young couple in love are polar opposites in background and personality but a perfect example of two young people in love, in a fairy tale world of course. The music, the sets, and the upstairs-downstairs characters and everything about the movie were smartly arranged. The supporting cast was great, from Simon Dutton as the butler (watch for a surprise!) to the family of the commoner in love with her prince. Of course, it was all in the Hallmark tradition of giving us something Christmassy to wallow in for the holidays. See it and just let yourself enjoy the treat.

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• Unfair:Why A Lovely Movie Like This Is Getting Hated So Much

  SadnessNeverGoes2015-02-01

  totally unfair i would say people and critics are extremely harsh on this lovely movie. i checked this out for one lady Jane Seymore wow this woman is like a fine wine aged so well she was a former bond girl in live & let die 007 film. after watching a lot of Christmas & useless princess romance films specially by Disney animation or live action they suck at romance these days Disney should definitely get some lessons from this project. this is a direct to DVD and from Hallmark Channel made for TV released a month before Christmas last year. a Royal Christmas is a good entertainer despite the flaws it is similar to the princess diary or other famous movies but i found this better then those. the story is about Emily an American girl who designs clothes and works at her fathers shop she dates a guy who reveals his identity soon and tells her that his name is Prince Leopold from other country upon reaching the royal palace Emily finds it hard to fit into the royals as the queen disliker her very much now how Emily finds a solution to this problem the answer is in this film. Emily was not from a royal family and a common person but i liked the fact that not everyone was taking a dig at her but most of all they were happy to see her even the servants hearts were filled with joy. this is something that Hollywood lacks a lot this low budget TV movie owned them,period is fun filled along with everything that a large theatrical release holds from good dialogs to great sets and that mansion was epic. The Cast:i became a fan of Lacey Chabert after this honestly she fits into the role easily such a beauty got great eyes,Stephen Hagan is a handsome guy should be more famous,Jane Syemore what can i say she is bitchy,little cruel in her role a legend actress of our times,Katherine Flynn & Kate Laustau are two hot goddesses. Overall A Royal Christmas 2014 is for everyone it is G rated film little bit of kissing is shown but its passable i usually avoid Christmas movies because of same plot repeated over again but this one is a pure family film my rating is 9/10.Recommended

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• Excellent, enjoyable film

  rireland-198-2653972015-04-22

  I love Hallmark Christmas movies, and I especially liked this one. It seemed a little too short, though. I noticed one of the other reviewers said that Disney should take lessons from Hallmark--guess what? Disney owns Hallmark and ABC FAMILY. Just different target audiences. But back to the movie... I liked all the actors, but it would have been nice to see Emily,s dad and her friend a little bit more. The castle and clothes were beautiful. The only thing that I found hard to believe was the village scene where nuns are selling things to raise money for an orphanage. If they are supposed to be near France (an industrialized country), why does the village look like it's set in the 1600s? Whenever an American movie has a scene in another country it always looks like something from "A Tale of Two Cities." Yes, I know, that was around 1812. Still, I really liked the movie. I watch Christmas stuff all year long. Just could have been longer. I recommend this film!

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