Recently when scrolling through Netflix, I stumbled upon a great new holiday movie. Sitting smack dab in the middle of my "Top Picks for Dana", the movie become an omen pointing me towards a destiny I did not even know existed. What was waiting for me was the Netflix feature A Christmas Prince. Like every other person I was rather hesitant about watching it at first because there is a certain commitment associated with starting a movie on Netflix that I did not feel I could emotionally handle at the time. Oh boy, was I wrong. After watching the trailer I became hooked, line and sinker. Nothing could stop me from starting what I knew was going to be a life-changing holiday classic.
The story line goes as follows: Amber, played by Rose McIver (iZombie, The Lovely Bones) is a struggling journalist trying to make it in New York, she's the sweet girl of the office stuck with all the editing work but never getting her big break. However, that all changes within the first five minutes of the motion picture as Rose's insanely sassy boss (who, by the way, has the best fake New York accent ever) calls her in and gives her the story of a lifetime...but only because "none of her regular writers can go that week". Read that quote in a fake New York accent, it makes it 100 times better. Amber is to go to Aldovia to get the scoop on the playboy prince, Prince Richard, who is about to become king after his fathers death. The prince is played by Ben Lamb (Divergent, Now You See Me 2). As the Netflix trailer says "She's looking for a scoop" but "He's looking for a queen". The shenanigans that ensue are as classic as Santa Claus himself.
Heartache. Betrayal. A cousin yearning to take Prince Richard's throne away from him. A grieving queen. A mischievous princess. Horse Rides. An old cabin in the woods. A goofy snowball fight. Love. Loss. Forgiveness. Orphans. This movie has it all and then some. Most of all though, it has the great quality of bad quality. From the knock-off "Jingle Bells" song of the opening shots of New York at Christmas Time to the (big spoiler) happy ending proposal and subsequent kissing in the snow this movie does not disappoint.
The one-dimensional characters do exactly what you think they are going to do at every turn. An example being how Amber's "quirkiness" is showcased multiple times by sharp cuts to her converse-clad feet at various royal holidays. Just when you think a scene couldn't get any cheesier, the prince rides up on a stallion of a horse or is casually practicing his archery. Awful in all the right ways, this movie somehow manages to still pull at your heart strings and put you in the Christmas spirit.
This Christmas, it's time to turn off overly heartfelt classics like It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street and turn our attention to the sensational Netflix masterpiece that is A Christmas Prince. Though there is no George Bailey, there is a Prince Richard and what more could anyone ask for?