#A Royal Winter

[confessionsofabingefreak]

A Royal Winter (2017)

Impression: as tired as this storyline gets, girl finds out boy is a prince... yawn... this movie truly does tug at your heartstrings. The on screen chemistry between Maggie and Prince Adrian will keep you watching.

Collection: yes. Might actually stay awhile too

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Concept: ⭐️⭐️

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Storytelling: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Casting: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Visually: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Score/Soundtrack: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Entertainment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Best: Maggie (Merritt Patterson) and Prince Adrian (Jack Donnelly.)

Worst: tired “royal” trope

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Winterfest Holiday Weekend Movie Countdown

#16 - Love on the Slopes (2018)

#15 - A Royal Winter (2017)

#14 - SnowComing (2019)

[tropesofhallmark]

[gracgifs]

Merritt Patterson as Maggie in A Royal Winter (2017)

[vintage-royalty]

I like in this one she didn’t know he was a Prince at first and then she finds out, and she pretends ofc to be bothered that he didn’t tell her, but when she actually puts it together she looks absolutely thrilled. 

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Winterfest Movie Countdown

#14 - A Royal Winter (2017)

Starring Merritt Patterson and Jack Donnelly.

[theheartoftv]

Hallmark + royal characters

[gotsomefilm]

19) A Royal Winter

[millefeuille07]

Earlier this week, I watched A Royal Winter. Below is the description from the Hallmark website:

While on a last-minute European holiday, a young woman finds herself in the middle of a real-life fairy tale when a chance meeting with a handsome local leads to something more. However, things get complicated when she learns that the “local” is actually a prince who is about to be crowned King, and whose mother is dead-set against her royal son’s romance with the tourist.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was a cute, clean chick flick. However, I must mention the cons. First, the prince had absolutely no bodyguards, which is highly unrealistic. Secondly, Prince Adrian had made a big to-do about inviting all the people of the realm to the coronation. It was a fairly major theme of the movie, as he argues with his mother (the queen) about inviting “everyone” to the coronation, and then involves his new sort-of girlfriend Maggie. In the end, Prince Adrian won out and invited “everyone.” And how many people attended his coronation? Um, like 80 people. Ridiculous. It was an incredibly small ceremony, and probably didn’t even include all the dignitaries let alone all the “commoners.” It was just really unrealistic, especially since the move script writers had made such a big deal out of this aspect of the movie. I also thought it was really interesting that the main character’s name was Maggie Marks – so similar to Megan Markle (Prince Harry’s girlfriend) who also happens to be a Hallmark actress. Seems Hallmark was trying to capitalize on this.

Anyways, I liked this movie, but it’s definitely a made-for-tv Hallmark movie. An enjoyable film to be sure, just don’t expect anything spectacular.

[itselliemiller]

[popculturecraziness]

This Week on Hallmark Channel: Love on Ice & A Royal Winter

When it comes to writing, my biggest claim to fame is my made-for-TV Christmas movie review blog. It’s gotten enough (minimal) traction, that people actually come to me with thoughts and questions about Hallmark’s programming. There have been quite a few rants on the blogs about the actors I love, and the ones I don’t, and letting out all my inner-Hallmark musings to the public is one of my greatest joys in running that blog.

Since I watch Hallmark movies all year round, and not just during the holiday season, I thought it would be cool to try and write out my thoughts on the movies Hallmark produces the other ten months of the year as a 2017 resolution. So after a bit of a break, so that I could look at the genre with somewhat fresh eyes, I am ready to tackle the tropes Hallmark throws out when their isn’t a Christmas tree in sight. And if you are at all interested in that sort of thing, my reviews for the first two Hallmark premieres of the year are right under the cut.

(Note: If you’re wondering why A Rose for Christmas isn’t included here, it’s because-- as it’s title would indicate--it’s a Christmas movie. That review will be posted in November on the appropriate blog.)

Love on Ice

In the days leading up to the premiere of Love on Ice, there was a bit of an internet uproar as some commentators noted that the plotline for the movie--a once great ice skater gains attention of a famous skating coach who helps her mount a comeback while they fall in love--was wildly similar to the popular figure skating anime Yuri on Ice!!. Hallmark claimed that all the similarities between the two were coincidental and I am inclined to believe them because I can’t imagine a world where anyone on Hallmark recognizes a property that features characters in leading roles that are both not white and not straight. More than that, I can’t imagine a world in which Hallmark recognizes that there are people who are not white and not straight. So the idea of a Hallmark executive avidly watching a Crunchyroll stream and taking notes on the property to steal from for their own ice skating movie seems insane to me.

However, the similarities between the two properties are undeniable. I know this for a fact because for the first half hour or so of the movie I watched with my little sister, a Yuri on Ice!! fan who kept pointing out plot similarities to me. Sadly I could not lure into watching the full movie with me, so you’ll not get the full venn diagram of similarities and differences here. All I can say is that they definitely exist, so maybe those fans have a case after all.

If one thing is for sure though, it’s that the Yuri on Ice!! plagarism concerns were the most interesting thing about Love on Ice, a movie I have basically forgotten in the days since I watched it. Honestly, if Hallmark wasn’t accused of stealing plotpoints from Yuri on Ice!!, I would have barely remembered anything that happened in it. People ice skate! People fall in love! Gail O’Grady plays a mean stagemother! At one point they play a weird instrumental disco track and skate to it! Things happen?? Love on Ice basically went in one ear and out the other. Or in one eyeball and out the other. Or.. well, it came and then it went from my brain without nary an imprint on my long term memory.

There’s problem many reasons my brain’s inability to remember basically anything from this movie, such as poor scriptwriting and basic and boring direction, but I’m going to blame Andrew W. Walker for this whole snafu. He’s been in a solid amount of Hallmark movies now, and is clearly one of their favorite male leads. And yet, he’s so bland that I can’t remember a single thing about him. In fact, when I was making my list last October of the Hallmark hierarchy of stars, his was the only name I got completely wrong. I called him Andrew West instead. That’s right: he’s so boring that I confused him for the guy who played a recurring and forgotten love interest on Greek, a show I have not watched a minute of in the last five years. If you want the apex of the bland and pretty male lead, look no further than Andrew W. Walker, because he is very pretty and also completely forgettable! 

So it makes sense that Love on Ice was much the same way. If Hallmark steals, you can always count on them to make the ideas less exciting!

A Royal Winter

When it comes to fiction, everyone has their favorite tropes: the common plot points and character arcs that directly appeal to them and help them get involved with a story. That storytelling bias, not shockingly, also extends to Hallmark movies. Through my countless years and watching and writing about Hallmark movies, I know one thing to be true: the commoner falls in love with royalty trope is just not for me. 

When it comes to Hallmark’s take on the commoner falls in love with royalty trope, it always feels like its the same movie being played out. There’s a girl who is very nice but needs to add some sparkle in her life. She meets a royal, but to prove that her heart is true and she’s not a gold digger, she has no idea who he is at first. The royal is due to become crowned king soon, but he wants to put his own stamp on the job and stop being held back by traditions. He has a mother who just doesn’t get it. After some struggles, all problems are solved, the monarchy is cool again and love can live another day. Cut to: me starting to play Disney Magic Kingdoms on my phone because I could barely keep my eyes open during the whole predictable affair.

If it were not for the sake of my goal to write about all the Hallmark movies this year, I would have skipped A Royal Winter. It probably would have been a smart idea, because I started to strain my eyes from rolling them so hard every five minutes. But how can you not? The story kept underlining how this prince was supposed to be a cool, progressive prince. He wants to make his coronation open to the public! He started an afterschool program, where kids play a ton of basketball, with his trust! He wears leather jackets! Sure, we don’t know his platforms or ideology but clearly this prince is change we can believe in! Ughhh. It’s so obnoxious.

On some level, I understand that royalty movies are supposed to play into some grand fantasy. The idea that you can go on vacation a stressed out graduate, and come back a future queen with plans to give up on your career goals, is a magical dream that brands literally make billions of dollars of each year. It’s just not my dream. Frankly from seeing it play out on Hallmark it seems like a living nightmare.

But I’m not a cool prince, I’m just a regular old blogger.

[vintage-royalty]

In this one the aristobitch, a stock character who appears in all of these “American Girl Meets Prince” movies to create conflict by wanting the Prince for herself, is named Camilla. 

Also the main girl has a best friend who is a light-skinned black girl and I feel like the movie missed a big chance to give representation to WOC *and* be super relevant by not making her the lead instead.  

It’s called A Royal Winter and it’s basically the various Christmas Prince movies we’ve all seen except it’s not Christmas it’s just really cold. Hallmark is rerunning it Monday from 2-4 if any of y’all want to set your DVR. 

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

ROYAL MOVIE MARATHON Tune in for the Royal Movie Marathon on Saturday, May 19th starting at 6:30a/5:30c 6:30a/5:30c: A Royal Winter While on a last-minute European holiday, a young woman finds herself in the middle of a real-life fairy tale when a chance meeting with a handsome local leads to something more. However, things get complicated when she learns that the “local” is actually a prince who is about to be crowned King, and whose mother is dead-set against her royal son’s romance with the tourist. Starring Merritt Patterson, Jack Donnelly and Samantha Bond. 8:30a/7:30c: My Summer Prince Mandy Cooper is a young executive assistant aspiring to become a PR executive. She gets an opportunity to develop her skills in Greenbriar, Idaho. In that small town, Prince Colin of Edgemere, a handsome British monarch with a history of scandalous behavior, is arrested for defacing a landmark while making a public appearance. Things get complicated after Mandy sets out to repair Colin's image, and the young publicist wonders if she can save her own reputation and still have a chance at summer love. Starring Taylor Cole and Jack Turner. 10:30a/9:30c: Dater’s Handbook Realizing she has a recurring habit of picking the wrong type of guy, Cassandra Barber turns to relationship expert, Dr. Susie, and her latest self-help book, “The Dater’s Handbook” to help with her ailing love life. She follows the advice in Dr. Susie’s book to evaluate potential suitors, and then must ultimately choose between reliable George and fun-loving Robert. It’s hard to change old habits and place your faith in the experts, especially when your heart tells you something different. Starring Meghan Markle, Kristoffer Polaha, and Jonathan Scarfe. 12:30/11:30c: Ever After: A Cinderella Story Drew Barrymore stars as the put-upon princess-to-be in this fresh look at the classic fairy tale. Orphaned as a child, Danielle is treated like a servant by her wicked stepmother and two stepsisters. When Danielle accidentally stumbles onto Prince Henry, who is fleeing an arranged marriage, the two inspire each other to find their fairy tale ending. Stars Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Houston and Dougray Scott. 3/2c: Royal Hearts Kelly, a hopeless romantic in Montana eager to finish her dissertation, and her father, Hank, a rancher, receive news that he has inherited an estate from a faraway land. When they travel there, they discover that Hank has not only inherited the estate, but the title that goes along with it – KING! Stars James Brolin, Cindy Busby, and Andrew Cooper. 5/4c: Once Upon a Prince Susanna gladly accepts help one day from handsome stranger Nate at her parents’ garden store in small-town Georgia. Sparks between them fly, but when a photo of them gets leaked to the press, Susanna is in for the shock of her life when Nate is called back home by his mother…for his coronation as the King Nathaniel of Cambria! Stars Megan Park and Jonathan Keltz. 7/6c: Royal Matchmaker A struggling NYC matchmaker is hired by a king to find his son a suitable wife in time for a national celebration. As the clock ticks towards her deadline, the matchmaker finds him the perfect wife -- only to realize that she’s fallen in love with him! Stars Joy Lenz, Will Kemp and Brittany Bristow. 9/8c: Royally Ever After - ALL-NEW MOVIE PREMIERE! Schoolteacher Sara's boyfriend Danny proposes, then reveals he is the prince of a small country called St. Ives, and they need his disapproving parents' blessing to marry. His sister surprisingly supports the marriage, training Sara to be perfect princess material. Sara must fight to remain true to herself, while adjusting to this new fairytale lifestyle, where love comes with rules and regulations. Stars Fiona Gubelmann and Torrance Coombs.

[venusmarshuman]

A Royal Winter.

Love the story sweet and light. A dream like kind of story with beautiful cast.

[theclassymike]

Jack Donnelly in the new Hallmark Movie A Royal Winter.