One Royal Holiday

The royal angle on the story is a bit different from most of the royal stories. The prince isn't on his home turf. The way he is stranded is quite the string of unlikely circumstances and therefore a little different than the usual. The Queen, his mother, actually takes a liking to the commoner American. The story doesn't work overtime to show how out of place Anna would be in James' world. And there is a twist at the end which some will predict, but I didn't. I could have been happier if James had dropped the arrogant prince attitude a little sooner. He was quite rude, in contrast to Anna's playful irreverence. I like the way they discover that they are alike in the way the both seek to serve others. Unfortunately, that's the only chemistry I saw, at least until very late in the story. There is a second romance story, but not a lot of time is spent on it so it doesn't dilute the main story. Other than the arrogance in the beginning, this is pretty much a feel good story with almost no tension. Somehow, the viewer knows that the pressure from Galwick will be resolved and even that never really dampens things. There are some funny moments. I laughed out loud when one after another characters came down the stairs with feigned concerns over the black ice. As my title says, there isn't really anything special in the story itself. In fact, the story is rather thin. The main romance is OK, but also not that special. But somehow everything comes together to make the whole thing enjoyable for me. BTW: How can you have Laura Osnes in a movie and not feature her singing more than twice with a single stanza where other actors have the same or more significant contributions. Krystal Joy Brown has a very nice voice but I'd like to hear more from the "Broadway Disney Princess".

This is really an outstanding Hallmark holiday film. Just wish I could have heard more singing from the very talented Broadway performers. Sets a higher bar for Hallmark holiday movies.

This film could have been disastrous if it wasn't for the ever charismatic Aaron Tveit. I just wish he was given better material. It's an easy watch and will get you feeling festive. Would have been better as a musical or if Aaron had a haircut.

I didn't enjoy this movie. Too many overused tropes. The royal angle is tired, and this will come as a surprise to the producers, the intelligence of the audience is higher than third grade. So familiar, a royal prince, who is British sounding, blondish, meets bubbly "go-getter" American girl, they fall in love, will they be together? Yawn. Boring. Next. Laura Osnes, she did a fair job, for the most part, but she'd very one note. And oddly stiff. Every line delivery is pretty much the same, Disney princess, cotton candy sweet. She comes across as two dimensional. The writing I so-so, so I can't fault her for that, but she needs some acting for TV lessons. Aaron Tveit is an extraordinary talent, this movie didn't really let him use his skills. They took an enigmatic actor, and made him boring. I'm definitely seeing the attempt at Mr. Darcy, and Lizzy. They also poorly lit him in every scene, and gave him odd, unnatural dialog. Occasionally his spark would show up, but even he couldn't work his way through the abysmal writing. The white sweater, (a.k.a. Chris Evans in Knives Out?) was either a funny homage or a happy accident. Krystal Joy Brown needed to be pulled aside during filming and told that she was, in fact, NOT the star of the show. She needed to pull it back by about 50%. She's very pretty, but she's not side-kick material. Every time she came on I inwardly groaned. The Queen is played by Victoria Clark, who did an amazing job. She was comfortable in her role, and I'm guessing she made a few edits to her lines to make them sound like an actual British person. (Though she's American and originally from Texas.) She is a thinker, you can see the wheels turning in her beautiful head. Loved every scene. The rest of the cast were cute. Don't make a special point to watch this movie, or put it on in the background while you're wrapping presents.

First off, WOW! The chemistry between Laura Osnes and Aaron Tveit is off the charts!! The way they look at each other makes my heart squeal! The plot was super cute and the acting superb. Also, did any of the other Broadway followers of Laura Osnes catch that Cinderella reference? Overall, great movie and will definitely watch again. If you're considering watching, stop reading reviews and go watch it. haha