Obviously, I love the Hallmark Christmas genre. I also love the royal/princess genre (movies like The Princess Diaries and The Prince & Me). Typically, when you combine these two, it's a winner, and Christmas at the Palace was no exception. However, Hallmark decided that combining a Christmas movie with a princess movie was not enough, so they added in figure skating, likely another favorite of its loyal and enthusiastic fans. For that decision, I award Hallmark a gold medal.
Aside from the Hallmark Christmas movie conventions, royal movies have their own set of rules: The prince/king meets a girl and does not reveal his true identity; The girl gets to stay in the palace (!) and has a bunch of dresses delivered to her room; The country is made-up and has a very official sounding name (I don't love San Senova for this one, but I'll let it slide); and the characters all speak with a British accent, even if the country is nowhere near the British Isles (I'm not really questioning the convention, but we all do realize that this makes no sense, right?). This movie had it all, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I've been critical of a few movies this season for being virtually devoid of conflict, or at least conflict that makes us care. This movie was well-crafted in terms of conflict and resolution - a King who dislikes Christmas but loves his daughter? Fantastic. A pageant on ice that has to be produced in two weeks? Awesome. Jessica's injury so Katie has to skate? Perfect. Two figure skaters who buy an ice rink in Trenton, New Jersey, and one has to become a silent partner so she can go marry the king in a foreign country while his former assistant moves to New Jersey to help run the ice rink? Well, it's not perfect, but it worked fine for me. I'm really not that picky.
Hallmark gets an A on: Scenery; Figure Skating; Aunt Patricia (delightful); Princess Christina (charming); Hair; Tree shopping and decorating (the best of the season so far); Chemistry among the actors; Having four leading actors (worked nicely); Combining all of the things that we love into one movie, and not messing it up
Hallmark gets a D on: San Senova (just the name; the place looks lovely)
Grade: B+
* Note Grading Scale:
A = This is seriously a good movie. It will remain on my DVR for the season.
B = Totally exceeded my expectations. I'm happy to recommend.
C = This is an average Hallmark movie. Good holiday fun.
D = I'm disappointed... but I watched it. Why not?
F = I actually had a hard time getting through this one. And that says a lot.
Comments