A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding Review: Should You RSVP?
I have been raised on a steady diet of holiday films. Not every movie can be on a Frank Capra or Nancy Meyers level, and I am perfectly fine with that. I genuinely appreciate a predictable, saccharine, feel-good Christmas TV movie.
Come December, tis the season to be cheesy, fa la la la la la la la la.
I am also well versed in the royal/Christmas hybrid. The Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding joins a storied legacy of other films like A Princess for Christmas, My Christmas Prince, Crown For Christmas, The Princess Switch, A Royal Christmas, and of course, the original A Christmas Prince movie.
I should probably be more ashamed than I am to have seen all of those but the point is, if anyone was ready and willing to embrace A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding with open arms (and a bit of eggnog), it was me.
Perhaps you can see where this is going. Most of the characters/actors from the original Christmas Prince are back for this installment, with the addition of John Guerrasio, now playing Amber’s father, Rudy, who seems plucked directly from a Jersey Boys ensemble.
While the original Christmas Prince was frothy, stupid fun — and yes, it was incredibly stupid — it had its own charms.
Amber, the proprietor of Amber’s Blog and writer for Beat Now, was clearly not a good journalist, but she was plucky, curious, and kind, and it was hard to resist the festive warm fuzzies that come with watching her sled with a young Princess Emily or engage in a snowball fight with Prince Richard.
The Royal Wedding lacks these charms. At one point, Queen Helena says, “This one isn’t very festive.” In the scene, she’s referring to a Christmas card, but it could very well describe this whole affair.
Save for a strange Christmas pageant and a few brief scenes with cookies and Christmas trees, Royal Wedding is missing some Christmas spirit.
Much of the film focuses on Prince Richard’s attempts to modernize Aldovia’s economy which transforms into an investigation into undercover corruption. Nothing says Christmas fun quite like a conspiracy and money laundering!
The fun doesn’t stop there. Amber is battling royal protocol, which dictates everything from her appearance to her wedding plans. This storyline also allows for the unwelcome introduction of Sahil, an Indian wedding planner, excuse me wedding designer, who is a caricature of a caricature.
While Amber’s friends do take on a larger role in this, and they are lighthearted albeit one dimensional, Amber and Richard are separated for much of the film.
Ben Lamb, who plays Richard, is not the most charismatic, but he is exponentially better in scenes where he can play off of Rose McIver’s Amber and it’s a shame to have a Christmas romance with so much of the romance missing.
Young Princess Emily (Honor Kneafsey), actress, baker, and hacker extraordinaire, once again seems to be having the most fun of everyone. Save me a seat next to Emily!
I wonder if the problem is that A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding isn’t quite sure what kind of movie it wants to be.
Does it want to be a breezy continuation of a love story? A discussion of feminism and what you do or do not have to give up when you marry and forge your life with someone else’s? A wedding planning comedy? An exploration of the struggles of a monarchy dipping its toes into modernity?
It tries to tackle too many themes — already an ambitious enterprise given the nature of the Christmas movie construct — and as a result, does not do any of them well.
While I have a feeling people are going to tune in regardless, I would recommend skipping A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding. If Royal-Christmas-Romance is your thing, watch the original instead or try out another Netflix release from this year, The Princess Switch.
Stray Observations and Questions:
- Since Richard was coronated at the end of the original Christmas Prince movie, shouldn’t he actually be a Christmas King?
- How much did United Airlines pay to be the official airlines for Aldovia? And…why?
- Is there room for a third Christmas Prince movie? Christmas Prince: Baby Edition perhaps? Baby blogs are very much the rage, Amber!
- Why does a federal strike of theater workers impact a children’s Christmas pageant?
- Did Amber really spend time complaining to her recently laid off friends about the struggles of entering the royal family? First world problems, girl.
- How big is Aldovia? How is it possible it has seven provinces?
- Missing in Action: Richard’s beard. And I miss it. If I must withstand yet another quirky pair of formal Converse sneakers, let me get to enjoy Richard’s beard.
What did you think of this episode of A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Cristina Iskander
Cristina is a Broadway enthusiast, book lover, and pop-culture fanatic living in New York City. She once won a Fantasy Bachelor contest (yes, like Fantasy Football, but for The Bachelor), and can banter about old school WB (Pacey + Joey FTW) just as well as Stranger Things and Pen15. She's still upset Benson and Stabler never got together and is worried Rollins and Carisi are headed down the same road, wants justice for Shangela, and hopes to one day walk-and-talk down a hallway with Aaron Sorkin.