“A Christmas Prince” is hilariously bad
April 2, 2019
That’s right, A Christmas Prince. Now, I’m sure you, dear reader, have many questions. Why a Christmas romcom, and why this movie, out of all the possible movies to choose? Well, I figured I might as well review this anomaly of cinema. A Christmas Prince is a Netflix original that hits all the beats of a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie, but with somehow even less self-awareness
A Christmas Prince is bad. Not going to sugarcoat it. Bad acting, bad directing, bad writing, bad set design, bad soundtrack, it’s just a terrible movie all around. This movie makes a lot of the corny Hallmark channel Christmas movies look like they were directed by Kubrick. Now, that’s not to say this movie isn’t enjoyable. There’s something oddly charming about the terribleness of this movie.
Let’s get into the meat and potatoes of this mess. A Christmas Prince stars Rose McIver (iZombie) who apparently isn’t being paid enough by the CW so she has to slum it with the Netflix Christmas movie department. It also stars Ben Lamb who was in a bunch of shows that nobody has ever heard of, so he fits right in here.
Rose McIver plays young aspiring American journalist, Amber Moore, who is sent by her bosses to dig up dirt on the crown prince of the foreign nation of Aldovia, Richard (Ben Lamb). Aldovia is basically just a snowier, Christmas-focused version of England and Prince Richard is basically just a boring version of England’s Prince Harry. Through what can only be described as “wacky hijinks,” Amber ends up being mistaken for the tutor of Richard’s younger sister, Emily, who is confined to a wheelchair because of a rare muscle disorder. Emily figures out that Amber isn’t her tutor, probably because Amber is somehow even less educated than the literal ten-year-old.
Meanwhile, Richard and Amber grow closer as Richard shows Amber all his cool skills like playing piano, being an archery wizard, and having the ability to fight wolves (no kidding––Richard actually saves Amber from some wolves when she follows him on horseback through the woods)
Now, I’m sure you have some questions. Like, “why is Amber mistaken for a tutor when she doesn’t even show any credentials to her employers?” or “why would being a tutor allow Amber to get dirt on Richard?” or maybe even “how could Amber’s employers not notice she was a different person due to the fact that Amber looks different from the tutor? The answer to all of these questions is that it doesn’t matter because the writers didn’t care, therefore you shouldn’t either. Basically, almost nothing in this movie makes sense.
Despite that, A Christmas Prince is entertainingly bad instead of insultingly bad. The leading man and lady have as much chemistry as a wet rag and a paper towel, and the supporting cast has all the interest and depth of a sheet of blank printer paper. That being said, I highly recommend it. No, seriously, you have to see this. It’s such a beautifully organized mess that I don’t see how one can’t find it hilariously awful.