This viewer never gives anything low ratings and negative reviews with pleasure or relish. Have always aimed to be encouraging and see the good in even the bad, and this philosophy has always applied to all my viewings of Hallmark's output. Hallmark have done good and more films in my view. They even did some good ones in 2016, one of the best ones being a Summer Nights film ('Summer Villa'). Hallmark have done a lot of royalty romance films and some of it have been quite nice.
'My Summer Prince' is one of the ones that didn't work, and in most areas. Didn't think it was that awful and a few (emphasis on few) good things can be seen here. It however has many significant debits that are found in a lot of Hallmark's royalty films and of the 2016 Summer Nights Hallmark films it is a contender for the worst, coming from someone who liked the previous two ('Summer Villa' and 'For Love and Honour', especially as said already the former) in that block for that year.
Am going to start with the good. There are two good performances. Jack Turner is the very definition of a Prince Charming, being charming and dashing with a charisma that always looks natural. The other standout is the much needed energetic yet dignified spark that is Marina Sirtis.
Did think that the scenery was still nice generally, despite the film in general looking cheap. The odd moment amuses.
However, a lot doesn't work. Have always been mixed on Taylor Cole, she has given good performances in other films but here she came over as rather bland and her attempts at acting and sounding younger than she was was too affected. The worst performance comes from Lauren Holly, whose increasingly irritating cartoon of a character felt out of place and overdone. Only Turner's character is likeable and his and Cole's chemistry is lukewarm at best and is too often low key. Development-wise, there isn't really any and instead one of those just there relationships.
Furthermore, 'My Summer Prince' doesn't even look good other than the scenery. Too over saturated, over-decorated and choppily edited. There is nothing memorable about the music and it could have been used a good deal less. A lot of the dialogue induces a lot of cringing in the seat, Cole and Turner's interactions in no way sounding like everyday conversation even in that circumstances and Holly's dialogue stinks from all the cheesiness that pours out of it. The story is very weak, over-familiar territory with even more over-familiar execution with very little charm, fun or much at stake. How it all ends is never in any doubt almost immediately.
Overall, very mediocre. 4/10.
