Roadtrip ins royale Herz

Hallmark is on a nice winning streak. I'm tired of plots involving royals, but this is one of the better ones. The opening shot of a beautiful foreign coastline is actually a scenic view of one of the Azores islands, nearly 1,000 miles off the coast of Portugal. For a moment, I thought the fictitious location was called Northeast Phillipa after I saw that on the screen, but then I figured out that Phillipa Northeast was actually the name of the actress who played Princess Amelia, and that the latest fake country name was Bundbury. I knew nothing about Phillipa (she's an Aussie actress with few film credits) but she was lovely to watch as she becomes aware of her feelings, interacts kindly with others, and experiences things she had never experienced before as a sheltered princess.

The family reunion with her uncle in America was a nice excuse to travel abroad, but the artist she liked seemed a little too blasé about having a sweet beautiful princess interested in him. Had that been me, I would have gone to L. A. as soon as I found out Amelia was there.

I like it when Hallmark movies show two people really getting to know each other before falling in love. People can learn a lot about each other during long road trips. That's a movie plot that dates back to "It Happened One Night" a classic (but far more antagonistic) rom-com. But it was also the plot in the recent Road Trip Romance, one of the worst Hallmark movies that I've ever seen (Ugh, so bad). I acknowledge that setting up such road trips, with people who've just met each other, usually requires some outlandish plot contrivances (as in RTR), but here the set up didn't seem all that outlandish. That's due to some surprisingly good writing by Jake Helgren, who wrote and directed another one of the worst Hallmark movies that I've ever seen (Save the Wedding).

One of the squares on a Hallmark bingo card is the inevitable "small town festival". So, of course, the Princess and Grady go to one (the "Spring Fling Festival"). Not only is it an opportunity for them to have a mini date, and to show how sweet Amelia is (with booth worker Becca), there's a nice scene where Grady (who "doesn't like to dance") and the Princess go to a barn dance.

The ensuing smoldering dance scene is accompanied by a perfect song for this movie ("You Can Sleep While I Drive" by Melissa Etheridge). Somebody really thought that through. While dancing, Grady describes his ex as having been "more focused on her career". Amelia asks: "What's wrong with that? " to which Grady responds: "Nothing as long as it's not her only focus." I appreciate how modern Hallmark movies are all about women (and men) trying to strike a balance in life, rather than promoting the old school idea that women should abandon their careers for the men in their lives (an outdated trope that is literally reversed in this movie).

And, once again, this modern Hallmark movie included a gay character who was presented in a "matter of fact" positive way without any drama or stereotypical behavior. He's simply a character (played engagingly by Vincent Gale) who just happens to be gay, just like a character may happen to be Black or Asian. I applaud Hallmark's more inclusive approach to making movies. It's very very healthy.

I'm looking forward to seeing Phillipa Northeast in another Hallmark movie soon. It's a cliche for an American to say this, but I LOVE her accent. And she's quite a good actress.

I've now seen this movie three times.

Amelia is soon to be crowned Queen and while she was having her portrait painted she became infatuated with a boy from Chicago, so she makes it her mission to go to the United States. So, she ends up in L. A and thanks to her uncle she ends up on a road trip with Grady, a bodyguard.

You know what to expect about this movie just from the title. I do think it's better than a lot of royal movies Hallmark has made. Speaking of royalty, I grew up watching "Chasing Liberty" and "First Daughter", so this was a must watch. It includes a road trip in a convertible and the typical American experience: a small town festival, camping & smores and an adorable inn with a wise couple.

I liked that we also got to know the vulnerable parts of the main lead not only regarding his feelings towards the leading lady, but also his personal issues and even an ex. They had good chemistry and as I mentioned before the "Royalness" isn't exagerated.

Anyway, it was okay.

Good storyline where the story unfolded in ways that the viewer would like. Te characters are interesting and the scenes in the movie were filmed in beautiful places.

The actors who played the character roles did a great job.

I exp3ctedi5 to be week. The female lead was a 9.5 while Malelead was a solid 8.5 maybe 9. They worked. I exp3cted repetitive fare but this was different.

Hallmark hit one versus their cookie cutter fare at times. I think I have watched 4 times in 6 months.

We need more of the same and moreoftheirmysteries they r3lease too cautiously.

Watched it again Phillips northeast is. Superb. Use her in more movies.

Hallmark have done a lot of royal-themed films and the quality of them has really varied. Some being surprisingly good, some watchable if rather average and some really bad. Have watched many Hallmark films with very mixed expectations prior to watching and 2022's 'A Royal Runaway Romance' was one of those initially when hearing that it was another royal themed film. Expectations did increase however when seeing the synopsis and seeing that there was a road trip twist.

2022 was a varied year for Hallmark, which was as has been said more than once not unexpected (as it is the same with previous years too). With some very good films, some very bad films and some that ranged between mediocre and slightly above average. 'A Royal Runaway Romance' is one of the good ones and was close to being one of the very good ones once it got going. Much has been said about the lack of location authenticity and geographical errors, but am going to talk more about what matters to me more. So quality of writing, storytelling and acting for examples. While failing on the authenticity, 'A Royal Runaway Romance' mostly succeeds in most areas.

It is not flawless. Phillippa Northeast does start off stiff and her character does come over as a bit too immature and naive at points. There is some awkwardness early on.

At times too, there is a stock look to the production values, meaning stock footage like.

Most of the time though, it looks quite nice. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the photography is mostly slick. The music at least fits and is pleasant enough, though never anything exceptional. Really liked the barn dance song. The script is light hearted and also has a warm heart, did appreciate that it didn't rush the relationship, overdo the antagonism, allow the playfulness to shine and didn't rush the softening.

Furthermore, the story on the whole is very engaging. It is predictable and starts awkwardly, but never takes itself too seriously while never feeling like a parody. Like the script, it is agreeably light hearted and charming while with a warm centre while the characters and relationship soften. The ending is sweet and while not surprising it doesn't feel too pat. The characters were likeable and worth connecting with on the whole, Brant Daugherty's character's development was very striking. Northeast does become much more natural and really matures into the role, so overall it is a charming performance that didn't look that experienced. Daugherty is also charming and easy going, while shining in his character's more vulnerable moments. Their chemistry is witty and touching. The supporting cast are solid.

Concluding, well done. 7/10.