Royal-ish

7.2 stars.

There are several interesting and somewhat charismatic characters in the story, which is why I give it the above average rating. It feels like a 6.9, but something about the atmosphere raised it a little.

Don't get me wrong, the story has been beaten-to-death and this movie does not stand out as anything particularly special. I enjoyed it sufficiently for a one-and-done, but the only chance of watching this ever again is if I run out of anything better, which I doubt will happen, considering I enjoyed hundreds, yes hundreds of Hallmark films more than this one.

But if you are planning on watching every royal-ish installment from Hallmark, this one is maybe a smidge above average. You might actually enjoy it, but I feel the plot and presentation are a bit deliberate and not original by any means. They modified the music a little to give it a slightly new feeling, not so much the usual royal horns and woodwinds, more strings and piano music, but that wasn't enough to make it stand out.

I don't hate Hallmark but... please stop making British Royal movies. Or at least watch how British is done by the BBC.... Watched the first few seconds of supposed Fencing, and it was painful to watch. Awkward, stumbling and inept, take them off grass and teach these 'actors' how to move/fight.

A good example of Fencing for film... check our Wednesday.

Please stop these American royal movies.

The costuming is cheap and crass, lacking any style and quality. If you must make these movies then stop shopping at Disney for cloths... The one star is really a no-star, for 'Royal-ish'

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The premise is pure Hallmark: Theme park princess meet handsome real life prince.

However, there are some very un-Hallmark issues here; the Princess is worried about aging out of her job and is frustrated by her unfinished educational goals, the prince's young daughter has emotional issues due to the death of her mother.

So, it's not perfect in this tale of fairy land meets real life fairy land.

The problem is how the Prince is portrayed. He talks in formal complete sentences and acts like his shorts are too small. A bad parody of what Americans think "Royals" are like.

Cardboard antagonists (the icy Queen and "Privy Council" head) are there to create roadblocks.

In private conversations the Prince acts and sounds entirely artificial. How about having him have two personas...one stuffy and "official" when acting in a official capacity and another where he talks and acts like a regular guy when talking to his daughter and the young woman trying to help her? The script DOES have him talk with the child and princess, but the actor uses the same tone all the time.

Do the Hallmark execs think a character with two facets (personas) is too subtle for audiences?

I hate to say it, but you have to blame the director here. A bit of subtle characterization would have done wonders here. I'm no Scorsese, but after watching a few takes I would if had the actor do the scene both ways...the traditional stilted Hallmark method, and one where the prince is acting less stereotypically "royal" when he needs to. When talking privately, make him a real person, not a stuffy stereotype.

Sakura does a wonderful job given her constraints, Moseley given his experience playing a modern prince in "The Royals" soap should have pushed his character to make him more realistic and relatable.

I hope to see more of Sakura, she comes across as much more real and worldly than the usual Hallmark lead female.

The basics were there to make it a much warmer, more dramatic and touching (but still HEA) film.

Hopefully Hallmark will let writers, directors and actors expand from their (admittedly successful) approach.

Never thought I would voluntarily sit through a hallmark movie but...boy did I enjoy it!!! The script? Whack. Costumes? Whack. Plot? Okay-ish. But holy snickerdoodles, William Mosely is not only a very good actor, able to make even some of the most absurd lines sound reasonable, he is also the finest British Beefcake I have had the pleasure of viewing upon in quite a while. Whenever he smiles and tiny crow's feet appear around the outer corners of his beautiful eyes I melt into a Mosely loving puddle. Also the way he interacted with his daughter and Lacey was so adorable and heart warming gosh. One thing I liked about this movie that didnt have anything to do with William and his wonderfullness was that it kinda felt like a children's movie? The relationship between Lacey and Henry is quite innocent, which was somewhat refreshing in the landscape of messed up romance movies we mostly see today. Anyways this movie just made me realise once again how much I'd love to see William Mosely return to Narnia in a movie about the Golden Era when the Pevensies are kings and queens.

Hallmark movies are where happily ever after lovers go for a guaranteed happy ending (usually in the last five minutes), and that's no different in one of their newest releases, Royal-ish. Theme park princess Lacey (Sakura) spends her days delivering magical tea parties to children in her role as Princess Sweet Pea. When she befriends 8-year-old Princess Rose (and her father and heir to the throne Prince Henry (Moseley) it sets off a romance that screams meet cute and swoon.

While the movie is very much stereotypical Hallmark in plot, it tackles some deeper issues. Lacey found work as a princess while she was working towards a graduate degree, and finds joy in bringing joy to others. She's worried about aging out of her job (which hadn't previously registered for me as an issue for theme park workers). The young princess Rose is struggling with the weight of responsibility after the death of her mother and a traumatic incident. And the romantic love interest (Prince Henry) struggles to balance his role as a father and the crown prince of a small kingdom. They did make some slight changes to the stereotypical 'royal' plot line for these movies that left me amused. And while the lines were undeniably cheesy, it remained entertaining and engaging.

Overall, this was another entertaining storyline. I didn't realize this was supposed to be another 'trilogy' movie, as they didn't connect it outright to the other movies (The Royal We and The Reluctant Royal) like they did in their other trilogies (The Wedding Veil Trilogy). I highly recommend this movie to those who like low pressure, guaranteed happily ever after stories. I don't recommend this movie to those looking for innovative, high-stakes storylines that are harder to predict.