'A Prince for Christmas' was watched with fairly mixed expectations. Despite the whole royalty and commoner story in a Christmas setting is not novel territory and was used many times since by particularly Hallmark with variable success. It did though sound like a charming pleasant diversion if done right, regardless of lack of originality and budget, as long as expectations weren't too high and people bear in mind that this is not meant to be Oscar-worthy material.
Seeing 'A Prince for Christmas' myself with an open mind, while not finding it great it is also not horrible. Am not going to say that it is not devoid of fairly major flaws, as that is not the case, but considering that the advertising was pretty cheesy 'A Prince for Christmas' turned out to be a lot better than the advertising and the title (which is a giveaway enough to not expect too much) suggest. It knew what it set out to do and does it in a way that is above average on the whole.
There are plenty of good things here. The settings and costumes are quite nice, as is the nostalgic-sounding soundtrack. While the direction is not exceptional, it does well at giving some vim to unoriginal material, doesn't get too heavy and manages to get well above average performances from most of the cast. The story is not perfect or mind-blowing, but has a warm heart and a genuinely cute charm.
Most of the performances are above average, and even good in the case of some, and the characters have personality and appealing ones. The two lead characters also have growth to them rather than too perfect from the start or difficult to like throughout. Aaron O'Connell has fun in his role and just about avoids making his quite stock character annoying generally. Brittany Beery gives the best supporting performance, being a life-filled breath of fresh air without overdoing it.
Kirk Barber starts off a little uptight perhaps, a lot of it is down to the writing, but once he becomes more comfortable he is very engaging and has a genuine and natural chemistry with Viva Bianca. Who is wonderful here and the best thing about 'A Prince for Christmas', have not a female lead this likeable, sensitive or charming (without being too nice) for any Christmas film in some time.
Did think however that there were debits. A lot of the dialogue is too thick on the cheese and doesn't always flow and despite not being bland the story is not much different from most films of this type with a too neat ending.
Will agree that Todd's aggression is a bit over the top on occasion, though it didn't bother me as much. Not all the acting is great, Kelly LeBrock's performance does lack subtlety and dignity (which are my idea of what her character should be like, personal preference) and she is not always at ease. While the settings are nice, the way the film is photographed and edited cheapen them. Some of the camerawork in particular is flat and disorganised.
Overall, just above the average mark and a lot better than expected despite some issues. 6/10.
