PR crisis manager Deidre and her assistant Mandy fly in when rebellious royal Prince Colin is arrested in small-town Idaho. But when Deidre faces her own fiasco, Mandy finds herself with une... Read allPR crisis manager Deidre and her assistant Mandy fly in when rebellious royal Prince Colin is arrested in small-town Idaho. But when Deidre faces her own fiasco, Mandy finds herself with unexpected career (and romantic) opportunities.PR crisis manager Deidre and her assistant Mandy fly in when rebellious royal Prince Colin is arrested in small-town Idaho. But when Deidre faces her own fiasco, Mandy finds herself with unexpected career (and romantic) opportunities.
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'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.
The Prince is an entitled brat. He's great as the client. As a romantic partner, there is much to be desired. He does have the pretty boy looks and the possibility of redemption. It would actually work better if Penelope is the guy. Colin is a poor little rich guy and he's not the type that I could root for. As for the lie, it seems to be an easy one to spin to Deidre. Just say the royal entourage wouldn't accept an assistant to lead. Being a PR person, one would expect her to be able to spin. It's not the worst thing to tell the truth to Colin either. He would probably find the lie hilarious if it's done early enough. He would be able to play along and get one over Penelope. Essentially, the problems aren't problems. The prince isn't done well. All girls want to be princesses. At least, that's what Hallmark is selling here and it's a bright, cotton candy confection. It's another way to eat sugar.
Someone did an analysis of IMDb ratings because women-oriented material is nearly always rated significantly lower than the most juvenile of material directed toward men. It's been seen in the Rotten Tomatoes site and the Netflix ratings. I tend to think it's passive-aggressive teens or young men who probably spend all day giving bad reviews to anything done by or for women.
Imo, I think Cole and Turner have amazing chemistry. They're both attractive but Turner's more interesting with the English accent. The actors, including Sirtis and Holly handle the wittier than usual banter quite well. The production values were awful but you can't have everything. I got exactly what I wanted. It was two hours of pleasant entertainment. I like that Cole and Turner are both good looking and well-matched in height. I have a hard time enjoying the pic when a tall woman is matched with a shorter man and the director is inconsistent in trying to conceal that difference.
The prince is cute, but a bit juvenile (maybe it's just the awful dialog). Taylor Cole is not really a good on screen match for him either...she seems older than him, and he's exceptionally immature. There really isn't any on screen chemistry I find the least bit believable. She did REALLY well opposite the guy in Christmas in Homestead!
The royal theme in this one is more cliché than some of the better ones. I loved the following because they had good cast, and beautiful locations: A Royal Christmas (they had the cute chemistry, good cast, beautiful location) , A Crown for Christmas (5 stars cast, chemistry, location), A Princess for Christmas (awesome chemistry, beautiful location). My Summer Prince does not even come close to these others.
I'm tired of Hallmark using the same Utah, and Pacific Northwest locations. I've even spotted repeat homes and locations used in movies., that just makes me feel tired of seeing the same old same old....The past year just hasn't been the best for Hallmark. More stinkers than good goodies. A movie doesn't have to be "saccharine sweet" to be good and wholesome. It insults my intelligence.
And pleaseeee....EVERY single Hallmark film seems to have one thing in common, and that's that there is ONE NEAR-MISS KISS (insert eye roll..because someone interrupted it) and then one final kiss to end the show. (Insert another eye roll) If kissing is so bad, then Hallmark better stick to The Duggar family Side-Hug. Ughhhh. In any case, this movie falls into the "stinker" pile
First off... the chemistry between the two leads is terrific. Taylor Cole is stunningly beautiful but also cute, and Jack Turner is adorable as the immature Prince. (It doesn't hurt that the film keeps finding reasons for him to take his shirt off.) Lauren Holly and Marina Sirtis are really funny as the two resident authority figures... and both get their strong dramatic moments too.
I don't know where they filmed (probably Canada, because most Hallmark movies are shot there), but its gorgeous and the cinematography is nice.
Overall, I thought this was a fun, colorful romantic comedy with great pacing, snappy dialogue, and solid direction. With bigger stars, this should have been a theatrical feature!
Did you know
- TriviaThe kingdom of Edgemere is represented by pictures of Prague, the capital city of Czechia, Cesky Krumlov, another Czech city, and Drottningholm, Swedish royal palace.
- GoofsThe incubation period for chicken pox is approximately 2 weeks. There is no way the PR executive got chicken pox from the child next to her on the plane the day before.
- Quotes
Penelope Sheridan: Of course. I am aware of everything at all times without exception.
- ConnectionsReferences La famille Addams (1964)
- SoundtracksKeep on Loving You
Written by Kevin Cronin
Performed by REO Speedwagon
Fate Music (ASCAP)
[Played leading into and the during the end credits]