La légende du prince de Noël

Honestly one of the best original Christmas movies I have seen in years, it will definitely go down a Hallmark Classic. I've watched hundreds of Hallmark movies over the years and this one is at the top -it checked all the right boxes, it was authentic and genuine, a real feel-good movie, enchanting with a great story line, main characters were very engaging, tears of joy and happiness..... the movie was fantastic. I've already watched several times this season , it has quickly become one of my favorites. As this movie presents an element of innocence by showcasing the imagination of a child, I found myself drawn to the plight of a single parent motivated by her love and the strong bond she shares with her child and as a parent willing to indulge in the creation of the magic.

I don't normally watch movies on Hallmark, but my wife was watching and I was working within eye distance of the TV. I found myself looking up several times and then became captivated by the storyline and the message of hope. The demanding workload and the ability to juggle a work life balance was relatable. I found the actors to be extremely believable, contrary to some of the other films on Hallmark during Christmastime, especially Tamera Mowry Housley and Isabel Birch. I was entertained... there was comedy and drama and I appreciated the diversity in the cast. It was an overall great movie with a spectacular ending.

I loved this movie. Tamera Mowry (Shelby) gave a great performance. As did Ronnie Rowe Jr who played her Boss (Evan). He reminded me of the Gretch, but unlike the Gretch, he wasn't heartless, just clueless about other people's feelings. However, as the movie went on we watch him come out of his Rocket Scientist Nerdy Shell and evolve into this sweet caring person. However, Evan being a rocket scientist was not the point of this movie, which is why they didn't focus on his occupation, but rather on his transformation. This is evident when Evan's boss explains that his work performance was not the problem, but it was his people skills that needed to improve.

Anyway, If you didn't see the plot of Gretch that stole Christmas in this movie, we weren't watching the same movie. At one point, during the Christmas party, I thought (Shelby) was going to say "his heart is growing" The ending was so sweet and so prince charming.

Lastly, I agree that Isabel Birch (Grace) wasn't the right fit for this part. She seemed to be a little kid trying to (act) like a little kid. It didn't seem natural.

All the heart eyes 😍 and feels-this movie was goood! Inventing the Christmas Prince had it all...Fun and fresh storyline, strong characters embracing new beginnings, the joy of a child believing in the holiday magic, romance AND a fairy tale ending with all of the warm and fuzzies that you want from a Christmas movie! Tamera Mowry and Ronnie Rowe had a great chemistry. The little star of the show (Isabel Birch) was adorable and added a nice heartwarming touch to all of her scenes. The mother/daughter scenes were great as well thawing out "Mr. Scrooge" in her scenes with Ronnie. Well done, Hallmark!

'Inventing the Christmas Prince' (2022)

Opening thoughts: Throughout my whole Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas film completest quest undertaken from late 2019 and still ongoing, an interesting quest but very mixed one, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Hallmark's output. There was always the expectation of seeing a film where one can see at least some effort rather than merely cash-in level. One could see that with most of Hallmark's output but not all.

The previous 2022 Hallmark Christmas films were pretty patchy. There were some good ones, 'Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas' in fact was great. There were some bad ones too, such as 'Christmas Bedtime Stories' and 'A Maple Valley Christmas'. 'Inventing the Christmas Prince' is among the best ones, having a lot of charm but also an equal amount of emotion and heart. It is always nice when a Hallmark film has actors in the lead roles different to the popular ones, and there have been some good performances from non-regular Hallmark actors. Including here.

Bad things: It is not flawless, though there is little wrong with it. For my tastes, it could have been longer by about 10-15 minutes in order to flesh out some of the supporting characters more.

Maybe it starts on the slow side and Ronnie Rowe's character came over as overly cold and selfish at the start

Good things: However, there are so many great things. It is extremely well acted, with great performances from Rowe and Tamera Mowra-Housley, the former managing to make his character complex and sympathetic and the latter being zesty and warm. Isabel Birch is charming and cute as a button, without going too far on the latter. The chemistry is natural and genuine with a lot of heart. Even if the supporting characters lack depth, the development of the three lead characters is very realistic and nuanced. Absolutely bought the progression of Rowe's character, which wasn't rushed or too tidy, going from being Scrooge-like to being more relaxed and sympathetic.

Furthermore, 'Inventing the Christmas Prince' is very sincere emotionally and true to life. It never feels melodramatic or over serious, a very easy trap in this type of film and fallen into a lot, or overly sappy. The ending did make me cry. The story didn't come over as predictable, too simple or forced and is heart warming and charming. The script flows well and is well meaning and honest with little fluff, filler or mawkishness. It is beautifully filmed, with lovely scenery, and appropriately scored.

Closing thoughts: Overall, very well done.

8/10.