The Reluctant Royal

I pretty much steer clear of Hallmark these days. Most of it is highly obnoxious. But for reasons unknown I gave this one a shot. And it wasn't bad. It wasn't great but it managed to be cute enough reminiscent of some of the cute but not so great old Hallmark fare.

Andrew Walker did well of a bit awkward at first playing a 38 year old man who kinda acted like a 22 year old kid. But he got better enough as it went along. The actress who played Prudence had to grow on me but when she did in liked her well enough.

The story was simplistic and predictable but that's not always a problem. The villains were cartoonish and unnecessary. A conflict not needed since the others could've been filled out.

I won't call it a must see but I wouldn't warn anyone off either. Take it or leave it. Hallmark has much worse to offer these days.

7.7 stars.

I anticipated this Hallmark would be a bit better than it turned out however, it still did not disappoint. I feel that the story is a bit slow at times, somehow the characters weren't as lively as expected, the the mood wasn't as exuberant as some other royal romances. That feeling of expectation, leading up to the final romantic encounter, it was somewhat absent. The leads don't have quite the chemistry that is generally considered the bread and butter of an exceptional romance. On the other hand, I actually laughed a few times-a very rare reaction to Hallmark romances.

However, the overall experience was fine. I would say this film falls a bit short of greatness in several different categories. It's one of those slightly above average Hallmark movies, perhaps a 7.1, but since I really like all the actors and their personalities grow on you after a while, it's elevated to a 7.7. Anything 7.5 through 7.7 I feel like watching again in 2-5 years, depending on my mood at the time. Generally, I rate based on my initial impression, "do I want to see this again in the next couple years, five years, or maybe revisit this one in ten years to never?" If the answer is five years, then my rating is generally 7.5 - 7.6. I think I might be in the mood for 'The Reluctant Royal' in 3 years-just a hunch. It's a strict system, because those unfortunate 7.4's I will probably never deign to watch again, but I must be true to the system or I'll be wasting precious time rewatching average films-time that should be allocated to new releases and favorites.

Something has changed with Hallmark as this, and a few (not all) recent releases have been much better than the previous slow and fairly boring products. I will admit that I often play some sort of game on my phone while watching these movies as they are not all that riviting. With this movie, there was no game playing as it catches your attention at the beginning and keeps it throughout. Fresh dialogue and fun to watch. Is it predictable, sure. Is it still fun, absolutely. Keep it up Hallmark and please present more movies like this one. Oh, and I love having new talent take prominent roles such as the very talented lead actress in this movie as Hallmark was overusing the same players. Well done.

Hallmark seems, with this movie, (and a few others recently) to have gotten back to what they did best before the whole Hallmark/Great American flap happened. The movie is fun, Andrew is is rare form and it was genuinely fun! Enjoy! The female lead is also very good. She seems to have jumped right into the Hallmark world and "nailed it". The scenery and even the old car What was it? A Triumph? (note the right hand drive!) add a level of believe ability that just adds to the quality of the movie. The only thing that irked me (just a bit) was the hair color application for Andrew...a little, I don't know... weird? Loved it! Keep it up Hallmark!

I did not like the tone of this story. The commoner coming in and saving the day might have been a nice story. And he does keep triumphing in almost everything he does including showing up an experienced horseman even though his only riding experience seems to only be riding a mechanical bull. That was a little too much.

The son of a Duke is automatically a Lord and I think has the title Marquess. Yet the cousin constantly insults him. Would he get away with that in front of a group?

The story goes about how you'd expect. The cousin who is the alternate heir becomes the villain. Two relationships develop. The potential romance is rushed because of everything else going on. The story makes a point of a potential problem there and also rushes dealing with it.

The acting is OK, but not great. The dialogue is mostly bland with maybe one or two good lines.

Like the movie, The Royal We, from the previous week on Hallmark, there is an epilogue where the three royal movies of March 2025 are tied together. It was clever in that one, but seemed forced and abrupt in this one.