"They really love Christmas here."
Hello everyone!
I mean, in general, when it comes to Christmas, most of it is positive.
But unforunately with some movies, the dialogue is just bordering on absurd and you can't ever relax into the story when you keep thinking 'who even SAYS that?!'
For this week, however, I picked a movie that looked and sounded promising to me when I first saw the previews airing online, and I have to admit I liked both the leads.
Sometimes, actors really do make or break a movie, no matter if their side kicks are fun to watch.
Christmas at the Castle, here we come!
Sadly, I do not in fact meant Christmas at any of the royal residences in the UK, though I think most of you probably wish I did.
It looks like they'll be having quite a lot of fun too!
Me, I'm talking about a different kind of castle, one that's located in San Senova.
Let's once more forget about the fact that, according to anyone coming up with a movie on the other side of the pond, there are bound to be millions and millions of hidden, pocket kingdoms in Europe somewhere.
Because we are such an unexplored, uninhabited land, you know.
Come to think of it, Russia probably is, but it's way too cold to go spend extra time there.
Anyway.
Katie and Jessica, one a former figure skater who never got back on the ice after an injury, one a current skater who's ranked as one of the best, just finish their shows before the Christmas holidays and, as the best friends they are, they head to San Senova on a holiday trip right before they have to return to the States to start their own ice skating rink.
That's been a dream of theirs for a long time and it seems to finally be coming true.
Or it might! Soon enough.
While the girls are all giggly with excitement since San Senova was basically founded on Christmas Eve, the king of this tiny country is having a field day with the holiday.
Not in a positive manner either.
King Alexander is called the Grinch King for a reason, because he feels that most of Christmas is commercialized and way over the top, even if it does bring in tourist revenues every year and despite the fact it's his daughter's favourite holiday AND that the monarchy was founded around this time.
Why is he such a grouch?
Well, it might have something to do with his wife passing at Christmas which makes him sulky.
Not to worry though, he runs into Katie by accident at the market right before he has to give a speech, and he's immediately taken by the spirited American. She helps him with his speech some, though he's not actually that good at speaking in public to begin with.
He's also almost always too busy to spend quality time with his daughter in daylight hours because of kingly duties, so there's another minus point for him.
Katie and Jessica put on the show they came here to do (as a bonus to their holiday) and the princess is so excited about it all she asks to meet them, which they oblige, and in the end they end up at the palace because the princess would also love for the two of them to stage a show specifically for San Senova, telling the story of how the tiny kingdom came about.
Not knowing just who she's meeting, Katie is surprised when Alex walks through the doors, and he's in the same boat.
Of course Jessica is so on board with staging the show - she also kind of likes Alex's cute assistant, Nicholas - so Katie eventually caves and agrees to choreograph it, much to everyone's delight.
Admittedly, even Alex is happy. It makes his daughter smile so, why not?
Then come the series of mishaps with the Grinch King who really has no idea how to properly celebrate the holiday and Katie takes matters into her own hands. Who cares if she's busy with the show? Most obviously, the king needs help with other aspects of his life, not the show itself, which leads to a hilarious dragging of a tree to the palace, baking cookies together with his daughter and helping him pick presents for the castle staff that aren't as impersonal as money.
San Senova is absolutely thrilled.
The Grinch King's heart is growing!
And as Nicholas points out, it wouldn't be so bad if he let himself love again, though Alex is also quick to say right back that loving a king comes with so many complications he isn't sure anyone would want to do it, much less a commoner.
Is this an alusion, slightly, to another union? Maybe.
That aside, Jessica hurts herself right before the show and Katie is forced to take her place, not that it's going to be any good.
The press crowd in on both her and Alex in terms of their relationship, and as Jessica returns to the States to finalise their offer on an ice rink, Katie feels like she has to be there to help her, and leaves San Senova while she's at it.
Of course once she's in America, Jessica points out that she's just afraid - because Alex comes with a crown, but he's also just a man. Nicholas concurs, having followed Jessica to America to both help her run the ice rink and see if their relationship (much more relaxed and easier than that of the main couple, of course) has a chance. He gives Katie a gift from Alex - the star from the top of the tree they'd decorated, and a love letter from the king.
This prompts her to return to San Senova, and I'm wondering how on Earth did she manage with the flights? Isn't everything booked around Christmas??
But anyway, back with Alex, he's started putting in some of his own traditions, cutting back on official duties to spend more time with his daughter, and even stepped in as the main character in the ice show that Katie was supposed to skate in!
Luckily for Andrew Cooper he didn't actually have to do much skating since Merritt Patterson came to save the day as Katie returned just in time for the start of the entire shebang.
And afterwards, the pair exchange a kiss and agree that, whatever it is between them, no matter what anyone else thinks or what the press post, or his position as king, it's worth giving it a shot.
After all, it's a time for miracles - and love!
This was a fun, amusing, and poignant story about second chances and a family coming together from different pieces instead of the usual mom + dad = kids. Andrew and Merritt shone in their roles as Alex and Katie, the princess was absolutely adorable and I wanted to hug her, and I loved the relative ease of the secondary romance between Jessica and Nicholas.
But the real MVP was Alex's aunt, because really, it's refreshing to see a royal relative NOT out to hound any poor girl who looks at her nephew!
xx
*images and video not mine
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