Have you ever seen a movie so bad that it was good? Well, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding is not one of those—it is a true abomination.
The Netflix-distributed sequel to—you guessed it—A Christmas Prince is flooded with a sea of D-list actors, and the flick appears to be edited by iMovie and lacks any basic plot line. It tries its best to steal from the classics: The Prince and Me, The Princess Diaries, and, of course, the classic The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Stealing iconic scenes is not enough to save this film.
It begins with leading lady Amber (Rose McIver) returning to Aldovia—a country that sounds too similar to The Princess Diaries’ Genovia—for her wedding to Prince Richard (Ben Lamb). After spending the summer doing long distance, she has officially moved to the tiny made-up country to become their new queen.
After flying on commercial air, something that seems unlikely for a soon-to-be royal, he and her father Mr. Little (Richard Ashton) simply walk out of the airport, a serious flaw for the scene: Any soon-to-be queen wouldn’t walk out of an airport without security, in no disguise, and with no ounce of communication with the royal family. Shocked to see the royal family has sent the “royal limo” for the two, they ride off through the Alodivian snow.
Once returning to the palace, she sees old friends and future relatives and is given her own Joe (Héctor Elizondo) from The Princess Diaries. They tell her she has her own suite, something that’s also typical for a future queen to be given, but Amber still musters up some shock. Her tiny mind is blown. Here is where her fiancé Prince Richard (Ben Lamb) says hello and is quickly rushed away to attend to royal duties—this is the same scenario that is played out 45 times in 100 minutes. He is never around. She is then introduced to her styling team for the wedding and is given her own Paolo (Larry Miller) from The Princess Diaries. Subtle.
Throughout the movie, Amber appears as woman with little autonomy: She is given no voice, no respect from her family members, and no attention from Prince Richard. This comes in addition to smaller, albeit still frustrating details, such as her father’s disgusting faux-Bronx accent, the continuous push for domestication, and the massive iPad her friend uses to FaceTime Amber.
When a good laugh is needed, skip to the scene where they go sledding. In another moment where the audience is laughing at A Christmas Prince and not with it, the green screen use is egregiously obvious. Fake laughs fill the air, and the loss of the actors’ dignity can be seen with each passing moment. The highlight of the scene is when Amber takes out her phone to capture the family fun. As she pulls out her iPhone, she covers her iPhone camera with her finger. Somehow this was overlooked in post-production, but all of Twitter has taken the liberty to point out the fatal error.
If the title is not enough to make you aware, this film blatantly makes remarks about Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex who married Prince Harry, the entire time. Amber runs a blog just like Markle. She has to give up her old life like Markle. Her social media gets deleted like Markle’s. She wears a wedding dress identical to Markle’s. I hope Markle and royal sister-in-law Kate Middleton get a wine night to tune into this low-budget recreation of their lives.
The film ends with Amber’s legitimate fears about being royal or married to a prince who pays no attention being thrown out the window. The prince tells her he loves her after dramatically riding in on a horse. They have a disgustingly awkward wedding. They sneak off for a kiss in the garden and are interrupted by a conga line. You cannot make this up. Just like this, the movie ends.
Featured Image by Netflix
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