Mein Weihnachtsprinz

I did want to like this movie with Parker Stevenson and Pamela Sue Martin. But either the actors can't act or they can't act and say the wretched dialog at the same time the Queen was in no way believable. Stevenson's dialog was terrible. Pamela Sue Martin did the best. She made you feel like she was the mother. All the other characters/actors and their dialog were just not believable. The movie screamed 'actors-in-training, newbie writer', and director? Just bad. Sorry.

I admit at the outset that I watched about 1/3 of this and skipped through to the end. If something happened to rescue this tedious lazy effort that I didn't catch, I apologize in advance. Of course, the plot was utterly predictable, an almost carbon copy of every other Royal/Commoner template, with none of the fish out of water humor or any charm or good acting, or chemistry on the part of the principals to lift it into even 5 star+ territory. The young lady was pretty, but did nothing to draw the audience in or earn some investment in her. The script called for her to be a beloved part of her small town, but why? Her father said she never wanted anything but to make the world a better place, but we see no evidence of it. She was offered a 3 year job to plan and execute some kind of project that would benefit disadvantaged youth in New York, but seemingly is going forego that to get married to her prince-ling. If I missed something there, I'm sorry. But even so, it would be impossible that she could stay in New York 3 years and do her job effectively while engaged to a European royal who has his duties to his country. Callum Alexander I am willing to give another chance to as this is literally his first acting credit. But in this one, his accent was so posh, it puts the Windsors to shame and was very distracting. The only bright spot was seeing Frank Hardy and Nancy Drew married, and the always reliable Charles Shaughnessy and Marina Sirkis.

The absurdity of the premise that a royal would go under the radar in NYC for a year and then be spotted in a small town by a royal watcher is mentioned in the movie so just accept it. After that well it's just a typical girl meets prince romance and there have been quite a few. The lead actors look quite good in their parts. Callum Alexander isn't too polished an actor a bit amateurish- he delivers all his lines very similarly. But somehow this recalls the way WIlls & Harry speak in interviews. Alexis Knapp of Pitch Perfect looks quite classy and sweet here. Charles Shaughnessy of the Nanny is good as the King but the actress who plays his wife isn't very regal - more like a lady in waiting to the queen.

Despite the faults it's an okay watch after all the competition in the Hallmark/Lifetime selection aren't exactly Emmy calibre anyway.

The prince and the American girl is a well explored light romance trope. Hallmark has done it at least three times and here is Lifetime's version.

"Samantha" is a bit light on her acting chops, with most of her lines coming out in a whine or a fit of petulance. Callum Alexander is a bit stiff, but performs surprisingly well for his only real film role.

To be honest, I only picked this out because the reunion of Parker Stevenson and Pamela Sue Martin more than 40 years after their Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew crossovers. Parker gets a LOT more lines and screen time than Pamela, and not much time playing off each other, which is a shame.

Marina Sirtis appears in a surprise role as the "royal fixer", and sadly adds very little to the film. She's a shadow of her screen presence as Troi on TNG.

Still, it's an enjoyable film, but not one we'll consider for repeat viewings.

I love Hallmark movies, yes they are very predictable but in a world of gloom and doom all around I like happy endings. This movie though was a waste of my time. The 2 main characters had NO connection in fact it was kind of annoying to watch them. I give this movie a - score . Also Alexander parents were a horrible pairing, his mother looked more like his fathers mother. Whom ever did the casting for this show must have been asleep.