Royally Wrapped for Christmas

It was a great movie. Very beautiful atmosphere of love and kindness, caring and giving. I like when a movie has a message and it motivates you to do something good. Jen Lilley was just incredible in this movie.

I'm not much of a fan of the "Royal" Christmas movies. I do love superheroes.

Lindsay is a true superhero. She doesn't fly like Supergirl. She can't deflect bullets like Wonder Woman. She doesn't have superstrength. But in the best traditions of those superheroes, Lindsay wants to change the world and her heart is almost big enough to do it.

First remember that rom/coms and Christmas movies often don't have much acquaintance with realism. They aren't supposed to. Especially so the "Royal" ones. So, if that's going to bother you, stay away from this movie. It probably pushes that envelope as much as any.

Lindsay doesn't have a selfish bone in her body. More than that, she understands as much or more than other movies' protagonists what the traditional movie sprit of Christ is. Lindsay wants to change the world by teaching orphans how much joy there is in giving. You see, orphans are lucky if they are in a position to receive one gift. They certainly don't have the resources to be giving them out right and left. So, what if Santa or whoever distributes gifts at the foundation gives them two? One to keep and one to give. (The grinch of realism tells me most of them will keep them both, but remember, we aren't supposed to care about realism.)

Meanwhile we have the prince and commoner story going also. It takes quite a bit of maneuvering by the writers to deal with the obvious cliche and predictability. But I have to give them credit. They walked that line better than most movies of this type. Most of those "that's blasphemy" moments which are usually ignored and done blatantly in the scripts are sidestepped instead.

This movie is verry upbeat. There's no mean antagonism between the leads on their first meeting. Her insult to him is said jokingly. The worst villain is the guy trying to take Lindsay's credit. Rival and mother have no meanness or arrogance.

For the circumstances, the acting is decent. There is real chemistry between Jen Lilly and Brendan Fehr (despite his fake royal accent). And there is a real Christmas message that comes through loud and clear. I might even start a tradition of giving two gifts at Christmas.

I've said it before - I love sappy.

It's the time for fairy tales. Kids-at -heart love stories with princes or princesses. No point wondering why, in all of these far-away Kingdoms, everybody speak English and the plots are predictably repeated along the same theme. This time is Veronia, of which we only see a few angles around the royal palace and the palace interiors. The Prince, Brendan Fehr, appears a little uneasy in his role, maybe due to his efforts to speak with a British accent. Is it Amerish or Britican ? The American heroine, Jen Lilley, is, perhaps, a little too flirtacious in the attempt to create the impression of a real attraction. Yet, the entire production works well. The palace is impressively royal, the interiors are rich, all characters are essentially Christmas-nice, and kindness prevails in the core of the story. If you, righteously, feel it could have been done better, just see how much more horribly it could have been, when you try to watch "Christmas with a Crown", upcoming on Lifetime channel.

8.4 stars.

'Royally Wrapped for Christmas' should be considered an instant classic. I found it to be very fascinating and you might be surprised, because it checks all the usual boxes of Christmas royalty films.

The story is of an American woman in New York City who manages a branch of a charity organization called the Festive Heart Foundation, based in a European country. Prince Aiden (Fehr) of said country and his executive assistant Willard visit the different locations around the world and the three top managers are invited to spend the holidays at his royal palace. The New York City manager is Lindsay (Lilley), a kindhearted and talented philanthropist and she has come up with a variety of ways of giving, which makes her the perfect candidate. Two other candidates are also invited to stay at the palace, a man from Dublin and a woman from Dubai.

It happens that Lindsey catches Prince Aidan's eye immediately when they meet in NYC. That first scene is humorous, fun, and witty. She doesn't know he's the Prince and assumes he's an accountant or something similar by the way he acts and his apparent lack of common knowledge. He rolls with her misguided assumptions and proceeds to have fun at her expense. It's all very innocent and funny and the "accountant" jabs are craftily inserted throughout the movie.

I was caught off guard at how entertaining this was from the beginning. I won't go into great detail with the plot, because it's the same standard you've seen a hundred times. She goes to the castle and collaborates with the two other managers on a project. The Prince makes excuses to see and work with Lindsey, the workers in the palace soon become aware of their mutual attraction, the Queen mother is not happy about it, and oh yes, the Prince has already been arranged to marry a foreign Princess...like I said, repetitive.

What is original about this royal tale are the clever and entertaining details that add depth and life. Lindsey introduces everyone to gifting two gifts on Christmas instead of the usual one. The first gift is for the recipient to keep, the second is for them to give to someone else, akin to paying it forward. The way this concept is conveyed is brilliant and very moving. Next, the gift that her best friend from NYC leaves with her, telling her she will know who to give it to when the time is right, is perfectly interwoven into the plot. The impact is much greater than I ever would have anticipated. Next, Lindsey routinely talks to a painting on the wall of her quarters, a portrait of a previous Queen Lilibeth, great, great, grandmother of Aiden, confiding her wishes and frustrations. There is a rich history surrounding Lilibeth and some secrets about her are revealed, adding more intrigue. The concepts, the mood, the profound lavish ambience, it's almost like a fairy tale.

The writing and dialogue are amazing, one of the best screenplays for Hallmark I've seen. This intelligent script is lost to many, but it's not lost on me, and I will enjoy this virtually unknown hidden gem year after year.

My reviews are usually short: this was a warm, uplifting movie with a great cast, terrific story and scenery. We enjoyed it thoroughly and it's a feel good movie that will brighten your spirits.