ION Television has made some good Christmas movies over the years, for example, Best Christmas Ball Ever (a very good Christmas movie), A Christmas Kiss, A Christmas Kiss II, and The Spruces & the Pines. Unfortunately, this movie is not one of them. The writer here draws on a very popular plot device: deception and mistaken identity. This year alone, we have seen make-believe relationships (in, e.g., Holidate, Midnight at the Magnolia, and Happiest Season), princess switches (in The Princess Switch: Switched Again), fake five-star bed and breakfast staff (in Five Star Christmas), and fake company executives (in If I Only Had Christmas). This movie uses the classic 'incognito royals': the royal (usually a prince) pretends to be a 'commoner' and ends up falling in love with one of them, they find out, they break-up, they make-up and live happily ever after. The story in this one is your classic version of this. It is quite ordinary and predictable. The lines and dialogue too are quite dull, and at times, aren't great. The scenes where the Prince (aka Prince Edward) explains why he wants to go to the US (to find himself/ to be himself) and the scene at the end (where the commoner, aka Lauren, confronts the Princes with his deception) are examples of very ordinary, run of the mill dialogue. The acting is not that much better, I'm afraid. Paige Bach (playing Lauren) had a decent performance overall. However, at times, her performance was a bit stiff and flat. Her co-lead did not help in this regard. I simply did not connect with James Nitti's (as Prince Edward) performance, it did not pull me in, at all. There was something off, at times, with his expressions and dialogue (a bit stiff and flat, as well). You could see this clearly in, for example, the scene about 30 minutes in where he is chatting with Laruen and her parents (some awkward acting here). The final scenes - the one where Lauren finds out the deception and confronts Edward - is another perfect example of what I am referring to regarding both of their performances: the scene was stiff and flat (and it looked like they were acting, which is never good for an actor) and lacked convincing chemistry between the two. The supporting cast was fairly good. Mariah Robinson (playing Chelsea) stood out for me; she had a strong performance. Finally, what is up with the title of the film? It had nothing to do with an engagement; this consisted of one scene (of a few seconds) at the end where Edward simply puts a ring on Lauren's finger. That is the engagement in A Royal Christmas Engagement.
