Moonicas

Netflix's Set It Up did the same plot much better. Having said that, this actually beats most ION movies in terms of quality. Plenty of cheesy dialogue, but it was enjoyable and had likable actors for once.

Another generic royal movie ION seems to be making every year now. Sure we all know how it's going to end, but this one tells you right at the beginning just in case you had some doubts. Let's put in some average unknown actors and give them funny surnames like Luck, Holiday, or Charles for the prince. Then show bird's eye shots of Neuschwanstein Castle and Lake Bled (not sure why the second one was there besides it being pretty to look at) and some indoor scenes that could be shot pretty much anywhere. The prince wants to do something meaningful with his life, which in this case means giving advice about chocolate to a female marketer in New York while being incognito... And what's up with those sappy telenovela flashback montages? I've seen two ION movies recently, and they both had them. They even used the same song as in A Prince for Christmas/Small Town Prince in this movie. The engagement part was also totally out of place and seemed like it was there only for them to have something to put into the title behind the standard "Royal Christmas". Not the worst movie, but no aspiration for originality. It's just the same as all others.

I've liked Rachael since She's All That and Damon since New Girl, so that was a good start. Together they make a cute couple and have a decent amount of chemistry. The idea of ruined dates arranged through an app was quite original and gave us some funny scenes. Yet the movie didn't use its full potential, there was certainly more fun to be had. The ending was overdone, but that could be expected given the genre. All in all, a feel-good rom-com - not as hilarious as this year's Holidate, which is also from Netflix, but definitely more family-friendly.