Jack Vasen
The real heartwarming part of this story is between the governess, Allie, and the pre-teen princess, Theodora. As we all expect, the governess wins the heart of the unruly princess. That doesn't make any less well done or sweet.Rupert Penry-Jones plays a stiff widower king with not much room to be real, so it is not surprising that he comes off as a little too stiff to really like. Danica McKellar gives her usual solid performance in this case as the lovable governess, even if she does the deer-in-the-headlights look a few times too many. But I think Ellie Botterill is probably the star of this show. I find myself not so much wanting to see Allie and Max get together as for Theodora to be happy getting Allie as a new step-mom.Some Hallmark movies don't have villains quite as mean as in this movie. And here we have three.I loved the background song playing over the final scene.
A_Different_Drummer
When your humble reviewer grew up (when dinosaurs roamed) there was no such thing as a Christmas movie.As the TV age dawned, older movies which perhaps had a X-Mas scene in them would be eagerly displayed by programmers at fledgling TV stations to try to establish a "theme." Look closely for example at Miracle on 34th Street (the original -- not the 200 remakes!) or even Its a Wonderful Life and you will notice they are actually real movies that just happen to have a secondary X-mas theme.So for those of us of a certain age, we grew up to the same half-dozen or so movies played over and over, season after season.As with everything else, the pendulum swung the other way and by the dawn of the new millennium, making these movies for the season had become a profit center. Now suddenly we have too many of them. And they are not all gems.But this one is. The pacing is wonderful as is the casting the acting and the performance of Danica McKellar. The script does not over-reach.Loved it.
Sally Lindsey
I've been watching a TON of Hallmark movies this holiday season, since Hallmark and AT&T U-verse recently came to terms over content rights. I think the acting in this movie is the best I have seen. There have been a few Hallmark Christmas movies on TV this season that have been just painful to watch - no chemistry between actors and bad acting. This was a refreshing change. Worth the time! Sure, the story line is familiar...young, beautiful girl bumps into handsome man who happens to be a king and unavailable..sort of. She is hired to be a governess for his high-spirited daughter at their European home and the attraction between the two starts. Of course, there is a Christmas Eve Ball and he asks the governess to attend. She looks absolutely gorgeous in a borrowed gown and the king can't take his eyes off of her. A "happily ever after" ending comes with the king professing his love for her. Every girl's dream is to have a prince or king sweep her off her feet...Disney has sold us on this story line over the years, haven't they?
J. H.
Christmas movies can be really stupid and schmaltzy and most of them I can't stand.I ended up looking for something to watch this afternoon and came across this movie and decided to give it a try.This was very well done. Yes, you have some typical things going on that many feel good happy-ending type movies have in common, but this is one of the ones to not miss.Great cast all-around with great casting nods especially to the actor who played the king and the actor who portrayed his executive assistant.Even though you see many similar things in the story line that can be found in other similar films, this one was a bit more complex and well rounded and just overall, well done.I enjoyed this very much and will probably watch again. Loved it!!!
AD
