You ever find yourself scrolling through Netflix, and there’s nothing good to watch, and so you give in and decide to watch a Netflix original that appears at the top of your screen? I mean how could you not, when the trailer automatically starts playing as soon as you log in? It’s as if Netflix is yelling out to you “Hey watch this! Check this out!”
Well, that’s exactly what happened to my friend Gabi and I two years ago while we were scrolling through Netflix during a movie night over winter break. After it appeared at the top of our screen, we decided to give in and watch A Christmas Prince, because who doesn’t love Christmas, romance, and royalty? Even as we watched the trailer we knew it was going to be complete garbage, but we watched it anyway. And we were right. It was total garbage, but that didn’t stop us from watching it several more times over the course of winter break. A Christmas Prince is super low budget, has mediocre acting and editing, and is extremely cheesy and predictable, but I guarantee you’ll be hooked once you start watching. We weren’t the only ones who were obsessed either. Since the movie’s release, there had been 58 people who had watched it every day since its release, to which Netflix responded to on Twitter.
A year later, Netflix released a sequel A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, and this year on December 5, Netflix will be making it a trilogy with a third installment, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby. And you best believe Gabi and I have already planned a marathon for the premiere.
A Christmas Prince isn’t exactly groundbreaking in the plot, but is still engaging because it has all the necessary elements needed for a royal holiday rom-com. A clumsy heroine who is unsatisfied with her life or career, a handsome prince, a made-up fictional country, a conniving and evil ex-girlfriend who wants the prince for his crown, a jealous family member who is also after the prince’s crown, a family scandal, and a beautiful castle.
Rose McIver plays Amber Moore, a young journalist from New York who’s unsatisfied with the assignments she’s given at the magazine she works for. Her boss finally decided to give her a big assignment covering playboy Prince Richard’s coronation in Aldovia. When the Prince bails on a press conference at the palace, Amber somehow manages to sneak into the castle and poses as the new tutor for his little sister Emily. As she spends more time with the royal family, she discovers that Richard is not at all a playboy, but hides behind this facade created by the media while grieving the recent death of his father the king. As Amber grows closer to Emily, she begins to slowly gain the prince’s trust. She eventually discovers a huge family secret that ultimately costs Richard the crown, and then almost loses his heart once he discovers that she’s an undercover journalist. But don’t worry, like any Christmas or rom-com movies, there is a happy ending, but I’ll spare you the details so you can watch it yourself.
You’ll definitely find yourself asking a bunch of questions throughout like: What happened to the original tutor? How did she manage to get into the castle unnoticed, and why isn’t their security for the royal family? How did anyone not realize she wasn’t who she said she is? Why does she wear converse for every outfit, formal wear included? How does no one notice Amber taking photos of them when she is not discreet whatsoever? And finally, (spoiler alert ahead) how does someone agree to get engaged and move their whole life away to a foreign country to someone they’ve only known for a week and kissed once?
Despite all the plot holes and cringey moments, I have to say they’re the best parts of the entire film. Part of the reason my friend Gabi and I love watching it so much is because we love ripping it apart and laughing at it together. And we’re lowkey suckers for romance movies, but who isn’t? And the cringiness only gets worse in the second movie, and I’m sure the third will follow suit. So, you all know where to find me on December 5.