Movie Review: A Winter Princess

     What now, you say? It's Friday? Wow! We just had one of those last week! 😏

    Welcome Hearties to today's blog post! Now obviously you've read the title, and before you say anything, yes I know this one of Hallmark's "Winterfest" movies. And yes I also know that we are not in Winter yet, but this happens to be one of my favorite Chris McNally movies and so....yeah. I'm not listening to the seasons. Lol!

    I have seen this movie more times then I can remember, and it's a cute one guys that I totally recommend you give a watch if you haven't seen it yet. (That is once Hallmark airs it again, because.... you know it's Fall and stuff... But it is on Amazon! :) This movie is a fun mix of a royal incognito storyline, swoon worthy romance, and a light sprinkling of fun humor.

    Shall we get into it? (Image credit goes to Crown Media and Parade.)

Characters

 

    So first off we have Carly or AKA Her Royal Highness Princess Carlotta of Landora, who is played by the beautiful and bubbly Natalie Hall. I have seen her in a few movies, (A few being three) and she always plays such sweet and uplifting characters. This movie was no different. Carly is such a kindhearted, down to earth person. She's a hard worker, determined, and cares about the people around her.

    I enjoyed Carly's quirkiness, as well as her humor, something I love to see in Hallmark movies. Her absolute terror of people discovering that she's a "princess" (Whispered dramatically) was fun, as well as her enthusiasm to design and create, and her cute princess sass.

    She also understands the importance of family, and was willing to sacrifice her own dreams, happiness, and even leave the man she loves for them. That is some serious devotion and very noble. (But what else would you expect from a princess? Lol!) All in all I think Natalie Hall did the role of Carly justice, and I definitely enjoyed her performance.

    We then come to Jesse....Yeah you guys probably already know what I'm going to say, but here it goes anyway. Lol! Chris McNally is one of my favorite Hallmark actors, and so of course I enjoyed watching him in this role. Jesse is a very sweet, and thoughtful guy. He's a go-getter, (Even if he can be a bit stubborn sometimes. Lol!) likes to play to his strengths, and wants to help and support the people around him. (Side note: He just had to have the name of a WCTH character. Lol!)

    Jesse is one of those characters who came from a family business and felt that the only way to make his own mark on the world, was to do it somewhere he was anonymous. However he soon realized that home is where his heart truly was, and came back to work side-by-side with his big sis.

    I really enjoyed Jesse's character. His wittiness and humor made me laugh, and his romantic gestures made me swoon. (More on that later.) One of my favorite scenes was him trying to convince Carly to get back in the pickup truck as he was freezing from having to dig it out. Just that whole string of dialogue was fun, and added a great sense of humor to the movie.

    Other character's include Jesse's big sister Allie, played by Lara Gilchrist, (Of course there had to be another WCTH name thrown in there. Lol!) and Lossen Chambers playing Dee, Carly/Jesse/Allie's very kind and sweet friend who owns a cute little bakery in Snowden Peak. (And happens to have a whole bunch of cute/embarrassing nicknames for Jesse. Lol!) And then we come to the "European" men....

    Okay....about those "European accents." Yes, I'm talking about Prince Emile (Brendon Zub) and Carly's brother Gus. (Casey Manderson) 

    Oooo....guys....I just...can't....Lol! I mean they tried, I'll give them that, but those accents were just....bad. However I continue to come back and watch it over and over despite the accents so it's not enough to make me turn the movie off.

    And to clarify I very much enjoy watching Casey Manderson (AKA: Gus) in Hallmark movies. I've lovingly dubbed him as the "brother of Hallmark" as he always tends to play the lead's brother. So I do truly do like him as an actor, and would want no one else to play Carly's brother should this movie get a sequel. (Which I hope it does.)

 

 

Scenery

 

 

    I don't know about you guys, but I find snow covered trees to be amazingly beautiful. I actually didn't realize just how pretty the scenery was until I started collecting pictures for this post. Just look at that pic above. (Sighs happily...) The snow covered forests are wonderful, and even the cabins Carly and her family and friend stayed in are very cute.

    As for the party, they pulled out all the stops. Huge wall high windows giving a view out to the beautiful snow covered forest outside, white sheer material draped across the ceiling, and little white TWINKLE LIGHTS! I love all these things, and it helped transform the empty building into a winter wonderland.

 

Chemistry

 

    Alright, just look at these two. You cannot tell me that they are not anything but cute. Chris and Natalie definitely worked well together in this movie, and totally had chemistry. They started out rubbing each other the wrong way, but that didn't last long, which I'm grateful for. They then just continued to spend time together planning the party, and actually became quite close as Jesse went to Carly for support and advise after learning his sister wanted him to stay.

    Throughout the whole movie they had this sweet relationship. It was a mixture between being there for each other as friends while realizing they were attracted to each other. I also totally loved the romance in this movie. (Places hand over heart) Guys, there was some swoon worthy stuff in this one, as well as some really fun humor. (A huge plus for me when it comes to Hallmark movies, as some just really fall short here.)

    I don't know what it is (Maybe it has to do with me being so biased toward Chris) but there just tends to be some incredibly romantic moments when Chris McNally is in a movie. And the thing is that they're not totally your average cliche Hallmark tropes.

    Two instances that stand out to me in this particular movie are two of my favorite scenes. First we have when Carly went out with Emile and what do you know but Jesse just happened to be there. (Surprise, surprise...) Now he obviously wasn't happy that she'd gone out with another guy, but once Emile is out of the picture (Or rather the bar) he doesn't waste anytime. He just comes right out and asks, "Are princesses allowed to dance while they wait?" (Excuse me while I swoon.) He didn't sit and stew, or back away. He went right after the girl, and it paid off as they then had a very sweet and romantic dance. (And it happened BEFORE the end of the movie!)

    The second moment was possibly even more romantic, and that would be when Carly got a chill after helping Emile get his precious Ferrari back from the impound lot. Carly admits her hands were too cold to type, and Jesse offered to "warm her hands up"...by holding them in his own. I mean, wow. Talk about bold. (Sigh...and romantic. Lol!) It's things like that that I really enjoy in a Hallmark movie as it was more of an unexpected romantic moment, as well as a more original one. (In Hallmark standards anyway.) And well....come on. That was pretty darn romantic. Lol!

    All in all I definitely enjoyed this pairing and would absolutely watch them in another movie. (Maybe a sequel? Are you listening Hallmark?😁)

Plot

 

 

    I definitely enjoy watching "royal" storylines in Hallmark movies. You know, the girl finds out that her boyfriend/fiance is actually a prince and travels to his land to meet the queen. That sort of story. This movie, however, reversed that plotline completely...and I'm all for it.

    Instead of the girl being the "commoner" who flies to the prince's homeland, Carly is actually the royal here and instead she flies to the "commoner's land!" And then instead of watching the girl be dumbstruck by the prince's "princeliness" we instead get to watch the guy be surprised and even overwhelmed in a sense by the princess' "royalness." (If that's a word.)

    Also Jesse didn't have to wait until the end of the movie to discover the fact that Carly is indeed a...princess (Said in hushed tones) which is something I really appreciate. It's actually fun how they have this little secret between them and despite her royalty they develop this really sweet (and romantic) friendship.

    As for the other main plot point, I've never been a huge fan of stories where the characters are trying to "save a building" or "keep the business from closing down." It's just not my cup of tea personally. (No offense Hallmark.) 

    However this was actually a slight bit different as instead of trying to save a business, Carly and Jesse were trying to bring year-round work to the ski-town. Again this isn't my favorite type of storyline to watch. (I'm more for the romance and character's personal storylines.) But I can totally admit that this is a very noble goal. One which, if I lived in Snowden Peak, I would be all for.

    Finally, I always have to say something about the couple's first kiss. Once again, in typical Hallmark fashion, we had to wait until the very last minute of the movie for them to finally smooch. We did get one, possibly two "almost kisses." (Depending if you think they were about to kiss while dancing at the bar.) But as per usual the actual kiss didn't come until the end. However it was not the "they start to kiss and immediately cut scene" kind of kiss. They actually had a proper first kiss, and then even kissed again as they got on the gondola. So all of that earns this movie points in my book. (Okay, enough with the "mushy talk." Lol!)

    And there we have it. Overall this was a cute movie, and one I definitely recommend you give a try if you haven't. Hallmark isn't airing it yet as far as I know, but you can buy it off Amazon currently for 10 bucks. I also hope that we get a sequel to it one day. (I already have a plot idea for it!)

    Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave your thoughts below in the comment or on my Twitter page! Have a wonderful weekend and God Bless!

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