Picture Perfect Royal Christmas is an entertaining movie with some strong acting. That said, it is quite ordinary in the sense that the story/script is unoriginal and predictable, as other reviewers here have pointed out. Furthermore, it is the fourth royal-themed Christmas movie this 2020 season; there were 2 by Hallmark (One Royal Holiday and A Christmas Carousel) and 1 by ION Television (A Royal Christmas Engagement) this year alone. I would put this one somewhere in the middle of the pack, mostly due to the quality of the acting (as opposed to the script). At the center of this story is Amanda (played by Roxanne McKee), an assistant to a well-known photographer named Beatrice Bitterly (played by Yana Marinova). Her boss (aka Beatrice) receives an invitation from the Royal Family of Pantrea to partake in and document the Kingdom's 5 days of Christmas celebration. Amanda goes in her place, unknowingly posing as the renowned photographer. Once there, Amanda meets Prince Leopold (our other protagonist in the story, played by David Witts), where an instant connection between the two begins, and so does our story, as we watch this connection grow and blossom into romance. The writers here draw on a popular plot device (frequently used in this genre of film): i.e., deception and mistaken identity. Instead of your typical 'royal incognito', it is 'the commoner', unknowingly, posing as a famous photographer in this story. The writers also use the (very common) 'arranged marriage' theme as the point of conflict/tension (between our two protagonists) in the story. The dialogue in the film is decent (though a bit dull at times), and there is even a little twist to the story at the end. What makes this movie work on screen, of course, is the acting. McKee and Witts both had strong performances, and the chemistry between the two was convincing. McKee had a warm and flirtatious vibe to her performance, which worked well, I felt. The supporting cast was also very good. For example, Sophie Vavasseur had a charming performance as Duchess Catherine (Amanda's romantic rival in the story). Finally, the scenery, props, and sets were refined and festive. The castle was beautiful, for example. The movie too had a nice Christmas feel to it. Although it is an ordinary royal Christmas story, it was an entertaining movie nonetheless (due to some good acting). If you are a fan of royal romance movies, then this one, I suspect, is for you.
8 Reviews
Is there no original thought left?
jagfannn21 December 2020
The acting in this predictably predictable royal romance is good and the story is interesting, although the pace is a little slow because you know whats coming. The leads do a good job and they have great chemistry, plus there are some pretty funny moments, so enjoy the movie.......again
How many more of these can we tolerate
lisafordeay20 December 2020
Picture Perfect Royal Romance is a TV movie about a gifted photographer who travels abroad and gets mistaken for her wicked boss,and falls for a prince Yeah you know how its gonna end but still if you love these films then check it out.
The dumbest of the dumb.
jamie-harrod-827-31490621 November 2022
Don't get me wrong I enjoy a good cheesy Christmas movie with a royal prince and blah blah. This was just too much. They literally made her beyond silly and ditzy to a complete idiot who just plain out right lies. It's not cute it's beyond ridiculous. Immediately not relatable or remotely believable, no one would really act like that. Just hard to watch. Nothing wrong with a little bit exaggerated to add laughs, but this was way too much. I do not understand how this qualifies as good acting, interesting story or any of the above. In my opinion just skip this one. Much cuter ones out there, like "a royal christmas!"
Another Royal Christmas story
Mlle_Chouette14 December 2020
Yes, it's another "Prince meets an ordinary girl" movie where we all know how it will end but that's exactly why we watch it. Grab your hot cocoa, take your knitted blanket and enjoy this Christmas romance fantasy. The story is sweet, the acting was good (as far as I can tell with dubbing in French as it was the only option found). The movie budget was low as it's a made-for-tv-movie but still it was nice and lovely. Not much can be said about this type of movies, so the lack of noticeably irritating things is already good
Perfectly Cliche
readsmuzic22 November 2022
If you are the type who loves romantic Christmas movies, no matter how cheesy, this is for you. The movie is on the right side of cliche and cheese. It COULD have been slightly more cliche, but actually surprised me a little at the end. I was expecting a "Christmas Prince" type ending, but it wasn't QUITE that predictable.
The storyline was slightly different than anything I've seen before. There was, of course, a case of mistaken identity, and a truth that didn't get a chance to be told. There was the obvious jealous fiancé (with a very bad wig).
Overall, if you want to just veg to a classically cliché Christmas romance, this is your movie.
The storyline was slightly different than anything I've seen before. There was, of course, a case of mistaken identity, and a truth that didn't get a chance to be told. There was the obvious jealous fiancé (with a very bad wig).
Overall, if you want to just veg to a classically cliché Christmas romance, this is your movie.
We'll done Royal Christmas Story
weymouthjack12 May 2022
While not original, it is a Solid "Christmance" movie.
AJ-Reviews14 January 2021
This movie was a breath of fresh air, especially after watching a few horrible Christmas Romance movies.
Acting and scenery were all spot on. The duchess was a bit...overdone but everything else worked nicely.
The camera work and cinematography was amazing.
Kudos to whoever did the wardrobe, it was extremely well done.
There isn't a whole lot more I could say about this movie and that is actually a good thing because instead of being "out of the movie" and thinking about reviewing it, I was instead sucked into the film and was enjoying the experience.
Worth a watch.
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