Once Upon a Prince (2018 TV Movie) User Reviews

Not bad, cute couple

[Jackbv123 · 6/10 · 6 June 2018]

Another prince movie! So many of the plot points seem similar to the last prince movie I saw, right down to the queen doing everything she could to embarrass the usurper American. And once again the climax is a royal ball. And several other similarities. Are these movies written using a template?

The positives of this movie are Megan Park and Jonathan Keltz. They make an extremely cute couple. Megan Park does an excellent job as sweet and humble girl. She struggles with the insecurities of her relatively humble position in the world of royalty, yet somehow she doesn't lose her inner confidence and identity. Jonathan Keltz is commanding and confident. I can totally believe him as prince and king. He refuses to cave in to pressure. Sara Botsford as the Queen is intimidating but not cruel, nor is the rival Ginny. All in all, despite the fact that the story is cookie cutter, I found it to be executed in much better fashion.

Perhaps the last scene stands out as well.

If you love The Prince And Me You are going to love this film

[lisafordeay · 5/10 · 16 July 2018]

Once upon a Prince is a TV movie starring Megan Park and Johnathan Lutz and tells the story of a florist named Suzanne who's just broken up with her boyfriend who she thought was gonna propose to her. One day Suzanne ends up with a flat tyre and a handsome man named Nate(Lutz) comes to her rescue and the two are smitten. As it turns out Nate is really a prince who travelled to the states to clear his head only to fall in love with Suzanne. But when Nate's mother finds out that Nate is in love with an American woman will Suzanne end up with Nate in the end of the film?

Bottom line this 2018 TV romantic tale is very predictable but it was a cute fairy-tale movie. It has the same premise as the Julia Stiles film The Prince & Me where an English prince(well Denmark but the dude has an English accent) falls for an American woman who dreams big and neither of them know(Paige and Suzanne)that there would be love interests are princes.

If you are looking for a movie that will lift your spirits and you love movies where ordinary women are whisked away on their feet by a charming handsome prince,then you will love this film.

Decent film

ok cute Hallmark

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 1 April 2019]

On a Georgian island, Susanna Truitt (Megan Park) works at her parents' gardening store. She has a bad day. Instead of a marriage proposal from long-time boyfriend Adam, he dumps her. She expected a life including starting her landscape architecture business with him. She gets a flat tire but then dashing Nate comes to her rescue. When her father is hospitalized, he volunteers to help out at the store. He gets her a landscape design job for the high class Mrs. Waller. What she doesn't know is that he's a real prince of Cambria and a photographer catches them together. The Queen is unhappy and orders him home.

Megan Park is cute. The prince is cute. It's not the most daring of coupling but they are cute. It's cute. Royalty in one of these TV romance movies often struggles for scale. That's the case here. The castle is not much of a castle. The royal grandeur is not that grand. There are a couple of nice gardens but that's the limits of the production. The story has limited drama. It's a cute Hallmark movie but it's not that much.

Refreshing

[krichter-24724 · 6/10 · 20 April 2019]

I like Megan Park and Jonathan refreshing new actors. Overall good movie better then most.

You would love it if you liked Cinderella

[sarkarindrani · 7/10 · 13 June 2018]

The story is predictable yet you would enjoy it. I am a fan of princess movies and this movie has all the royal touches including a Royal Coronation, A royal Ball and a Cambodian Prince falling in love with a common girl of America. I also loved the happy and joyful family Susanna has in the movie, such a loving sister. So, yeah the bonding between the characters can actually be felt. lastly, this is one of those kinda movie where dreams do come true. Enjoy it.

Better story than usual

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 2 October 2018]

Megan Park plays a landscape gardener. She meets a man in Georgia. She later finds out he'a a prince. He is played by Jonathan Keltz who isn't British but does quite an okay job at acting European with a pseudo British accent. There have been some terrible accents in other Hallmark movies.

The disapproving queen isn't very royal looking. Funny thing is they aren't even that much of a great house of Europe so they don't really have the goods to disapprove of a commoner.

The good thing is they take some time to fall in love and consider the problems they face. A more authentic feeling of the Hallmark Royal romances.

Once Upon a Prince

[studioAT · 5/10 · 13 January 2021]

These "I fancy an actual prince" themed Hallmark films are never my favourite, but this is actually nicely done, with two good performances from the leads.

Well worth a watch.

New faces make it great.

[MIssM19 · 8/10 · 19 May 2018]

I don't know if i'm still overwhelmed by Harry & Meghan's wedding (which is totally the reason I watched this) or because I haven't seen a Hallmark movie in a month (the longest I haven't seen one in two years, don't judge) but this was amazing.

I like royalty movies, but I haven't seen any of the ones that premiere in April/May 2018 because I didn't need any more of them. Turns out I did.

This plot, unfortunately, it' the same as the rest. Prince whose father died and is about to take the throne meets an American, commoner girl and they fall in love. But I still enjoyed it, very much! The last scene almosts has me crying.

The chemistry between the leads was amazing, the actor who played Nate was so charming and it was SO refreshing to see new faces, I'm glad I watched it. Probably one of the best.

Landscape Architect vs the Cambrian Queen...sweet and playful romance.

[cgvsluis · 7/10 · 8 March 2022]

This is the story of a prince who runs into a common American girl...only she doesn't know he's a prince. He ends up helping her and her family out and slowly falling in love with the sweet and smart American landscape architect Suzanna. Then the secret comes out and whisked home he goes to become King.

His mother gets the idea that she can show her son how inappropriate Suzanna is by bringing her for a landscape architect internship with a famed British architect who is redoing their gardens. Her son "Nate" finds out and well...things may backfire for the queen.

This is the second girl who likes to dig in the garden vs prince that I have seen on Hallmark. This is sweet and the prince seems to be stand-up. Romantic Hallmark story that will touch a true romantic's heart.

Cute, and New

[LuLuBelleJ · 24 May 2018]

This was better than many of the other movies Hallmark has made, but like another person said, it's still not as good as "A Princess for Christmas, or A Royal Christmas or A Crown for Christmas." It's light, easy to watch, and not the same old locations they usually use. (however, It definately did NOT look a thing like Savannah, GA). Again, we got gypped out of a Royal wedding at the end which I was really dissappointed with. 6 Stars. That's it.

midrange hallmark "royal"

[the_doofy · 5/10 · 17 April 2018]

For me this movie was kind of flat, but I can't say i did not enjoy it, I also cannot say I plan to watch it again. Its nowhere in the class of a 'princess for christmas' or 'Once upon a Holiday', but it is better than one or two others royal Christmas style movies Hallmark has put out.

Nothing about this movie stood out for me, and nothing about it brought it down. While I went and bought the two I afore mentioned, I would not buy this one.

As in most hallmark movies, this one is very clean- PG. It does have humorous moments and a few serious ones. If U are looking for an escape from the modern movie body counts, foul language, cigarettes and drugs that often dominate movies today, U will be relieved to watch this and will enjoy it to some extent.

Sweet Escape From Today

[aprilskye-68434 · 10/10 · 21 July 2020]

This is one of my favorite "Royal" movies (saved it on DVR). I love lighthouses and think opening scenes are refreshing. Meghan Park and Jonathan Keitz are a really good match (and I thought he carried his British accent quite well). One of my favorite scenes is when the Prince is teaching her to waltz in the ballroom. The music is lovely and the chemistry between them at that point is perfect (and I love how her sister is looking approvingly down on them)!

Romance and royalty

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 28 July 2022]

Was very mixed on the 2018 Spring Fever films. There were a couple of pleasant surprises, such as 'Royal Matchmaker'. There were also a couple of duds, such as 'Home by Spring'. My expectations for 'Once Upon a Prince' to be honest were not exactly high, despite the chance to see a cast that didn't have any of the Hallmark regular actors royalty and romance have been proven too many times to not work and it was a premise that felt tired long before this was made.

'Once Upon a Prince' turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Not one of the very best 2018 Hallmark films, or their films overall, and not much new is done with this well worn premise. It is though is one of the better 2018 Spring Fever films and proves that romance and royalty in Hallmark can work with the right execution. That it didn't have any of the regular Hallmark actors (i.e. Lacey Chabert, Danica McKellar, Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes, like most by the way) proved to be a plus too.

It isn't perfect. It does not admittedly have any surprises and follows the formula by the letter (while doing it better than most Hallmark romance/royalty films). Did feel too that some decisions were made too quickly, such as the decision to marry made just like that without a second's thought, and motivations rushed through a bit.

Did find some of the character writing too much on the one dimensional side (Jonathan Keltz's character veering on being a little too perfect), like there could have been more of why the queen domineered that much and what made her change her mind so easily perhaps.

However, despite how that sounds, 'Once Upon a Prince' does a lot of things well. Keltz was confident, without being overly so, and charming, very at home as a royal character. Megan Park looks radiant and also has an easy going charm without coming over as affected. They are incredibly cute together and are genuine as a coupling, appreciated too that the relationship wasn't rushed and took time to grow without taking too long. The supporting cast may have very cliched characters, but fill them well. Sara Botsford does domineering and regal very convincingly, without overdoing too much.

Furthermore, 'Once Upon a Prince' looks very nice especially the locations, and the music is not drab or intrusive. The film is directed with assurance, though never anything that goes wow. The script is not too cheesy (though there are some admittedly in the early stages of the film) or sugary and it at least flows, and while the story is predictable and not perfectly paced it's light hearted and charming with nothing that can be seen as offensive.

Overall, nice film and worth watching if not a must. 7/10.

Hair and helmets

[LtlHippo · 4/10 · 23 February 2020]

The hair styles are horrible. Especially the main actresses mom. What a hot mess. Funniest part in the movie...when they went on a bike ride. When she couldn't figure out her helmet strap. The lady used to give BIKE TOURS for crying out loud. Enough of the royal movies though. I also thought her sister would have been a better lead.

Hallmark Channel

[mardigus · 6/10 · 8 April 2018]

Yes I cried. A must for a Hallmark film. Yes the formulas are basically the same but nonetheless some of my favorite actors do these movies. I was entertained

Lovely film but terrible attempt at a posh English accent

[andyjamieson-27006 · 7/10 · 29 December 2020]

Very pleasant gentle movie but they should have used English actors to portray the err Cambrians Prince Nate's accent is particularly woeful

I'm not sure where the Canadian film company got the crown from either

Flawed, but the likeable leads make this a pleasant movie despite a complete failure to accurately depict Georgia

[MichaelByTheSea · 7/10 · 1 May 2022]

Megan Park has that pretty "girl next door" quality and was perfectly cast as the alluring "commoner" Susanna. She's also a talented actor (and, since this came out, she's becoming a talented director).

Johnathan Keltz is somewhat diminutive but does a nice job playing the Prince of Cambria. And there's a sweet chemistry between the leads.

Kayla Wallace is adorable as Susanna's sister Avery (she finally got an overdue lead Hallmark role 4 years later in Feeling Butterflies).

Though set in Georgia (there's an opening shot of the lighthouse on Tybee Island), the movie was actually, as is usually the case with Hallmark movies, filmed in Canada. As a result, nothing looks like Georgia. And, as someone who has spent a lot of time in Georgia, I heard no one in the movie who sounded anything like someone from Georgia.

I had other issues with the movie. When the dad ends up in the hospital with heart problems, the family panics because they desperately need an additional worker at the store during the busy spring season. The prince volunteers, but soon he and Susanna are spending all their time working at Mrs. Waller's estate and not at the store. Why didn't Susanna arrange to start working there after covering for her father? Who's covering the store while Susanna and Nathaniel work at Mrs. Waller's and go bike riding?

Then there's the scene where Susanna runs up in her gardening clothes to give the Prince a hug in front of a bevy of reporters. No one's that clueless.

And I dislike having the conflict in these movies be based almost exclusively on disapproving royal parents. What about the sacrifice that the "commoner" must make to fit in and move thousands of miles away from their home, friends and family? And the inevitable abandonment of their career to make it work?

And this line needs to be added to Hallmark trope drinking games (along with the moment one of the leads misunderstands something they see or hear): "You've never looked at anyone the way you look at..."

Still, there are some sweet moments, good chemistry, and regular Hallmark viewers will generally enjoy this movie.

Not even filmed in Georgia

[spate-52013 · 2/10 · 28 August 2018]

Being a Georgia native, I was looking forward to seeing our beloved St Simons featured in a Hallmark film. Much to my surprise, all the Georgia shots had trees and landscape that isn't in Georgia. Nothing was even reminiscent of Georgia. If you state your character is in a specific location, then at least make it look like that area. Very disappointed in this movie for it's plot and for it's overall dipiction of one of my favorite places to go to.

Perfect!

[tect-03564 · 10/10 · 16 April 2020]

This is the type of movies I truly enjoy. A nice clean movie where I don't have to worry of my kids walking in and seeing something inappropriate. I don't recognize any of the actors, but that seems to have been a good thing as they all did their best to entertain us. I like that they didn't do the usual mean/bad fiance type, and kept that part short. Will definitely watch again.

Charming

[alexscg · 6/10 · 16 January 2021]

Similar to the "Prince and Me".

A nice, charming love story about an ordinary woman meeting a Royal, who would prefer to be an ordinary man. A story with a predictable ending. This movie is nice if you are a teen and believe in modern-day fairy tales. All young women dream of meeting Prince Charming... and some indeed meet Royals and marry them, but this is far from real life and very rare.

He is over-the-top , extremely polite with a British accent and always willing to lend a helping hand. She is just an ordinary American "gal". He wants to escape protocol and royal duties, she is not sure how to behave in front of Royalty. But love knows of no barrier. Bla bla bla bla... You know how it goes in movies.

You can watch this if you have nothing better to do in your life, but it is predictable from the very title and beginning to the very end. Another no-brainer movie.

Once upon a prince

[judyharl · 5/10 · 8 October 2019]

So boring could not live in England too prim and proper they look down on everyone

One of the best Hallmark movies of 2018!

[Victor-J-1964 · 9/10 · 29 April 2018]

Professional gardener Susanna (Megan Park) skills are limited while she is working at her Truett Family Garden Supply in small-town Georgia. While driving Susanna has a flat tire; charming European Nate (Jonathan Keltz) stops to assist. Soon Nate is working at Truett's and is encourging Susanna to begin her own business.

Megan Park is realistic and beautiful as always, and the chemistry with Jonathan Keltz is believable and has you cheering that they will one day be together.

This has been one of my favorite HM movies of 2018. I will enjoy this movie many more times in the future.

Family friendly but gave up half way through

[SunnyDaise · 6/10 · 14 March 2021]

I like plots where the situation causes the tension rather than the characters' meddling so the first part of this one was fine. However I'm exhausted from overbearing mother movies and couldn't make it to the end. Public life is not an easily-solved fairytale and the sooner movies stop depicting the Disney Princess format, the better.

Once Upon a Prince Review

[felipepm17 · 5/10 · 13 August 2020]

It's the classic prince movie from hallmark. The main couple is cute together but I don't know if I can say there's chemistry. I truly believe this could have been a just friends situation. I'm not sure I buy the Nate and Suzanna romance.

not bad, just too cliche..

[v-56289 · 6/10 · 6 February 2021]

The movie is not all bad, but it is a huge romantic cliche... The plot is just ridiculous... I wanted to watch it, because I some some beautiful nature sceneries in the trailer :D... but after all there wasn't that much of them..