A Christmas in Royal Fashion (2018 TV Movie) User Reviews

Not much festive royalty here

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 24 December 2019]

It is paining me to say that. 'A Christmas in Royal Fashion' could easily have been a sweet, charming film to not expect too much from, it had potential to be and a huge part of me wanted it to be. Being somebody who loves Christmas, a fair share of Christmas films and was expecting to not demand too much. Certainly not something Oscar-worthy when it is not that kind of film and that was pretty obvious from the get go, even from the title alone.

Am aware that 'A Christmas in Royal Fashion' was not something to take too seriously and that the "once upon a time" opening is a big clue enough that it was not a film to expect too much realism from. Am pretty sure that despite how they come over, the previous negative reviewers were aware of this too. What they are driving at is most likely that the situations are just too difficult to buy and that it was hard to see what Kristin saw in Patrick, which are two of 'A Christmas in Royal Fashion's' biggest drawbacks.

Will start with 'A Christmas in Royal Fashion's' good things. It has some nice scenery. The soundtrack is very infectious and enhances the magical atmosphere that Christmas creates.

Cindy Busby is a likeable screen presence as the one character that one comes close to engaging with.

Diarmaid Murtagh is the complete opposite. He is as far away from dashing and charming as one can get, the prince is a complete jerk of a character who never properly evolves and Murtagh plays him with no charm and little personality. There was no spark, wit or warmth in the chemistry between him and Busby, and most of the film is dedicated to the viewer being at a loss as to what Kristin sees in him. The supporting cast have nothing to work with, in roles that are bland and at worst cartoonish.

The nice scenery is wasted by the drab and hasty-looking photography and the direction never rises above routine. The script is inane personified with some groan-worthy and cringe-inducing howlers at times, and the story left me bored and cold on top of the increasing ridiculousness. Never felt uplifited, my heart never warmed and the charm was missing, it was just non-stop far-fetchedness and blandness with very little worth endearing to.

Overall, has its moments but mostly it doesn't work. 4/10.

Not a good movie

[lm_garrison · 4/10 · 21 December 2018]

The story line for this movie was hard to believe. The guy who played the prince was a lousy actor who looked like an over weight football player. It was hard to believe that there would be any chemistry between him and Cindy Busby. Couldn't watch the whole movie. She came across as a nice person and he was a jerk.

familiar plot, sound track better than visual

[Dunham16 · 4/10 · 17 December 2018]

The plot has been done before. Someone's assistant is at the last minute askedto substitute for his or her employer ending up the love interest of his or her client. This movie has a decent sound track which is its most promising feature but not an interesting single camera visual which is its drawback.

Ugh! Shallow and Disappointing

[henrymt-39882 · 2/10 · 21 June 2021]

The best part of this movie is its cute title. The plot was predictable, of course, which isn't always bad because I watch movies like this for the predictable happy ending. But, there was no depth of character. The characters were terribly flat making it difficult to like or connect with them. Cindy Busby is one of my least favorite actresses and she was this movies bright spot.

Good feel good flick

[borntorock-47267 · 7/10 · 13 September 2021]

Admittedly, I'm a sucker for any movie starring Cindy Busby or anything directed by Fred Olen Ray. This is a run of the mill Hallmark-style holiday movie. Girl meets prince...mistaken identity...a cute dog....cute little kid...and Michael Pare!! Can't go wrong if you have 90 mins to kill.

Maid in Manhattan as a tv movie

[lisafordeay · 4/10 · 15 October 2020]

A Christmas In Royal Fashion is a 2018 TV movie and tells the tale of a young fashion executive assistant named Kirsten who falls in love with a prince named Patrick who thinks that Kirsten is Melaine Charles,but how long can Kirsten keep up with the facade?

I knew from the get go how this was gonna end as it was really predictable.

Who thought this guy was right for this part?

[rebekahrox · 7/10 · 14 November 2021]

I know this was a fairy tale type movie, so I won't criticize all of the unlikely events that occur.

My main problem was with the casting and the acting of the actor that played the prince. He was supposed to be an immature and devil-may-care international playboy. That's why King sent him to America in place of the ambassador: to learn some responsibility. Even though he looked like he was old enough to have grown up a little. But once he got to America, he acted like he had a stick up his you-know-what the whole time. And he acted like he had never been out of the castle. He might make a good Viking, but as a suave handsome prince he was a bust.

Cindy Busby was likable as usual.

Terrible

[Lollylovesmovies · 3/10 · 5 September 2022]

Plot is stupid, a lot of bad acting and a couple of privileged, grown, adults drag a sick orphan child into their petty drama. There may be one or 2 actors I have ever heard of before in this. There was a guy with a horrendous southern accent. As a Southerner I really hate that. If you need a southerner then hire one instead of someone who butchers the accent. For a Christmas movie there were very few Christmas elements to this movie. Not much Christmas music, decoration or anything very "merry and bright". I would say skip it. It's not very good and pretty much a waste of time. And the clothes weren't that great. You would have thought they would be better being as it's supposed to be about a fashion show. And the "friend" who got her into the mess she was in was like "oh sorry" with very little sincerity or genuine remorse at her friend being fired and meeting the "love of her life".

Cindy Busby continues to kill.....everything she is in

[fxaxrx · 1/10 · 2 July 2022]

Where do I begin? Weak story, formulaic and stale trope, horrible acting and/or Cindy Busby. I have been watching these movies for awhile and I can honestly say this "prince in hiding or prince attending a Xmas event in America" is tiresome and played out.

You read the synopsis to this movie and there isn't anything original or refreshing. But the one thing that keeps coming up is the unrealistic ending involving forgiveness. Busby's character lied and continued doing so. Understanding the importance of situation, she lies to her boss as well. What freaking employee would do this in their right mind? She deservingly and rightfully gets fired by her boss and the client questions the boss's decision! Then Busby is allowed into the event and to give a speech with crocodile tears?!!! Then the company sponsoring the event wants to hire her and the boss who originally fired her wants to rehire her for a higher position that she obviously has no education, skills, or experience to fill?!! This is complete and utter BS!! This is why people rate the movies so low.

Full of Warmth and Cheer - Ho Ho Ho for all the year

[skpn123 · 10/10 · 14 February 2019]

I can't believe reviewers are writing things like "the story line for this movie was hard to believe" - have they even watched the movie - the very first words we view are 'Once Upon a Time' - for me that is a huge clue it is a fairy tale that, it is meant to be unbelievable LOL. That is the charm of it....... and a huge requirement is HEA and this movie has lots of it to lighten our day, even for the less likeable characters. Ho Ho Ho all.

Not good.

[rodandjoy · 2/10 · 26 November 2020]

Didn't have high expectations for this movie but it was worse than I anticipated. It is family friendly and in general the acting is OK given the script. The accent of the Prince character however is so annoying. Not sure what he was going for but it is just irritable. If you want to watch a harmless Christmas movie with the kids this may do the job, otherwise don't bother.

Standard Christmas Fairy Tale

[srooks1 · 4/10 · 22 November 2021]

Nothing really magical, but a Christmas Fairy Tale set in California. Set in beautiful settings, the actors seem to be window dressing. The writing here is predictable: boy meets girl; boy and girl fall in love, they break up because of a misunderstanding, and they realize they love each other. This film does not make any pretense to being great film making. It is a simple story that needs to be resolved in 90 minutes.

This really is a fairy tale

[Jackbv123 · 4/10 · 12 December 2020]

"Once upon a time" Hollywood and all its knockoffs started making fairy tales of the Disney princess variety. This movie might as well be animated because the story and acting are what you might expect from those movies.

As Kristin repeatedly acknowledges, what she did was wrong. In the world that a real Kristin would live in, the mistakes she made are never forgiven and there's reasons for that. In the world that Walt Disney created, there's always a happy ending for a person like Kristin. This movie is firmly entrenched in the latter, so it's best to try to work within that framework in judging the movie. Also, if that's not what you want to watch, then don't.

The story, the dialogue, the actions of the characters, and the acting are all consistent with that framework. Even so, some of the acting was still a little stiff. The dialogue was so-so.

I can't decide what I think of Kristin. In the beginning, she shows signs of being a player who would do almost anything to get ahead, but she also quickly shows some self-doubts about that approach. She repents of her deception and intends to make it right. After being exposed, she owns responsibility and is ready to accept the consequences. Diarmaid Murtagh never appealed to me and I was never that impressed with the character Patrick. Patrick and Kristin had so little time together that I never really thought they had chemistry and beyond that was at a total loss as to why either one should love the other.

There are a couple of sentimental moments having to do with Amy, the child cancer patient toward the end of the movie.

The climax and ending fit the fairy tale mold very well.

Let me say that having allowed that you can't judge this movie according to most of the Christmas rom/coms we see this time of year, I still didn't enjoy it. I didn't appreciate the humor. I used my DVR's FF button liberally. That's my own personal preference.

WHAT ABOUT JILL?!?!

[botimerjennifer · 1/10 · 1 January 2024]

Sooooo we're just supposed to ignore the way this movie just straight up robbed Jill?

What about Jill's fashion designing dreams? That dress she designed? She never got the chance to talk to Dan! We never got to see her aspirations become anything more than just.. that.

Not even a developing romance with Albert?

And not even a shout out in the final montages?

Justice4Jill Jill was robbed!

Also Dan didn't even offer Kristen a counter offer after Melanie was like "come back and be my VP after I fired you".. like, "dude gross Melanie"

But yes, Jill should have gotten her dues and I don't know why they did that to her.

a fairytale from beginning to end

[romaniederreveaux · 8/10 · 7 December 2023]

It's December again and the television channels start their annual series of Christmas films. I put on this film without any thought or expectations. I soon found myself in an effective fairy tale. It starts with the opening of a book and you are, as it were, sucked into the story, where the letters gradually fade into moving images. At the end the film turns back into a book. They tell a bit about the future of the characters, just as is the case with true stories, and the story ends with the words "And they live happily ever after".

Regardless of what the film suggests, it is not a true story, but a typical, romantic, fictional Christmas film. In this film we follow the storyline of PR assistant Kristen. She unexpectedly has to step in to plan a charity event because her PR manager Melanie has to win a client for her company in Boston. In addition, not the ambassador, but the prince suddenly appears on the doorstep of the PR company. Kristen is mistaken for Melanie, but does an excellent job. The prince and the PR assistant fall in love with each other's character and both have a big heart for charity. When jealous Josh informs Melanie about Kristen and the prince, everything spirals out of control. However, love conquers all, because "true love can make a person do strange things".