User reviews

After I watched the movie I discovered the actress played Winnie in the Wonder Years 1988-1993 she is now about 40. She plays a 31 year old in this film which was fine. I enjoyed it and it was fairly well done but I probably would not watch it again because it got a bit too predictable at the end.

The lead actress was great and yes there was a purposeful imitation to the Sound of Music. Her character was to be adored by all. When asked to give a toast "here's to those who have seen us at our best and at our worst but cannot tell the difference" Enjoyed seeing the King being taken with her "speaking her mind" manner. Loved the King's daughter. Much was very well done in the movie. The horse scene with the King was excellent.

Watched 'Crown for Christmas' with not the highest of expectations, fairly mixed actually. While loving Christmas for as long as can be remembered and liking particularly Rupert Penry-Jones in other things, Hallmark have been very variable (veering towards average or less more than once) when it comes to films of theirs mixing Christmas and royalty. The title sounded sweet but the concept sounded so been there, done that and flimsy.

'Crown for Christmas' turned out to be much better than expected, being well above average and even really quite good. Which is not what the plot synopsis indicated it would be if it was executed wrongly. It may not be flawless or a masterpiece, but it is for me one of the best Hallmark Christmas films out of a very mixed bunch and one of the best of theirs mixing Christmas and royalty. Actually being one of the good ones and one that rises above its concept.

Sure it is thin in story, occasionally silly and can be very predictable. A lot of situations being quite over-familiar and lacking freshness.

Did have reservations here and there with Danica McKellar. Mostly she is appealing, but she also overdoes it for my liking at times.

Again though, mostly she is very charming with a character not too hard to root for and not too stock. All the cast are good, with the remarkably nuanced performance of Penry-Jones coming out on top. 'Crown for Christmas' is one of the Hallmark Christmas films to have characters that didn't annoy me, questioned the point of or come over as lacking in personality. Theodora could have been a brat but wasn't, showing growth, and the bonding relationship between her and Allie had heart and was relatable. Often have reservations with the use of music in their films, it was used well to me and had a festive feel, not sounding overdone in placement or balance.

It looks good, especially the interiors of the royal home which are wonderfully opulent. Lovingly shot too. The script doesn't get too corny or schmaltzy, the odd cringeworthy line here and there but there is heart here and a nice amount of playfulness. The story lacks surprises, but is very charming, very sweet, entertainingly light-hearted and movingly heart-warming.

On the whole, nicely done. 7/10

Danica McKellar and Rupert Penry-Jones star as the maid turned governess and King that is fighting what his heart wants and what others are telling him his duties require.

Enter the King's daughter, Princess Theodora. Teddy, who does not think she needs a governess nor does she care for the Countess who is eventually supposed to marry her father.

The supporting cast is very, very charming as are the leads. A lovely movie - worth a watch.

Christmas movies can be really stupid and schmaltzy and most of them I can't stand.

I ended up looking for something to watch this afternoon and came across this movie and decided to give it a try.

This was very well done. Yes, you have some typical things going on that many feel good happy-ending type movies have in common, but this is one of the ones to not miss.

Great cast all-around with great casting nods especially to the actor who played the king and the actor who portrayed his executive assistant.

Even though you see many similar things in the story line that can be found in other similar films, this one was a bit more complex and well rounded and just overall, well done.

I enjoyed this very much and will probably watch again. Loved it!!!

We've all seen this film a million times, most notably, "The Sound of Music." But this is the Hallmark Channel, a network to see clean films featuring actors from soap operas, 90210, Dancing with the Stars, and that ilk. It's the kind of thing you'd watch if your parents were in the room rather than, say, Boardwalk Empire.

Allie (Danica McKellar) is fired from her job as a maid in a fancy hotel in New York. She takes a job in Europe as a governess to a king's daughter and moves into the castle.

The king is played by MI-5's Rupert Penry-Jones, actually kind of a big actor to be in a film like this. Nevertheless, as soon as we see his handsome face and hear that accent, we know what's going to happen.

Of course, there's the fiancée (Alexandra Evans) that he doesn't love but must marry for dynastic reasons and some good character actors.

Danica McKellar is well known from "The Wonder Years." She's very pretty and I was shocked to find out she that she's forty! She easily can pass for someone in her twenties. She gives a lovely performance. Penry-Jones is always good and does the dignified, formal kingly bit very well.

This is an enjoyable movie to be taken just as it is, sweet and romantic.

Please make a sequel to this movie. Great movie. Danica and Rupert were great.

Well this film is another Hallmark Movie that steel an idea from theatrical releases. This one happens to steel from "Maid in Manhattan" and "Sound of Music". In this film a young woman is a maid in hotel when she and her sister get fired from. Before you know she is "Spotted" by a Royal House Manager and she is finds herself a governess to a bratty Princess. The film is with Wonder Years Star Danica McKellar. Now I was not a fan of the "Wonder Years" but Danica McKellar is growing on me. I saw her in another Christmas Theme film last year called "Love at the Christmas Table" and that is a better film but this one is still worth watching. This is family safe. It has a Fairy Tale Vibe to it and the film makes you root for true love. On Hallmark Channel. Watch and enjoy!

This is a standard Christmas TV movie by Hallmark so my expectations were not super-high, not super-low.

However, I was pleased that all of the performances (with the exception I'll mention later) were actually pretty darn good. The actors did a very nice job -- from the actress who played the daughter, to the valet, to the cook in the kitchen ... even the housekeeper who, at the end, showed some real emotion. Rupert Penry-Jones (a very good British actor) was the standout: He did a great job with his limited material - he came off very authentic with just the right touch of reserve crumbling in the face of unexpected feelings.

I was ready to accept this movie for what it was, and was pleasantly surprised. However, it was totally ruined for me by Danica McKellar's bad acting. Her range seemed to be limited to one facial expression (furrowed brow); that, coupled with the fake eyelashes (really distracting and who wears those nowadays?!) resulted in my actually enjoying the movie when she wasn't in the scenes! Too bad. This could have been much better with even a slightly higher caliber actress.

Whilst it is a stereotypical Christmas film it is an archetypal example of what a Christmas film should be. Anyone sitting down with their notepads out analyzing a film like this is just a Scrooge. It doesn't need to be over-thought, it is a Hallmark production which follows a strict guideline as to what a feel-good Hallmark production has to be (family).

To criticize Danica McKellar in the lead-role seems an odd thing to do. You know what to expect from a family film. Any other actor would have had to act the part in exactly the same way. There isn't room in the role or in the movie as a whole to be experimenting with method-acting or "what's my motivation?" and getting deep and dark with the character - again - it's a Hallmark film.

As well as an actor, Danica is a mathematician (or the other-way- around?) and would suggest her accepting this role was purely for fun and to have Christmas months in advance! She chooses roles that won't clash with her scholastic career too adversely and must balance these two very different careers.

The interaction between herself and the young lead comes from a genuine place. Being so bound to a past role when a child is the bane of all actors - the character she is eternally manacled to is an anagram of "epic inner woo". Danica is epic as an example of how to avoid finding too much of your inner woo and going of the rails when vulnerable and young. She survived early-fame, looks even more attractive now and can wryly smile to herself that she has the credentials to play a part like this without any fear of any dented Porsches coming back to haunt her. For this reason alone, the film is just that much more charming and is what gives it the propulsion it would have lacked had just about anyone else played her part.

It has a start, a middle and a fairytale ending...but we already knew that!

Let's start with the plot - or can we even call it a plot? It's just a succession of all the Christmas romcom cliches you can think of, tied together with some terrible editing and bizarre green screens. My main problem was the heroine's CONSTANT smokey-eye - how are you meant to have a climactic ball scene, when she's been wearing a full face of make-up the whole time?? 80% of the film she wears the same expression of unpleasant concern, similar to my expression while watching the film. The set-up for the story is unrealistic and unoriginal, and we are expected to believe that two characters with practically no screen time together "fall in love" after 5 days of being vaguely near each other. All character development is rushed, and was abandoned whenever the plot needed someone to do something. There was a random sleigh in the corner of the castle's courtyard, which was shown multiple times, as if it had a purpose, but the screenwriters clearly forgot about it partway through - perhaps they couldn't find yet another trope for it to tie in with. At least we could find some amusement in its debasement!

Who doesn't want a handsome, sensitive, extremely wealthy widowed king falling in love with them? In the span of one movie Danika goes from maid to future Queen and it seems so natural. The castle is a dream...his daughter, not do much. I think she should have given someone a painting of the castle...or the horse for Christmas. Goodhearted fun, with some nice values...like sacrifice for family and always kiss your kids goodnight, even if they are asleep.

Some of the other reviews are talking about how similar it is to other movies but let me tell you. I cried my eyes out, so beware! It was an amazing movie! Definitely my new favorite so to say at the least I highly recommend this movie! It is a great movie to watch with family or even just your significant other. This is the first Christmas hallmark that I've watched that I have actually fell in love with and cried so much with. I believe the creators chose the perfect people for all the roles as well. I do hope there is a second movie to this that can explore not only the main characters lives but as for the help as well. I would love to explain that, but I don't want to spoil this movie for anyone (:

Nice. It is the fair word for define this romantic comedy in which, no surprise, the Christmas represents only a pretext. It is not original but , in this case, the love rules very well. The motif for love it is represented by the gift portraits, by the performance of Emma Burdon- Sutton and especialy the prom ball scene, by the look to her portrait by Amy Marston ( one of the most impressive scene ). The only observation- maybe, for many reasons,Danica McKellar was not the most inspired option for the role of Allie Evans. But, sure, it is a beautiful Christmas film.

This is one of my FAVORITE movies and everytime it's on I watch it . I love the snowball fight and just the whole story, however, I wish they would make a part 2 showing the two of them getting married.

Allie and her siblings are in a difficult economic situation so she is offered to be a governess for a Princess in a unknown country.

This movie was quite sweet. Yes, this is a Hallmark movie, with romance and Christmas on it, but I believe the story is really about Theodora. We can see how she softens with Allie, and how her relationship with her father improves (thanks to Allie, of course).

Regarding the romance, there are not enough scenes between the leads for me to fall in love with them, besides, you can see the ending coming from miles away.

I wonder whatever happened with her siblings, they didn't show them anymore. It's like we all forgot about them. There was one situation regarding the "villains" that I was expecting but didn't happened (at the very end), and I was quite surprised by that. I'm glad they didn't take the predictable route on that one.

Anyway, I understand why people like this movie so much, it was quite sweet, and very enjoyable.

OK the young, widowed man tries to raise his rebellious daughter. He is distant and clueless about how to raise her and hires a Nanny. Actually several nannies, each dispatched in short time by the little terror of a daughter. Oh yes, there's the scheming second wife/Queen wannabe who tries to scare off the nanny.

Although it was entertaining, the idea has been done before in books (Jane Eyre anyone?), Broadway (Sound of Music) TV specials every year it seems, and movies (again, Sound of Music). It was obvious and it was predictable. The actors did their best with the scripts and it had its moments. As I said it was entertaining, but only as a variation on a theme.

I just love this movie and watched it over and over. Beautiful actors and actresses, Excellent acting, Great music. Loved the movie. I must have watched over 30 times. Everyone did an excellent job. I hope there will be a sequel to this movie. Music was beautiful. I wish the movie was longer and more detailed.

"Crown for Christmas" is similar to some other Christmas romance films about royalty and common folk. As in all of these, an American single woman meets up with a prince or heir to the throne in some fictional country. He is usually either incognito or the heroine doesn't recognize him as royalty. In this story, it comes about in a doubly unusual way. She bumps into him as she works as a maid in an upscale New York hotel. She then gets fired for having spoken to a hotel guest, but then is hired by the royal assistant and manager of the royal hero. She will be the new governess for the princess. And, how that happens is even another nice twist.

While the outcome is a foregone conclusion in a movie like this, the plot is made very interesting by the princess and the relationship that develops between her and the governess - and most of the castle staff. And, of course, there has to be a culprit in a film such as this. But this story instead of one dastardly person, presents three people of varying negative aspects and associated degrees of dislike. There's the young woman the prince's father had intended him to marry. She would be the usual villain all by herself, but this film is spiced up by a chancellor of the kingdom who tries to steer the proper marriage and life of the new king, and the house manager.

Now the names of these bad eggs are Lady Celia, Chancellor Riggs, and Miss Wick. The good guys of the staff who take to the heroine right away are Fergus the butler-valet-secretary-manager for the king, Mrs. Claiborne the castle cook, and most of the rest of the castle staff. Oh, yes, Ellie Botterill is very good as Princess Theodora, who goes through governesses one after another. Her problem is the lack of attention and parenting by her father. Rupert Penry-Jones plays King Max, and while he shows all of the proper royal comportment, with just enough common heart, his degree of royal stuffiness makes it difficult to see and believe there is much chemistry between him and the heroine. That's Allie, played by Danica McKellar. She is the right person for the princess and the two, in time, bring the king and the whole place back to life.

I think that Allie is overdone a couple of times But, otherwise, this is a different enough story with some mostly very good supporting cast - including, and especially the "bad" people. Most people won't be bored but should enjoy this movie.

Hallmark needs to quit casting Danica McKellar so phoney .this was an awful Christmas movie no chemistry with her an Rupert Penny-Jones . British so haughty do not watch many British movies. Danica McKellar awful actress too phoney