User reviews

Is it Oscar worthy? No. Is it just the right amount of cheesy for a Christmas movie? Yes. Worth at least once viewing, the rom com story is expected and heartwarming. The acting is decent enough and the leads have a surprising amount of chemistry.

Though predictable and formulaic, 'A Castle for Christmas' is entertaining nonetheless with some beautiful cinematography, appealing performances, and some lovely Scottish Christmas music and celebrations. From the snow-covered Scottish countryside, along with the beautifully decorated castle, to traditional Scottish dance and song, plus a cute dog named Hamish to boot, the film has a pleasing Christmas feel to it, which most will enjoy. The story follows Sophie Brown (played by Brooke Shields), a best-selling author whose most recent book has caused a bit of a scandal. After an on-air meltdown, she travels to Scotland partly to flee her readers' fury and partly to reconnect with her family roots. While visiting Dun Dunbar Castle, the place where he grandparents were groundskeepers, she meets Myles (played by Cary Elwes), the 12th Duke of Dunbar, who reluctantly agrees to sell the castle to her under the condition she lives with him at the castle for 90 days. And so, our story begins as we watch these two butt heads all the while embarking on a discovery that neither was expecting nor bargained for. The script is unoriginal but enjoyable. To be fair, one of the reasons why Christmas movies are so popular is because of their highly formulaic and predictable plots. We all need some comfort food from time to time. The dialogue and banter are pretty good. And though I did not have a laugh-out-loud moment, I did find myself chuckle a few times. There also were some touching movements here and there where I might even have shed a tear or two. The romance in this one centers on an older couple, as opposed to 30 somethings, which was refreshing. The script does a pretty good job of reflecting and highlighting this as well. The acting, overall, was excellent. Shields had an impressive performance as Sophie Brown. Elwes, who many will remember from the 'The Princess Bride', also had a strong performance. The chemistry between the two was great and, more importantly, convincing. Indeed, they had a nice back-and-forth (banter and comedic flirtation), which was engaging and entertaining. The knitters of Dunbar all had lovely performances too. And I can't forget Hamish, the dog who played matchmaker in this story. If you are looking for something warm and light, with a touch of Scottish holiday cheer, 'A Castle for Christmas' might be the Christmas rom-com for you.

I normally HATE these types of movies, But... I Do Love Brooke Shields (and glad to see she is just as Lovely in her 50's WITHOUT having bowed to Hollywood pressure to destroy her Natural Beauty and destroy her face with fillers and botox and scary surgery) and Then I do Love Castles too! ;D

It's a cute, cheezy movie with a lot of heart and Christmas spirit and the dog helped it score an extra point from me. Just Adorable!

Nothing spectacular, your usual hallmark type Christmas holiday romantic drama. I did like the chemistry between Brooke and Cary, I would love to see them do more together in another type movie. The dog was super adorable! If you are in the mood for a hallmark easy watch I highly suggest it. Happy Holidays!

Yes it's rubbish but in the best possible way. I don't think anyone involved thought it was anything but what it is. Christmas schmaltz. It's great to see Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes as leads but there ain't an awful lot of chemistry between them I felt. It's not the worst movie but it's not the best either. It's fluff for Sunday afternoon. We'll gloss over the obvious nonsense about reality being involved in any of it, locations, accents and such like. If you're expecting anything other than a Hallmark movie you might be disappointed. It's fun, it's silly and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The accents are so cringey, I can't watch any longer. I don't understand why they put actors in this position when they are so clearly unauthentic and not remotely close to being able to voice a normal Scottish accent. Absolutely awful.

The Scottish accents were dire, the plot predictable, some of the acting wooden and Hamish the dog could have written a better script. Yet the old eyes filled at one bit and I laughed a few times. Total cheese, wonderful nonsense and perfect for Christmas.

Loved it. It was right up my alley. Great scenery. Good to see Brooke and Drew looking fabulous. The Scottish castle setting was perfect.

I really enjoyed this story. It's not easy to find a Christmas movie with actors I recognise and who aren't supposed to be in their early 20s, tottering about on stilettos in a small Maine town.

Brooke in her Ugg boots traipsing through her castle in search of the kitchen for a cup of tea - is a hoot!

Shortbread, whiskey, highland cattle, Scottish ballads - honestly, it was a really good watch. Congrats to whoever is responsible for this! 👏🏻👏🏻

Oh dear, surely casting could have found compatible actors! Wooden and prescriptive. An all round embarrassment. I'm sure the dog didn't realise what he was getting himself into.

It's a shame that, with a population of 5.5 million people, there were no actors available to play the parts in this movie. The story line is poor enough but the pathetic attempts at Scots accents from the male cast are woeful, they land somewhere between Ireland and Whisky Galore and make me cringe listening to them. The "plot" was pretty obvious from the start but the kitch and utter nonsense presented is the worst type of portrayal of Scotland possible.

It has basically the same script as your typical Hallmark movie (writer escapes boss or ex-lover, goes to little town, fall in love with the stubborn hunk etc), but for this movie the acting and production values are much higher.

I sense a sequel btw, if Netflix is happy.

What is going on here? You want to bring Scotland into the movie yet you're telling me you couldn't find one scottish male actor to play the lead in this movie? I'm not from Scotland but I dare say that was some funny accent. The romantic scenes are a total dissapointment. First time seeing Brooke Shields basically can't act. Where she hugs him about halfway through the movie - cringe!!! Hey, I read my fair share of highlander romantic novels and I'm guessing this movie was trying to go in that direction but it's nowhere near that.

"A Castle for Christmas" is one of several "new" Christmas movies this year. Most are a bit sappy and on Hallmark or Lifetime. The best thing about this one is Netflix = no commercials! Yes, it's unbelievable and quite sappy but Brooke Shields & Cary Elwes are pleasant to watch. LOVED the "knitters"!! The real star is the Scottish landscape. The beauty is awe inspiring and the reason I gave the movie a 6. The exterior of the castle decorated on Christmas Eve, I must confess, brought a tear to my eyes. If you have have 97 minutes, the right attitude and a great friend to share with, I say check it out!

An average Christmas movie from Pet Sematary director Mary Lambert.

Like everyone else who watched the movie, I was impressed by two things... Brooke Shields and the incredible beauty of Scotland.

I don't know what some of the reviewers expect from a Christmas film. I think we can be too serious. Let's just have fun, sit back and enjoy a harmless entertaining film that helps us escape the agonies of the world. We want fantasies, we want laughter, we want joy. This film gives it us. It's funny, it's loving and it harmless.

I didn't expect anything as the reviews I had read were off putting, but it's truly worth a watch. Accents...well I've heard a lot worse. Americans can often do Irish instead of Scottish , but it was not that bad, it was just most of the actors were English. There are so many Scottish actors that could have been used, but set that aside it was not insulting.

I really liked it.

I get it - it's a Hallmark Xmas movie - yes, it's going to be predictable, potentially even cheesy - all acceptable for the genre. But why does that mean it has to be badly done? That the writing must be execrable? That it can't at least be professionally executed? Romantic and predictable doesn't HAVE to equal poor quality - "Bridgerton", anyone? When will the powers that be in TV land recognise that there IS a big market for happily-ever-after, but that doesn't mean we want to see bad acting, bad writing and overall, something which is just unnecessarily shoddy?! If you make it well, (to paraphrase) we will watch in huge numbers. If you do it on the cheap (like this) you'll get - well, what you paid for. And the poor reviews that go with it.

Yes, it's a Hallmark-y type movie but it's SO much more than that. Cary and Brooke are brilliant. The Scottish scenery is spectacular (as always). The story is great and paced just fine. The supporting cast is so unbelievably sweet. There's enough comic relief to put a smile on your face multiple times as well, instead of simply rolling your eyes.

Everyone involved in this film did what they could during the pandemic, and I think they nailed it. Definitely put me in the Christmas spirit!!

The accents are a bit off (Scottish is one of the hardest accents to pull off) and it is a run of the mill cheesy rom com with a predictable end.

That said I fairly enjoyed the movie. It actually has some loveable characters, some beautiful scenery and a warm christmas feel to it when watching. Its not drawn out or have the whimsicle will they wont they storyline. Seems to chug along at a nice pace too. The big finale at the end always raises a smile from me.

Brooke Shields is as beautiful as ever and Cary Ewlys has aged like a fine single malt.

I would reccomend it if you are stuck for a feel good xmas flick.

Kidding, it's complete paycheck garbage, Now we know why we haven't seen Brooke Shields in quality drama since the 80s. She's a terrible wooden cheesy actor.

Cary Elwes, come on man, surely you can't need the money that bad??? Surely there are other scripts you could do before erasing the legacy of your work in the princess bride with the embarrassment of your performance n this groaner.

As mentioned in the trivia notes every single actor of Scottish decent was booked on other better shoots during the making of this film so they could only secure c grade scottish accents to drive home the authenticity of this production.

What's happening at netflix quality control? I think we know there's an 'out to lunch sign' on the door and no one in the office.

This film is full of terrible acting, woeful over the top Scottish accents, inaccurate geography, nauseating use of stereotypes, and a ridiculous romanticisation of a culture that just isn't true. The plot is ridiculous and even when you take into consideration it's just a cheesy Christmas film, it's still absolutely horrendous.