I'm not a fan of Royal movies. And Cinderella stories are a dime a dozen at Christmas. McKellar has done a few. So, were it not for my obsession to watch every Christmas movie premiere, I would have passed on this one.
It checked so many of the boxes and yet it had at least one thing that kept my interest as a viewer. Who was her father? That search which integrated learning her mother's past was just enough to raise this movie to a decent level. As another reviewer said, there are a couple of moments that bring some tears. How can you not when she watches that video?
The key mystery had at least a couple of possibles. I wasn't at all sure, but I think I was leaning towards the right one.
There are so many ways all the cliches can be overdone and this movie straddles that line but I think stays just inside it.
The acting at the dialogue gets muddled a little by the cliches. It is hard to accept the acting as good when the circumstances are so unbelievable. The story finds a way to make the one that is possibly the most unrealistic be a little believable at least.
McKellar and Oliver Rice have decent chemistry but again the unbelievable circumstances mute that a little. There is a little bit of playfulness between them despite waiting for some stickler to bring it all crashing down. I very much like that the queen is mostly reasonable. She must uphold some tradition but she isn't constantly being a stick in the mud.
