- Content: “A Cinderella Story”
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| Language | ||||
| Violence | ||||
| Sex | ||||
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What You Need To Know:
A ROYAL CHRISTMAS TAIL is charming and lighthearted, with some moral, redemptive moments of loyalty, sacrifice and helping others. However, the story struggles because of some awkward dialogue and acting, which sounds heavily rehearsed. Also, it’s unclear whether the Prince actually cares what’s happening to the animal shelter.
Content:
Moral, redemptive elements of loyalty, helping others and sacrifice are seen where a man sets aside his plans to help a woman who is financially struggling with her business, but the stakes are low, and it’s hard to tell whether this urge to help is solely coming out of his heart of romantic interest for the woman or because it’s the right thing to do.
No foul language;
No violence;
No sex, just some romance and a kiss;
No nudity;
Some people drink wine;
No smoking or drugs; and,
A man lies about his name, and another man deceives a client.
More Detail:
It begins with His Highness Prince Edward Montague of the Royal House of Vällenberg visiting his friend, Andrew, in the States. They’re working on a business plan to create a building development in the town where Andrew lives. On his way to meet with Andrew, Edward runs into a woman carrying a dog. He quickly apologizes and is surprised to find her quite a beautiful woman. He chats with her for a bit and discovers her name is Riley, and she’s the owner of a dog shelter in town. She tells him she was taking the newest rescue, the dog in her arms, to get a health checkup at the vet. As she walks away, he notices that the dog has dropped its tag. He scoops it up and continues on his way to the restaurant where he is meeting Andrew, pondering along the way.
The next day, Prince Edward visits the shelter to return the tag but, more importantly, to get to know Riley better. She’s surprised to see him, and as they talk, he becomes more attracted to her. He invites her to dinner, and she hesitantly accepts.
During dinner, Riley discovers Edward is a prince and is completely taken aback. As they get to know each other more, the matter of the animal shelter is a central focus. She explains how the lease for the building is almost up, and the leasing company wants a large security deposit before renewal.
Edward might just be able to help with this, and he comes up with the fabulous idea of hosting a dog show. He will be the icon for it, which will attract people, and all the money raised will go toward the deposit.
Everyone at the shelter is excited, spirits are high, and Riley and Edward are becoming more romantically inclined when, suddenly, out of nowhere, disaster strikes. A dirty secret is uncovered that very well may break Edwards and Riley’s fragile new relationship, and not just their relationship but also the shelter itself.
A ROYAL CHRISTMAS TAIL is light and charming but has its fair share of issues. The most obvious issue are the characters. The story is good, but the dialogue sounds heavily rehearsed and very inauthentic. This isn’t just the fault of the writing but also the acting, which is so unintentionally awkward sometimes that it’s hard to watch. The movie doesn’t let the filming speak for itself, but instead feels the need to have the characters explain all the subtle things that the audience either doesn’t need to know or would have been able to pick up on their own.
A ROYAL CHRISTMAS TAIL has moral elements, but there’s also some light romanticism mixed in it. Prince Edward wants to help Riley and the shelter and support them, but it’s unclear whether his motivation for this is solely because he’s in love and wants to win over Riley, or because he actually cares about what’s happening on a moral level. The whole basis of the story is a little bit unrealistic, with a prince from a distant country falling in love at first sight and setting aside his monarchical duties to chase after her. The movie doesn’t stress the depth of the relationship enough to make it feel like Edward isn’t just chasing after something that looks nice. This problem begins to disappear partway through the movie, but the chemistry between the two lead characters never feels like a truly genuine, deep connection.
Otherwise, however, A ROYAL CHRISTMAS TAIL is a wholesome movie. So, there’s very little content to report other than brief kissing and some people drinking wine. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger viewers.
