Christmas at the Palace


Synopsis from Hallmark Channel: Katie, a former professional ice skater (Patterson), is hired by the king of San Senova, Alexander, to help his daughter in a Christmas ice skating performance. As Katie spends time in the castle and with the king, she and Alex begin to develop feelings for each other and ultimately fall in love. But will the tradition-loving people of San Senova allow their king to make a foreigner their queen? Starring Merritt Patterson and Andrew Cooper.

 This one includes another frequently-used plot element of Hallmark movies: royalty. Katie and her friend end up in the country of San Senova (not a real country, but it's a lot like Great Britain) for some reason I can't recall, and end up meeting some guy who (surprise) turns out to be the king, but Katie and her friend (whose name I also can't recall) don't realize it. The king is a widower and wants Katie and her friend to put on a special ice skating show for Christmas. Oh, and here's another Hallmark Christmas Movie-ism: the guy who no longer likes Christmas. This time, it's the king, and it's up to his daughter and Katie to get him out of his funk.

 What I found funny about this one: for starters, Katie is always smiling, sometimes at quasi-inappropriate times; Her and her friend don't realize the king is the king when it's painfully obvious to the audience, but I suppose that's a needed plot element; the actress playing Katie's friend is, I'm sure, a great actress, but she's doesn't at all seem like an ice skater. But my favorite unintentionally funny thing about this film is that Katie and Friend's dream is to open an ice skating rink...in Trenton, New Jersey.

 Hallmark likes to mention local areas when they set a movie in a particular city or region, but just name-dropping isn't adequate -- you've gotta do your homework. Trenton isn't a great place for an ice skating rink. It's certainly not a friendly place for an ice skating rink. For example, less than 6 months ago 22 people were injured at a shooting at an arts festival in Trenton. Every time the girls mentioned their dream to open that ice skating rink in Trenton, I either chuckled or facepalmed.

 As with other Hallmark Christmas movies, this one has its charm. And it's a little less formulaic than some of the others they've done.

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