We’re back in far-fetched high concept silly territory for 2018’s Christmas at the Palace, a prime example of a ubiquitous sub-genre of holiday films that sees normal city girls being romanced by royalty. It’s wish-fulfilment tosh to the extreme and, judging by the number of films that use the formula, wildly popular.
I’m keen to see what all the fuss is about, as my football team got a pasting today from our greatest rivals and it’s got me glum. Interestingly though, I find I don’t feel as devastated as I normally would in the circumstances. I’m wondering if my mad filmic quest is helping give me more to think about and focus on. Maybe it’s all the extra dopamine my body’s been shooting out from watching so much Christmas schmaltz? Either way, I’m still glad for the pick-me-up.
This one stars Merritt Patterson as former hotshot ice-skater Katie who finds herself hired by the recently widowed king of made-up country San Senova to help train his daughter for a Christmas skating extravaganza. Naturally, as lonely singleton Katie hangs out in the palace she and alluring King Alex (Andrew Cooper) begin to go all mushy for each other.
It's a film that knows what it is but, thankfully, is not ashamed of it. A humorous early scene features a kid watching a clichéd Christmas movie on their tablet and snarkily remarking “Well, we all know how that’s going to end.” You can practically feel director Peter Hewitt winking at you, which is no bad thing – nobody’s pretending this is anything other than absurd, gooey fun, so let’s all dive in and soak it up.
Patterson is an incandescently lovely lead who never stops smiling, as though she’s well aware she’s living a fairytale. She’s likeable, though I find it tricky to fully relate to a heroine whose dream is to buy her own ice rink. King Alex is bland and stuffy, though the film seems to be saying that that’s just royalty for you.
It's a movie with a weird idea of what it’s like to be the ruler of a small country – the monarch just casually wanders around town, hitting the shops, carrying his own Christmas tree and generally hanging out, with no bodyguards in sight. There’s also a whole thing about San Senova being a country founded on the idea of Christmas, or something like that, which is quite different I guess.
Poor wife-less Alex isn’t really digging this Christmas or the idea of ruling and his people look on him as some sort of Grinch-like figure after he accidentally knocks over some Christmas stage decorations. This is the kind of thing that amounts to an International Incident in these films, so it’s down to Katie and her plucky sister Jessica (Brittany Bristow) to help him revamp his fusty image and Save Christmas through the ever-awesome medium of festive ice dancing.
It's silly, but the tone is sincere and the setting stunning. Hallmark gives the people what they want.
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