Feeling Festive: The Holiday Calendar vs. A Christmas Prince
November 16, 2018
Images via Netflix
I don't know about you, but I am a complete sucker for Christmas movies. Or, at least, movies that are set during the Christmas/holiday season - especially if it's a romantic comedy of some sorts - which is usually the case. Case in point: Serendipity. But I'll save that for another post! Right now, I'd like to compare two of Netflix's holiday offers.
So this past week, I've decided to engross myself in Netflix's offers more than just watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine over and over again (though no regrets there!). Perhaps because I have the likes of Princess Diaries and 500 Days of Summer on My List, Netflix decided to suggest The Holiday Calendar and A Christmas Prince. Two very different movies in terms of plot, setting and overall story; the only thing they have in common is the fact that it was set during the Christmas holiday season. (And to be fair, both are feel-good movies.)
I'm going to quickly breakdown the plot of each, and at the end of this post, will give my usual rating and thoughts overall.
The Holiday Calendar
Abby (Kat Graham) is a struggling photographer who works at a studio but has dreams of putting up her own photography studio - she just can't find that big break yet. In contrast, her best friend, Josh (Quincy Brown) has just returned from his travels abroad and has mastered the art of being a travel photographer, which Abby admires and aspires to be.
As the holiday season begins, Abby receives an antique Advent calendar from her grandfather (Ron Cephas Jones) belonging to her grandmother who had just passed. As the days pass, the calendar would open up with a gift/Christmas symbol, representing something that will happen to her that day. Eventually, Abby thinks the calendar is magic and goes along with it. This leads her to meet Ty (Ethan Peck), single father and strangely attractive-yet-not-super-omg-attractive doctor.
Long story short, Abby and Ty start dating but it doesn't work out because Ty doesn't believe in Christmas miracles (seriously?) and Abby's life starts ending up in downhill because even her career was [somewhat] shattered and this causes a huge conflict between her and Josh. After some tough love from her sister, Abby gets back on her feet and receives the break she's been looking for all along from the city mayor. What about Josh? He returns in the end, revealing that he bought a studio that he will be sharing with Abby as both pioneer photographers. Obviously, they end up together as Abby realizes that "it's you, it's been you all along."
A Christmas Prince
Amber (Rose McIver) is currently dreading her current job as a junior editor of a fashion/celebrity magazine in New York, instead of pursuing actual journalism and writing the articles herself. However, she gets a big break from her editor-in-chief when she's tasked to go to the small country of Aldovia to cover a press conference on the scandalous prince of Aldovia, and the next in line to the throne, Prince Richard (Ben Lamb).
Unfortunately, the press conference has been cancelled because the prince didn't show up (lol I wanna see this happen in real life though, that would be really funny). But Amber didn't want to go home empty-handed, so she was able to sneak back into the palace and is mistaken by palace staff as the princess' American tutor, Martha Anderson (I'll get to why this is so funny in a bit).
Amber, or "Martha", is tasked to tutor the young princess, Princess Emily (Honor Kneafsey), who straight up reminded me of a von Trapp child before Maria came into their lives (and another review pointed out the same, except with a mix of Colin from The Secret Garden due to the princess' spina bifida). She eventually captures the heart of the princess in like, less than an hour, and this paves her way to spend more time with the prince.
Cutting to the chase, Amber falls in love with Richard and vice versa, but just like every other royal story, there's going to be a catch. Nope, it's not the "she's a commoner, and you're royal" plot. While undercover from her true identity, Amber accidentally discovers that Richard is actually adopted. Too late though, because he's already in love with her but the Prince's snooty cousin (who is the next male heir) and ex discover these adoption papers and tramples over Richard's coronation on Christmas Eve, simultaneously revealing Amber's true identity.
The plot thickens though because Amber, while at the airport ready to return to New York, realizes something that made her discover a secret proclamation by the late King Richard, Richard's father. This proclamation states that Richard, though adopted, is allowed to be king because his father said so, literally. However, when Richard is crowned king, Amber disappears from the scene and returns to New York. But then, on New Year's Eve, Richard somehow finds Amber at her father's diner and proposes to her at the strike of midnight. Yipee!
Okay fine, maybe I'm a little biased on what movie I prefer here, but like I said earlier, both movies are at least feel-good, especially if you're in need of alone time and have absolutely nothing else to do.
Seriously though, I'm not sure what was going on with A Christmas Prince but there were so many inconsistencies - what kind of royal palace is so not secure that a random girl, who happens to be press, is able to sneak into the palace unnoticed and later on mistaken for a tutor that wasn't going to turn up two weeks later?! And the similarities. Oh my gosh the similarities!! Too many scenes reminded me of Princess Diaries 2, it's not even funny. There was also a scene where Amber was attacked by wolves and Richard saves her - Beauty and the Beast, anyone?
Sure, let's also give it the fact that it's another take on the whole "royal prince falls in love with an American common girl" (I'm not saying it's already happened to Meghan Markle, but it's already happened to Meghan Markle. Go get another storyline you guys!!). It wasn't bad bad, but it was good bad. Does that make sense? Like I said, you can watch it if you need a feel good movie (though I am 99.99% sure there are other feel good movies out there, I can make a list in a separate post if you like) but it's not something I'd like to watch over and over again. And personally, if I love a movie that much, I would keep replaying that movie even if I just downloaded a bunch of new ones.
In contrast, The Holiday Calendar is more realistic in the sense that Abby's story is more relatable and can actually happen. I honestly found the storyline cute: a magic house-looking calendar predicting your future. And your best friend is in on it, but he's secretly been in love with you all this time. Ugh I'm such a sucker for those plots!! But anyway, again, it's realistic. I personally feel Abby's frustration in the movie, as I'm also struggling to do something meaningful with my life without sacrificing my passion. And I also love magic-themed storylines, though that part is not realistic, it adds a warm feeling to these movies. They are holiday movies after all.
That being said, I highly suggest you watch both movies and be the judge. These are just my takes! I enjoyed both movies, but I appreciated The Holiday Calendar more for having a simple and common yet heartwarming storyline. (And anyway, both movies sparked up the festive mood in me because we just put up the Christmas tree today LOL)
♥, Murgaloo
Images courtesy of Netflix
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