It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yes – Hallmark is all Christmas, all the time until 2021! We all make fun of them but let’s face it, these movies are like comfort food to us. So much so that not only did Hallmark quickly arranged a weekend marathon when we were all huddled in our houses trying to flatten the curve but I’ve seen plenty of people on my timeline watching the movies as breaks from following the craziness that is the 2020 Presidential Election.
I know I did. And I really wanted to see Laura Osnes’ movie because I absolutely love her.
And I was also excited because this movie included Broadway alums Aaron Tveit and Victoria Clark, who starred in Cinderella with Osnes on Broadway. I got to see the two of them and knew they would be fabulous together in this as well.
So were they? Let’s find out!
And this song of mine/In three-quarter time/Wishes you and yours/SPOILERS!
Anna (Osnes) is a beloved nurse who is nursing a broken heart as Christmas approaches. She prepares to head home to Connecticut for Christmas, hoping to salvage her holidays with the traditions of her hometown.
Prince James (Tveit) and Queen Gabriella (Clark) are finishing up a visit to the United States are eager to get back to their small European country. They need to get back by Christmas so James could deliver his address. Especially as the one he gave the year before after his father had died did not go well and the PM of his country is biting at the bit to demolish the monarchy completely. That’s…a pretty deep thing for Hallmark. Not the first part, that’s par for the course. But political intrigue like the end of the monarchy, not really.
Will it go anywhere? Let’s find out.
Anyway, the queen wants to get some tea so they stop at a local donut shop and James runs in to get the tea for her. There, he encounters Anna and they exchange some banter. He’s pretty much a stick in the mud and it’s clear she’s the perky optimist who will get him to loosen up and have fun. It starts with her trying to convince him to enjoy one of his free crullers before eating them herself.
The queen enters, wondering what is taking so long and saying that they need to get on the road. James tells her about the crullers and she tries one. Anna says that it tastes like a cake from the country that James and Gabriella are from and they wonder if she’s ever been there. She hasn’t and can’t really say where in Europe it is. James is not amused but Gabriella is and it’s clear she’s already taken a liking to Anna.
Christopher (Bradley Rose), their bodyguard, then comes in to tell them that there’s a snow storm coming and all flights have been grounded. They can’t go back to the hotel where they were staying as it was already booked for the holidays. So they need to find a place. Anna offers a solution, saying that her family owns an inn in a tiny town in Connecticut. They agree to go but the driver refuses, saying it’s farther than he was hired for and he’s worried about not getting home due to the storm. So Anna offers to drive them.
(Fun note – James and Gabriella are in a car with obvious New York plates yet are apparently coming from Boston, and diverting to Connecticut won’t affect their drive to the airport. I know it’s a Hallmark movie but this is almost like the plothole in Leap Year where a storm covered ALL of Ireland and the plane had to land in England instead).
Christopher packs up Anna’s car. He’s ready to clue her in that they are the queen and prince of a small European nation but both stop him. They decide to let Anna think they are normal people so they don’t draw too much attention to themselves. Gabriella and Christopher sit in the back, forcing James to sit up front. He and Anna continue bickering, forcing Gabriella to apologize for her son’s behavior though she’s clearly having the same thought we all are.
They’re bickering – it must be love!
Anna and her guests arrive at her Connecticut home where they are greeted by her father, Ed (Tom McGowan). He welcomes them and James thinks he’s staying at the Ritz Carlton because he starts to make a lot of demands. At this point, Christopher finally gets to reveal who James and Gabriella are. Ed is flabbergasted and when she hears the truth, Anna first thinks it’s a joke until she realizes no one else is laughing. James also realizes that Ed’s inn doesn’t have the service he’s used to but Gabriella insists that they will be fine. She thanks Ed for his hospitality and James insists it will only be for a day since they need to get home.
As James and Gabriella get settled in, Anna is surprised when her best friend Sara (Krystal Joy Brown) stops by. Sara is also the mayor of the town and this is her first Christmas. She’s planned all of the town’s Christmas traditions to be during one week and to center around the inn before ending with the Pajama Ball. It’s a big party that everyone wears their pajamas to right before Christmas and kinda sounds like a lot of fun, honestly. James isn’t very interested as he knows he won’t be around for most of it so he excuses himself.
Sara recognizes James and so Anna pulls her off to the side, explaining that he and the queen want to lay low until they can head home once the storm passes. Sara then spots Christopher and she’s smitten immediately. He says he wants to do a security check to make sure Gabriella and James are safe so Anna introduces him to the mayor. He and Sara start talking as Anna decides to make herself busy elsewhere.
Anna invites Gabriella and James to dinner that night and though James is reluctant, they agree. At one point Anna gets pulled into a caroling session because if you have a Tony-nominated musical theater actress, you are going to let her sing. Them’s the rules. She then joins the others for dinner, teasing James for being overdressed. Even Gabriella seems more relaxed and she tells her son it’s because she packs for every eventuality. But he’s pulled away before dinner could start to talk with the Prime Minister as Gabriella tells Anna about the man’s quest to do away with the monarchy. It gives Anna a glimpse into the weight on James’ shoulders.
Everyone enjoys dinner and Gabriella says she wants to meet the chef. So Ed and Anna take her to the kitchen, introducing her to Diane (Geraldine Leer), who has worked for them for years. But Gabriella first assumes that Diane is Ed’s girlfriend. They insist they are just friends and Gabriella looks slightly disappointed. Anna looks like she just had a revelation.
Since James never made it down to dinner, Anna leaves him a tray before they all turn in for the night.
The next morning, James thanks her for dinner and says that it was delicious. She says she’s glad because he gets to enjoy that night’s dinner. He’s confused until Ed reveals that they got more snow than expected as the storm doubled back and dumped even more on them. James asks how long it will take to plow out the roads but they can’t give an estimate as they are a tertiary road, so it will take some time for the plows to get to them. It appears they are stuck for at least another day.
Anna invites them to come to the town’s annual Christmas parade. James questions how that could happen with all the snow and it’s explained that their town is so small, everyone lives within walking distance of Main Street. And it’s always the first one plowed out so the parade will be fine.
(Of course, no one suggests walking up to Main Street and meeting a car there but then we wouldn’t have much of a movie, would we?)
James then says he doesn’t think they’ll be able to make the parade because he has a lot of work to do and Christopher adds that he hasn’t done a security check. Anna understands but hopes he changes his mind.
Sara pops over to spend some time with Anna but also to see Christopher as well. They decide to do some security recon since it seems the prince’s stay has been extended. Anna is worried about her friend, fearing she is getting too involved with man who will be traveling to Europe any day now. It’s clear Anna’s been hurt by love before and is scared of taking chances but Sara insists that it’s her life and she gets to decide what risks she takes. She just hopes Anna can be more supportive.
Eventually, Gabriella and James decide to go to the parade after all. Anna questions his choice in shoes but he insists he’ll be fine as they walk over to Main Street, carrying gifts that will be put into Santa’s sleigh for distribution. James and Anna go to do that as a few people stop them to say hi to Anna. They all assume he’s the boyfriend they’ve apparently all heard about and she keeps having to tell them he’s just a guest at her father’s inn. James notes that everyone knows Anna and she says it can be fun to be recognized by everybody. She then asks if it feels strange for no one to recognize him but he replies that he likes it. He feels a bit freer than when he’s back home and everyone is watching his every move.
They approach Santa’s sleigh and Anna asks him if he ever asked Santa for anything. He says he couldn’t because it wouldn’t really look good if a prince who has everything asked for something. She points out that he didn’t have to ask for toy or something but for like world peace. James says he knows that now but Santa doesn’t come to the palace anymore. So she brings him to Santa and he gets to have a little heartwarming moment with the Jolly Old Elf.
After the parade, everyone starts to walk home but James finally admits that his feet are frozen. So Anna enlists a neighbor to drive him home in his sleigh. But James refuses to go by himself and helps Anna into the sleigh. They lay a blanket over them and talk as the sleigh travels toward the inn. James admits that his Christmas speech the year before was awful and he’s worried that it will be just as bad this year. Anna reassures him and they really start to see new sides to each other.
Back at the Inn, there’s some disheartening news. Apparently the snow caused a collapse at where they were going to have the Christmas Eve Pajama Ball and they can’t get it fixed in time. Nowhere else can hold the ball until James points out that the inn has a ballroom. But the others think it’s too fancy. Gabriella and James recall balls at the palace where the adults dance the night away and the kids have fun in the kitchens. Sara likes the idea and thinks it would be great – the kids can come in pajamas and hang out while the adults dance. Anna, though, doesn’t want to stop the tradition and is hesitant to agree.
Sara and Ed give Anna some time to think it over and they invite Gabriella and James to come help them put up the Christmas tree. Since he’s never put up a Christmas tree before, James is more than happy to help. It’s explained that they don’t decorate the tree until Anna gets there so they can do it as a family.
Once they are done, James finds a picture on the mantel and asks if the woman in it is Anna’s mother. She says it is and Ed reveals that the picture is from one of the Christmas Eve balls they used to throw. He says that it was always a fancy event and that her mother loved it. But Anna was such an energetic toddler that her mother was too tired to have a proper ball, so she turned it into a pajama ball. It was supposed to be for just one year but it proved popular so they just kept having it. However, she had hoped that there would be a proper ball again. Even though it still seems like short notice and with James’ encouragement, Anna realizes that she can still honor her mother’s memory even if the ball is different. So she agrees to a proper ball. Ed then invites James and Gabriella to light the tree and they all enjoy it.
That night, Anna finds James in the kitchens for a midnight snack. They engage in some banter and seem to be getting along even better now.
In the morning, the royal family learns they still can’t travel because the only bridge out of town has a tree blocking it and it will take some time for them to clear it. So it looks like they are stuck another day. Anna invites James to come look for decorations for the ball and he agrees to do that.
So they explore decorations and have a chat. James tells her that he’s struggling with his Christmas speech and that he doesn’t want it to be a disaster. Anna tells him that he needs to be authentic with his people and tell them what he feels in his heart. She assures him that if he does that, then his people will feel more of a connection with him.
Everyone in town is excited about the ball and Anna is pleased. She is starting to get excited about it too. Anna and James talk about their favorite songs and they learn they share the same favorite Christmas song – “Christmas Waltz.” (I love that song too). She then reveals she doesn’t actually know how to waltz so James offers to teach her once they get back to the inn. And they have a sweet romantic moment that gets interrupted by Ed, giving Anna time to put some distance between herself and James as she remembers that he will be leaving soon.
That night, everyone gathers to light the town Christmas tree. James starts to confess his true feelings to Anna but is interrupted by candle lighting and carols. Because when you have a bunch of Tony-nominated actors in your movie, you get them to sing!
Back at the inn, James and Gabriella share some memories of the late king. They reveal that he had been visiting America a couple years go when he had heart problems, spending time in a Boston hospital recuperating. Anna realizes he was at her hospital and they give her the fake name the king would’ve used for security purposes. She doesn’t recognize it but assured them that he received the best care. They knew that and that was why they were in the area – they held a thank you party for the staff of the hospital. Anna didn’t go to cover the floor but thanks them for their generosity.
Anna and Sara spend some girl time together later that night finishing up the socks usually handed out as favors at the ball. Anna wonders if it’s pointless to make them the favors since everyone will be dressed up but Sara points out that everyone will want some comfortable socks to wear after dancing all night. Christopher passes by and says goodnight, sharing a special look with Sara. Anna warns her friend again but Sara says she believes it will work out. She tells Anna that she needs to believe and take risks again or she will never move forward. It certainly gives Anna something to think about.
The next day, the tree has been cleared but now there are concerns about black ice. Everyone agrees that they can’t risk the royal family’s safety and so they will have to stay in Connecticut another day.
James continues to spend more time with Anna, this time in a gingerbread house competition. She is surprised at how good he is and reveals she got him a consolation prize because she thought his house was going to end up collapsing. It’s an ornament that looks like the inn and she says it’s so he’ll always remember his time with them. He thanks her for it.
They check the ballroom again and James offers to continue their waltz lesson. Anna agrees and as they dance, she decides to take a chance and tell James how she really feels. But they are interrupted when his phone rings and he realizes it is someone from the palace. He steps aside to take it and she uses the moment to gather her thoughts. But when he returns, he reveals that a picture of them has gone viral in his country and now the media is reporting that he’s abandoned his duties to his people for her. They both realize that he needs to go home and Anna decides not to tell him how she really feels, wishing him the best before running away and leaving an equally heartbroken James behind.
Aww.
Sara tries one more time to get through to her friend, revealing that she’s going to spend New Year’s with Christopher in Europe. She says that their relationship wasn’t going to be easy but she was willing to put in the work rather than just give up. That’s not who Anna is, she reminds her friend, and then gives Anna some room to figure things out.
In the morning, everything is clear for the royal family to leave. James and Anna decide not to talk to each other but Gabriella goes to talk to Anna. She gives her some advice and then says that she left a dress for Diane to wear to the ball.
The royals leave and Diane realizes the queen left a dress behind. Anna informs her that it’s for her to wear to the ball and at first, Diane insists that she can’t go to the ball. But Anna says that she should and that Ed would really want her to be there. So Diane agrees.
Meanwhile, James and Gabriella arrive at their castle, which almost looks like a Medieval Times facade. It’s clear he misses Anna and his mother tries to give him some advice to choose love.
But after he gives that Christmas Eve address.
Back in Connecticut, everyone gets ready for the ball. Anna misses James and Sara shows her his Christmas Eve address, where he takes her advice but also pretty much confesses his love for Anna. She realizes she has to go to him and starts to leave when she finds James already waiting for her. He pre-recorded the address and flew straight there to be there with her.
James then reveals that he found something his father had sent when he was in the hospital in Boston, raving about his nurse “AJ.” Anna reveals that because there is another nurse named “Anna” in the cardiac unit, she goes by her initials, AJ. He shows her a picture of his father and she realizes that she did take care of him. She tells James that his father was so proud of him and told her that if they ever met, James would treat her like a princess. It seems like fate has stepped in and they finally get to share a kiss.
They also finally get to share that waltz and appear to be on their way to living happily ever after.
Yay!
So why did I saw this was a flip on a classic Hallmark trope? Well, for two reasons.
One – the royal secret only lasts for like ten minutes of the movie. It’s not like in past movies where the main female lead has been dating the main male lead for some time and only just learning about a pretty significant part of his life. Or the royal decides to hide their true identity to experience what it’s like to be “normal.” James comes clean rather quickly. And doesn’t do a good job at being “normal” either.
Two – mom’s supportive! Usually in these movies, mom doesn’t like the American interloper and tries to get rid of them. Here, Gabriella was practically pushing them together and had a good relationship with Anna.
I liked how James and Anna’s relationship played out. She was the bubbly one who got him to open up and to realize how to be a good ruler to his people while he helped her open her heart again. He gave her a reason to take a chance. Osnes and Tvait played well off each other and I hope they get to share a Broadway stage some day soon.
I also enjoyed the subplot with Sara and Christopher, but I especially loved Brown as Sara. I hope Hallmark gives her her own movie soon – she definitely would be amazing in one!
And I hope Clark appears in a few more movies as well. Especially if it reunites her a few more times with Osnes.
So go ahead – have some hot chocolate, put your feet up and enjoy this the next time it’s on Hallmark.
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