Also, this is definitely a prequel to Princess Switch 3.
SUMMARY (Spoiler-Free)
Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse) is a knight during the 14th Century who wishes to prove himself a true knight. He meets an old woman (Ella Kenion), who sends him forward in time to the present so that he can find what he’s missing. At the same time, Brooke Winters (Vanessa Hudgens), a woman who has become jaded towards love, runs into him with her car. Thinking that she caused him to become brain-damaged, she takes care of the knight. Naturally, they start to fall in love.
END SUMMARY
I appreciate that this movie goes the extra step to be interesting by having an even more ridiculous premise than most of the other Christmas films. I mean, rather than the small-town girl or guy meeting the big city guy, it’s a freaking medieval knight and the girl who is soured on romance. Do knights have anything to do with Christmas? Nope, not at all, but whatever, it was the pun that everyone knew was out there, but no one else had dared to use. I give them all the credit that is due for such bold action.
As for the quality of the film itself, it’s about average for this kind of fare. Obviously, the movie has to gloss over all of the issues that a person from the 14th Century would have with women working, other religions, people of other races, democracy, capitalism, language, and pretty much everything else, but it does manage to make Sir Cole just the right amount of “fish out of water.” He speaks in fake Elizabethan English, rather than Old English. Rather than just being a focused warrior for a monarch, he’s an accomplished baker and scholar for the time and he allows himself to be corrected when he is wrong. He’s not anything close to a real knight, but he’s exactly what this kind of movie needs. Brooke, on the other hand, is just the right amount of “over love” for you to get why she doesn’t immediately try to jump on the handsome and fairly impressive new man in her life. Granted, he does think he’s a knight, but she attributes that to the concussion, so… actually, that’s another good reason not to sleep with him. Okay, the movie’s still a bit of a mess plot-wise. Either way, the two work well together and I thought they had solid chemistry.
Also, as I pointed out yesterday, this movie takes place in the same universe as A Christmas Prince, which shares a continuity with The Princess Switch. In this film, we see that Madison (Emmanuelle Chriqui) has an acorn ornament that was from Aldovia, the country from A Christmas Prince. In The Princess Switch: Switched Again, the leads from A Christmas Prince cameo as their characters. In A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, the queen of Penglia mentions the events of The Princess Switch. So, all three of these movies share a single universe. As such, Vanessa Hudgens is no less than four characters in this world, three of which have interacted. Is a crossover inevitable? HELL YES. Also, we see Sir Cole watch Holiday in the Wild and The Holiday Calendar, two other Netflix Christmas movies. It’s the new MCU.
Overall, if you want to watch a Christmas movie, this is not the worst example.
If you want to check out some more by the Joker on the Sofa, check out the 100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time, Collection of TV Episodes, Collection of Movie Reviews, or the Joker on the Sofa Reviews.
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