I love silly holiday movies. Yes, I understand that they are all a variation of the same plot and that I know the ending before I even press play. I don't care. I will still watch a ridiculous amount of them throughout the holiday season. Being the holiday movie aficionado that I am (yes, this is an official title that I just made up and I am going to put it in the special skills section of my resume ), I tend to categorize our beloved Lifetime/Hallmark/Netflix movies in three ways: 1) It's so bad and I loved it, 2) It's silly and cute and I loved it, and 3) It is actually good and gave me the feels and I loved it.
I am happy to report that Netflix's A Castle For Christmas lands somewhere between 2 and 3. Another bonus for my fellow holiday movie lovers: it has many of the tropes we have grown to know, love, and expect from our favorite made for TV (or streaming service) movies. Eleven to be exact. Let's get into it...
Escaping Problems In A Different Country
What do you do when work and life is just too much? You go to a remote location. In this case, Sophie escapes the press fiasco of her most recent novel and goes to a small village in Scotland to get away from it all and cure her writer's block.
Meet Cute
This is a requirement for the two love interests of any silly holiday movie. Here, Sophie quite literally falls into the Duke's arms (but of course she doesn't know he's the Duke, which "hidden identity" is another trope).
Castle & Royalty
I have mentioned that I love holiday movies, but any holiday movie that has royalty in it automatically gets bonus points in my mind. In this case, we have the Duke of Dunbar and a very run down castle. Extra credit for this trope if the protagonist's own family has a connection to the latter. For example, your father grew up on the grounds.
Enemies To Lovers
It would not be a holiday romance without an enemy-to-lovers trope. Here the Duke is an ass. I'd be disappointed if he wasn't.
A Caroling Moment
Everyone has to burst out into song at least once. Lucky for us, it happens twice in A Castle for Christmas. The first time featured the traditional Scottish song "Loch Lomond." This is very fitting since we are in Scotland.
Falling In Love Montage
This montage is set to [insert Christmas song of your choice here]. Bonus points if it's all the same day and all the footage have the leads wearing the same clothes.
A Big Blowout
About 20 minutes before the movie ends, there is a huge fight before the the enemies-to-lovers decide that are are in fact, in love and going to stay together forever and ever.
Montage Of The Memories
After said blow out, it wouldn't be a holiday movie if we didn't see all the scenes we've seen before in a memory montage.
A Christmas Ball
Whether it's a party, a performance, or a pot luck, there is always some town celebration at the end of the movie.
A Choreographed Dance
Somehow, miraculously at said ball, everyone knows the same choreography.
Protagonist's Problem Is Healed By Love
Usually, at the end of the movie, whatever the problem the protagonist was trying to escape from has been healed, or solved, by love. In this case, it's Sophie's writer's block. And to all a good night.
Images: Netflix