★ 1 / 10
I decided to just watch three new Hallmark
Peter McGinn
I decided to just watch three new Hallmark holiday movies this season, and The Royal Nanny was the best of the three. It ended up where a Hallmark Christmas…
I decided to just watch three new Hallmark holiday movies this season, and The Royal Nanny was the best of the three. It ended up where a Hallmark Christmas movie is supposed to, and it used much less icky sweetness and sugar getting there, so as not to endanger the blood sugar readings of diabetic viewers like my wife.
It contained the usual bits of romance and humor, but resisted embedding “this is what Christmas is about” messaging as clumsily as the other two movies were loaded with. There were also elements of the spy thriller here, most notably the old “Who can you trust?” Motif.
Obviously it borrows from the iconic Mary Poppins also, between the nickname “Scary Poppins” and the difficult children, but it doesn’t lean heavily upon it, just a few brief references in that direction.
Greta Scacchi steals the show a bit as the nanny trainer, but everyone does a credible job, with the possible exception of an overacting villain or two. It was a fair movie and I am glad I watched it last out of the three Hallmark film.
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★ 8 / 10
Royally surprised
TheLittleSongbird
'The Royal Nanny' (2022)Opening thoughts: Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime and…
'The Royal Nanny' (2022)Opening thoughts: Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime and Hallmark. They can either be well-meaning, charming, warm-hearted and don't feel too heavy. Or they can be too over-sentimental, cheesy, contrived and bland. There have been many films of theirs that have fallen in both camps and in the camp where there is a bit of both. And ''The Royal Nanny' did have the sort of premise where the execution could have gone either way.Am generally not a fan of the royalty-themed Hallmark films. There have definitely been some pleasant surprises, but they tend to be very more of the same, with cliches galore done badly and very cheesy, a lot with bad acting and lacking in intedeating or/and likeable characters. 'The Royal Nanny' is one of the pleasant surprises, and as far as the royalty-themed Hallmark films go (especially for the ones ser at Christmas) it is for me easily one of the best. With it feeling fresh and that it was a lot less formulaic than usual.Bad things: 'The Royal Nanny' isn't perfect. It did feel too short and also a bit over-crowded, which made the film feel rushed. Particularly in the final act.Good things: Everything else is fine. The two leads carry 'The Royal Nanny' with down to earth charm and wit, looking as if they were having fun while not over-compensating. Their chemistry is good natured and sweet, and it looked natural. The supporting cast are fine, with a nice dignified turn from Greta Scacchi. The characters are familiar in type but they have a lot of fresh personality and are not annoying.Furthermore, the film is attractive and slick looking, the locations are beautiful to look at. The music fits well and didn't sound over-bearing or intrusive. The script is witty and doesn't ramble or come over as awkward and cheesy, the latter extreme has been the case with a lot of Hallmark's royal themed films. The story felt fresh and is a lot less formulaic than usual, while also going at a pace that has liveliness in some places and gentility in others. It is very cosy and feel good, with a lot of heart and charm, while not being over serious or too spoof-like.Closing thoughts: Concluding, very well done.8/10.
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★ 7 / 10
Very different and super cute movie!
mamachikn
The Royal Nanny. It's one of the better movies this year. Different storyline, mystery, comedy, romance. Very cute. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Unrealistic, of…
The Royal Nanny.
It's one of the better movies this year.
Different storyline, mystery, comedy, romance. Very cute. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Unrealistic, of course, because an English prince would never be in a romance with an orphan MI7 agent, lol. We viewers don't mind, though.
It was interesting and held my interest throughout. Super cute use of the "brolly".
Gave it a 7.
Good acting. I liked "Scary" Poppins, and everyone was of course English, so the accents were real. Though I know someone here will say they turned it off because of it!
It was filmed in Brussels, Belgium, so other than drone views of the London skyline and Tower Bridge, the street scenes and castle were in Belgium.
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75%
AUDIENCE
6.7/10
2.6K
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Police officer who was an orphan, doesn't like kids, never felt motherly was assigned to be an undercover nanny. Finds herself turning motherly, falls in love with the most eligible bachelor prince #2. Her glassy skin is very disturbing, especially odd on a face that you know isn't so young as to have glassy skin. Wish actors wouldn't mess with their faces so.