Alexander Cavalieri is a prince. He used to be the one nobody paid much attention to, but all of that changed with his brother's death, a few years ago. Back in the day, a young prince breaking his leg in a skiing accident would hardly be newsworthy, but since he became the heir the press is a great deal more interested in what happens to the young man, and his staff is quick to search for a hospital in which the prince can recuperate with privacy. His team reaches out to Jeff, an old school-mate of the prince, from the time he studied in an American boarding school for a while - to broaden his international education. Jeff works as a nurse in a remotely located hospital, the perfect place for the prince's convalescence.
The trouble is that the prince's staff determines the pediatric wing to be the safest one in the hospital - also the one where he is less likely to be disturbed. But the chief of pediatrics and the prince have some history...
Her name is Tasha Mason, and she's Jeff's sister. Back when they were all in school, Tasha had a crush on Alexander, for a minute, and even went as far as inviting him for a dance... Back then he was an 18-year-old prince and she was a 16-year-old nobody, in her words, and the young Alex promptly rejected her. He was... less than polite, on the occasion, which of course led to some hard feelings, even now, 15 years later. Unfortunately, however, a generous donation on behalf of the prince takes matters out of doctor Mason's hands and the royal is placed in her wing, despite her reservations.
From then on it becomes a story of the two of them getting reacquainted and falling in love with each other. She watches him interacting with the kids and realizes he has become mature and generous over the years. He sees something in her as well... Pretty standard.
This is probably my least favorite movie in this year's marathon so far... The hospital setting takes precedence over the Christmas theme most of the time - aside from Jeff dressing up as Santa to distribute gifts and a few Christmas songs, there isn't really much about the holidays - and even then, it's more like someone's abstract idea of what a hospital actually is... There were children who were supposed to be in chemo sharing each other's beds, the prince looking at them from the door and remarking on their "sad faces" and a little boy talking about how he wishes his mum could be there with him before his surgery, but unfortunately she had to be at work... This kind of thing happens in real life, but in this movie, it felt like the writers were trying to get some easy tears from viewers who might not know what it is really like in a hospital wing.
Also, it is not out of the realm of possibility that an adult patient could want to "hide" in the pediatric wing (it's an okay idea for a movie), but even then, why would the pediatrician be in charge of him? Why not a GP from another department? Tasha auscultating Alex with a child-size stethoscope was just laughable. Not to mention that the prince looks more like a personal trainer than a prince... It's not exactly about his appearance, it's also about how he carries himself, and how he acts.
We don't get much worldbuilding at all. The prince's kingdom remains unnamed and his outfit is probably the simplest prince outfit I've seen in any of the movies of this year's blogathon... If I had to remark on one good element it would probably be the king. The king is a charismatic character, and his heart-to-heart with Tasha near the end, despite their differences earlier in the movie, is probably the closest this movie gets to having a "magical moment". It's also cool that the movie chooses not to use the "monarch-parent-who-disapproves-the-common-girl" trope.
Be that as it may, I don't think I'll be watching this one again...
You seem to have skipped a day. If you need motivation, keep going! I hope you're alright :)
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