‘A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby’: Netflix’s disappointing mishmash of genres

It is not a typical romance. It is not, despite the loss of the parchment of the treaty signed between the fictional nations of Aldovia and Penglia, a mystery. It doesn’t have moments of high drama. And, it is not a spine-tingling film, despite suggestions that a centuries-old tormented ghost lives inside a dark and musty dungeon in the palace of Aldovia.

Directed by John Schultz, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby starring Rose Mciver and Ben Lamb can be loosely described as a Christmas-themed romantic comedy. It is the third part of a series that started with A Christmas Prince in 2017. That was followed by A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding released last year.

In the third part, the parchment disappears sometime after King Tai (Kevin Shen) and Queen Ming (Momo Yeung) of Penglia arrive in Aldovia to renew the friendship treaty, which had been signed for the first time on a battlefield on Christmas Eve in 1419. The monarchs of Penglia and Aldovia sign the treaty once in every 100 years. The inability to do so would push the nations towards a state of war, which means nothing at all since neither Penglia nor Aldovia has a standing army.

Silly, isn’t it? Very.

Amber (Mciver), an investigative journalist in the past, is married to Prince Richard (Lamb) and expecting her first baby. The author of a popular blog, she plays the detective and tracks down the culprit who has stolen the parchment without being able to take it outside the palace premises. Also silly? Yes. Very, very.

The first two films of this series have been popular, which explains why Netflix has produced the third one under review.

The latest release shows that the quality of these films is going steadily downhill. The writing of the third part is so shoddy that it comes across as the handiwork of a desperate writer (Nate Atkins) who has produced a story after running short of ideas.

Part of the film is about Amber’s pregnancy. The first royal child is expected on January 11. Joy is in the air as she prepares for motherhood. The other major subplot is about the treaty, whose sudden disappearance results in tension for the Aldovian monarchy. The problem is that the mystery isn’t accompanied by nail-biting suspense that can keep the viewer engrossed.

Saddled with a poor screenplay, the star cast seems uninspired for the most part. Lamb as Prince Richard is particularly ordinary, his looks that make him ideal for his character notwithstanding. Theo Devaney, who plays Richard’s cousin Simon, is the only one who appears to have enjoyed playing his part. A prime suspect who doesn’t seem trustworthy, his character makes the viewer sit up and watch him whenever he is present in a sequence.

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby is a mishmash of genres set in the festive season. Disappointed with what they are watching, most viewers will hit the ‘stop’ button midway and search for watchable films on the OTT platform, which has many of them.