Movie Monday Dec. 13: A Castle for Christmas

After taking a break last week, I’m back for another Movie Monday pick. Since it’s the holiday season, I chose a Christmas movie this week. Instead of going for a well known option, I chose one of the many “Hallmark”-esque Christmas movies on Netflix: A Castle for Christmas.

**Warning, mild spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t watched the movie yet, what are you doing?**

After her latest book upset her fans, American author Sophie Brown (Brooke Shields) escapes to a small Scottish village. The castle nearby, Dun Dunbar, has a special meaning for her; her grandfather was the groundskeeper decades ago. When she learns that the castle is for sale, she decides to buy it, although with some conditions set by its current owner, Duke Myles (Cary Elwes). He intends to drive her out before Christmas, and in doing so would keep her down payment, but she’s tougher than she looks. Sophie spends several months making friends, trying to write her next book, and falling in love with the history of the castle and its surrounding area. Not only that, but she begins to fall for Myles and he for her. As Christmas approaches, Sophie is able to melt some of Myles’s hard exterior and help grow the local tourism. He, however, can’t move past his pride over losing his family’s legacy. Can their love make it to Christmas?

I for one love a good romance. A Castle for Christmas, however fun and light it’s tone is, doesn’t live up to the standards of Pride and Prejudice or The Notebook. It’s a cute addition to the sub genre of Christmas romances (and there are a lot of options out there nowadays).

While the plot feels a bit incomplete, the beautiful scenery throughout and fun side characters don’t disappoint. The main couple could use a little of fleshing out, but everyone else fits nicely into its 98 minute runtime. The romance lacks a bit, but the friendships feel very real. Each of Sophie’s friends feel like real people, not just plot elements

To be honest, the plot of A Castle for Christmas would be a real life dream for me. A successful writer getting whisked away in the Scottish countryside, sign me up any day. For now, I’ll just settle with a nice cup of tea and some Scottish shortbread while I count down the days till Christmas.

One moment that I loved: When Sophie, Myles, and the villagers are gathered in the pub for drinking and dancing. Any ensemble scene worked really well in my opinion, but this one was the most genuine. It was also one of the only scenes where the romantic tension between the leads didn’t feel forced.

One moment that made me laugh: When Sophie tries to lead a castle tour full of her starstruck fans but keeps bungling the history. That’s me when I haven’t fully memorized a script. I sound confident but it’s all BS.

I’d give A Castle for Christmas 4 tartan scarves out of 10.