Art Lovers

I’m giving this one an almost 7, which is fairly typical for a travelogue Hallmark movie. The story was one of the “Royal in Disguise” ones and does not miss a square on the bingo card. So, as usual, the plot wasn’t much, but it was saved somewhat by the scenery along the Danube and the lead actress, Jessica Sipos. Sipos is not new to Hallmark, but this is her first time in a lead role. I hope not the last, because she was appealing, convincing, pretty, and well-cast (casting being a frequent stumbling block for Hallmark.) Dan Jeannotte was also well cast and together they made a good couple with decent chemistry. Unfortunately, although I usually like him pretty well,  in this one, Jeannotte’s over-the-top posh British accent got between his role and his performance. It was very distracting. Maybe he should have gone with an Eastern European accent? You know, because he was supposed to be from Baldonia(?), which everyone knows is on the Danube River which flows through Eastern Europe. However, his facial expressions matched what he was supposed to be conveying.

Ava is a curator in an Art Gallery who is a little burned out and still hurting from breaking up with her fiancé a year ago. Her boss convinces her to go ahead and go on the river cruise that was supposed to be her honeymoon. Hmmmm. That could have gone either way as far as a mood-booster. Josef is a Duke in line for the throne of Baldonia(?). He is on the outs with his dad, The King, because of some minor scandals (a speeding ticket right in front of the palace!) and not taking his royal duties seriously though he does a lot of charity work involving art. His Valet/Butler/P.A./Handler (Yes, one of those. Every royal has one, and this one is of the nice, not sinister, varieties) convinces them to have Josef go on the exact same cruise that Ava is on to have a think about his future and stop by the various palaces that they cruise by to gather art works for the Royal Charity Gala which will top off the movie. Of course he goes incognito as “Joe, just Joe” and strikes up a romance with Ava while montage-ing along the Danube. Despite some close calls, he keeps up the deception until he is outed by a paparazzo. 

Ava is betrayed and the Molten Fires of Hell are unleashed. Not really, but when she reads him the riot act about his deception she does it with such conviction that when she ultimately forgives him it did not follow convincingly. Usually the conflict is resolved by some grand gesture but all it took for her to give in was a nice letter from Joe’s sister-in-law, a formal invitation to the Royal Gala, and a selection of ball gowns to choose from should she decide to accept the invitation. Ha Ha. The last 5 or 10 minutes rushed to a close, with Joe’s brother, the future king (Joe decides on another career path) and his nice wife gifting them both together a painting that she has been looking for that was under a sheet in the family palace all the time. This seemed a little presumptuous. They now are co-owners of the valuable painting even though they’ve only been on a few dates and the future of the relationship seemed kind of iffy to say the least before the Royal Gala. But now they have no choice but to get married and live happily ever after because they might as well, right? Wouldn’t want to complicate matters with a custody battle over a piece of art of the “My 4-year-old-could-do-better” variety.