Christmas at the Castle (2020 Lifetime)
Cast: Brooke Burfitt, Nicholas Farrell, Dan Jeannotte
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
This Christmas, Blaire Henderson (Brooke Burfitt), a perfume expert from New York, is sent to remote Scotland to find a rare fragrance, The Heart of the Highlands. But when she arrives, she finds the dashing license owner, Alistair McGregor (Dan Jeannotte), is a stubborn aristocrat who won’t sell. Thinking on her feet, she poses as a documentary filmmaker to learn the secret formula. The more time they spend together, the more sparks fly. With the scent of romance in the air, will Blaire find love where she least expected?
Thoughts
Blair works in New York for a perfume company (maybe) and has terrible audio in her office. Oh wow, the flow here is awful. She is fired now and talking sassily to a Santa. Now she is sad, eating ice cream while talking to her mom, who might be a YouTube star? She also may be blind?
Alistair lives in the castle where Christmas will take place. He speaks with a British accent and has people catering to his every whim, even though he would like nothing more than to be normal and “walk his dog.”
It appears that Blair isn’t fired after she finds an amazing imported perfume (from Santa!) and is sent to go to Scotland to convince the creators to sell her the formula. She settles into her room after “traveling a long way.” She asks Alistair to help her with the wifi and inquires about the perfumery. He, of course, is just passing through but is amused by her. (He might be the only one!) They meet at the perfumery and talk while dropping in and out of their accents.
A royal girl named Kristen has her sights set on Alistair and goes as far as to fake a college education to impress him. (Okay, calm down, Olivia Jade.)
Blair takes Alistair filming in a forest, even though she doesn’t know how to use a camera. He gets an urgent call about gingerbread and rushes to his castle. Blair realizes that Alistair is royalty. He invites her to live in the castle when the inn she is staying at loses power and water.
At the castle, Blair is thrilled. She even gets her own room with a bed with bedposts. Alistair plays pool with his red-headed brother and a LOT of red balls… for Christmas? They all enjoy dinner together; Blair is underdressed and looks like a knockoff of Daphne from Scooby-Doo. Kristine is there and jealous of Blair. After dinner, she goes to her room with her mother and stalks Blair online.
That doesn’t stop Blair and Alister from picking out Christmas trees and tasting chocolates together. The sound mixing is so distracting. The actors’ voices are so echoey and may have been added poorly in post. They visit his secret perfumery, and Blair has gotten what she came for. The ingredients (she steals the ingredients list). We still have half the movie left, so some drama will do down. I couldn’t care less.
Alister invites Blair to the Scottish dance by calling it a “room full of sweaty men in skirts.” SAY NO MORE! I’m there. Cue an entertaining dance sequence.
Blair leaves abruptly with a bag full of stolen goods. She feels bad about what she is doing, but that doesn’t stop her. A flat tire and a purse-stealing reindeer do. Alister and Blair drive into the city, but she misses her flight. They walk around downtown Scotland and almost kiss. Blair runs off to the airport and learns her boss is headed to the castle. She books a rental car to stop her before it is too late! What is too late? I don’t know!
The maid helps Blair put on an ice skating uniform and is thrilled with the look. (It is tragic and so low-budget-looking. It doesn’t even fit the actress) While dancing in the middle of the ball, Blair comes clean about stealing and lying about making a film. Alister knew all along and had something to admit to her as well. The boss shows up and interprets. Blair is fired in front of everyone, but it is okay because she already quit via email. Then she rushed out of the castle abruptly. Then she comes back; it is maybe the third time she is done this. Has she never heard of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?
Alister shows up in New York and wins over Blair’s family. He tells her that he loves her, and they kiss in soap snow. The end.
Side Note
Having a completely out-of-context blind character in a movie is acceptable ONLY if a visually impaired actor plays that character. Fiona Ormiston is not. So it is problematic.
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Overall rating
🎄 (1 Christmas Tree)
🍷 (1 glass of wine)
*Photo Credit: © 2020 Lifetime
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