RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Now that Thanksgiving's behind us, it is officially Christmas season. How do you know this? Maybe you have seen trees for sale. Maybe you've been in a store playing Christmas music. Or maybe you've logged onto Netflix and been bombarded with an array of romantic comedies set around the holidays. NPR's Linda Holmes is with me to discuss one of the new films out today. It is a sequel to what I am told was last year's viral sensation.
LINDA HOLMES, BYLINE: (Laughter) It's true.
MARTIN: "A Christmas Prince." Good morning, Linda.
HOLMES: Good morning, Rachel.
MARTIN: So let's just talk about the original film. Let's try to be a little bit sincere. What...
HOLMES: (Laughter).
MARTIN: Can we?
HOLMES: (Laughter).
MARTIN: What's it about, Linda?
HOLMES: So it's about a journalist who goes to investigate a young prince. And she, as you do, is able to slip into the castle through an unguarded side door. You know how castles are.
MARTIN: Totally.
HOLMES: She goes in there. She's mistaken for the tutor, for the prince's young sister. So eventually, you know, she will be discovered and have to come clean, but by then, they will be in love. And that's "A Christmas Prince."
MARTIN: That's "A Christmas Prince."
HOLMES: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A CHRISTMAS PRINCE")
ROSE MCIVER: (As Amber) But my whole life is in New York.
BEN LAMB: (As Prince Richard) We can come back as much as you want.
MCIVER: (As Amber) But my career - I'm not ready.
LAMB: (As Prince Richard) I don't want to make you give up anything, Amber. How long do you plan to keep a king on his knees?
HOLMES: (Laughter) It's going to be up for many awards this year.
MARTIN: Many, many awards.
HOLMES: Many awards.
MARTIN: So the sequel picks up where we left off.
HOLMES: Yeah.
MARTIN: So now...
HOLMES: They have their wedding planned for Christmas.
MARTIN: OK.
HOLMES: This is "A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding."
MARTIN: OK.
HOLMES: So the whole idea of the film is that she's getting used to the idea of becoming a member of the royal family.
MARTIN: Because she's just a regular...
HOLMES: (Singing) Because she's just a regular girl.
She still has a blog. I mean, who still has a blog, right? She does.
MARTIN: She does ever.
HOLMES: So she has to get ready to be assimilated into the royal family, and that causes her some anxiety. But spoiler alert - it will not keep them from getting married (laughter).
MARTIN: Oh - phew. Is this sequel expected to do equally as well?
HOLMES: I think that a lot of people will sit around and watch it with the same genuine enjoyment and a little of that ironic detachment with which they watched the first one.
MARTIN: So here's what I'll say. Having never seen the original, when I watched the sequel...
HOLMES: Were you able to keep up?
MARTIN: Oh, it was tough in the beginning. In all honesty, it's like when you're watching Shakespeare and you're trying to get into the language, and then all of a sudden, you're like, I get it - is the beginning of "Christmas Prince" for me, the sequel. I'm watching it, and I'm like, this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen. This is a total waste my time. I can't even pretend it's funny. And then I'm like, what is going to happen to Amber?
HOLMES: They gobble you up. It will gradually overtake you. And there are many people who will say the day that Rachel Martin compared watching "A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding" to watching Shakespeare is the day that we all just gave up and...
MARTIN: Humanity crumbled into a black hole.
HOLMES: ...Humanity crumbled.
MARTIN: Yeah.
HOLMES: I disagree. I think this is the season where I indulge in this kind of thing the most, I always have. There are other cable channels that specialize in these movies. Lifetime has some. Hallmark is kind of the monster of this kind of thing. This is the time of year.
MARTIN: Wrap yourself up in a blanket...
HOLMES: Wrap yourself...
MARTIN: ...Of holiday goodness.
HOLMES: ...Up in a blanket. If you have, perhaps, a mulled beverage, a cuddly dog.
MARTIN: It works well.
HOLMES: Yeah. It's a whole experience.
MARTIN: What is your favorite Christmas movie trope?
HOLMES: My favorite Christmas movie trope is probably the small business that is reinvigorated by the Christmas season.
MARTIN: Oh, yes.
HOLMES: In some of these movies, it will be a cake business. In one, it is a year-round Christmas hat store...
MARTIN: (Laughter).
HOLMES: ...Which seems like it would be a niche business.
MARTIN: It's a tough market, I would think.
HOLMES: Yeah, it seems like it would be a niche market, but they make the year-round Christmas hat store work. But it's really reinvigorated, as you can imagine, by it actually being Christmas.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MARTIN: I'm going to find myself a mulled beverage. And I'm going to curl up and look forward to this and many other holiday soon-to-be classics.
HOLMES: Do it.
MARTIN: NPR's Linda Holmes. Thanks, Linda.
HOLMES: Thanks, Rachel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
