A Royal In Paradise – REVIEW
Image: A ROYAL IN PARADISE. Image: film still
It’s extremely difficult to comprehend how this flimsy Australian celluloid non-event received such high viewership in the US. A very average, cheesy, and overly sugar-coated movie which at best can be classed as a chick flick – else more aptly a flick for non-thinking females in their mid-teens.
The problem is that this film offers nothing that we haven’t seen before – there are no surprises here. It’s seemingly an old script which has been rehashed over and over again. It simply lacks originality.
A woman out of luck in love travels to a tropical island. She sees her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend. She then bumps into a handsome guy she spoke to in a bookshop back home who coincidentally happens to be a prince. They fall in love but he doesn’t tell her that he’s a prince. They break up, but the question that needs to be asked as audiences hold their breath is, will they get back together again?
Sound familiar? The real question should be, do we really care? Predictability runs rampart throughout this film and it’s worth a dime a dozen.
One of the few redeeming features of this romantic tale in paradise is that Rhiannon Fish and newcomer Mitchell Bourke are well cast in the leading roles. They have charisma and make a credible beautiful couple – perfect casting is paramount for a movie in this genre if it’s to attract the desired younger female demographics.
A Royal In Paradise offers a look into the life of a prince – should culture and traditions within royalty be set aside for outside love?
“This is the first time I have met a woman like normal people,” he states, but his mother has expectations of his marrying a lady in royalty. Will he reveal that he’s a prince to the girl he has fallen in love with? Is a lie more pleasant than the truth?
Filmed in the picturesque surrounds on Moreton Island, Queensland, many may justifiably see this as an unashamed celluloid vehicle to allure international tourists to the ‘land down under’ and the surrounding islands – a postcard to the world to be precise.
Astonishingly there’s a market for romantic fairytales such as this and the fanbase should be overwhelmingly mesmerised by such heartwarming fluff.
★★1/2
Screening in select cinemas October 17 11:00am, Oct 18 6:30 pm & streaming services.
