October 21, 2025 • 29 mins
Love is in the (mountain) air! A Royal Montana Christmas brings a regal twist to Hallmark’s holiday lineup, whisking viewers from royal halls to the snow-covered charm of Big Sky Country. When Princess Victoria of Zelarnia trades palace protocol for a rustic escape at Montana’s Peaceful Pines Ranch, she discovers that sometimes the best gifts come wrapped in cowboy boots and small-town warmth. Starring Fiona Gubelmann and Warren Christie, and directed by Peter Benson, this royal-meets-ranch romance promises sweeping scenery, festive charm, as we kick off the 2025 Countdown to Christmas Season!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is a Bramble Jam podcast. Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark,
(00:24):
a Hallmark review podcast. Him Megan and I'm a longtime
Hallmark fan. I'm Wendy. I'm a former Hallmark hater. Five
years later, we are here kicking off the start of
the countdown to Christmas season with our first movie review,
A Royal Montana Christmas, which originally aired on Saturday, October
eighteenth and is currently available to stream on Hallmark Plus.
(00:47):
Can you hear the excitement in our voices right now?
I am pumped? You're pumped because it's finally countdown to
Christmas season? Or yeah, yeah, I gotta tell you, like
there's a little bit of like whimsy in the air,
Like I'm excited that we're all in on Christmas movies now.
I have seen some chatter online about like people are like, no,
(01:10):
not until November. Yeah, And I'm kind of surprised by that.
I think that's all. You know, some people are purists
one holiday at a time. We've got to get through Halloween,
which I understand, but unfortunately the Hallmark calendar doesn't allow
us to do that. Also, in our house, Christmas decorations
go up No. Number eighth, so you know, we do
not respect the timelines around here. I think what I'm
(01:33):
feeling is, I'm really excited about the holiday season right now.
For some reason. It's because this year's been crazy, and
that's why. Yeah, right, I need like the coziness and
the warmth and tradition. Yeah. Yeah, Wendy and I were
just talking about this year. We both cried a little bit,
so it has been a weird year. Also, I'm feeling
this kind of renewed sense of excitement about our business
(01:56):
and doing this and sitting here and talking to you
about these movies. Yeah, it's not like we haven't talked
about Hallmark movies all year long, but I just think,
I think because we haven't had as many new movies
this year, it feels this year's felt different in terms
of Hallmark. So yes, I'm excited too. I'm excited. Well,
(02:19):
we want you to come along on this count on
a Christmas ride with us. We want to be your
go to resource for Hallmark news and reviews, and there's
several places you can find us. We are on both
Instagram and TikTok as Girls Gone Homework. Yeah, there's different
content over there. Sometimes it crosses over, but there are
two totally unique platforms we loved on Instagram. This weekend
(02:42):
we launched in our feed first impression posts for both movies,
and thank you to everyone who participated in those. It
was so fun to see your first impressions of those
new movies flowing in in real time. Agreed, I loved it.
So if you aren't following us yet, come on over
to Girls Gone Hallmark and join the comversation there, and
our website will remain your go to resource for Hallmark
(03:06):
news all season long, Girls Gone Hallmark dot com. You know,
a week from today, as we're recording this, the Finding
Mister Christmas season drops. Yes, and I'm wondering, is it
your plan to write those Killder synopsis posts? I? Yeah,
it's my plan. That was such a joy last year.
(03:26):
I love that show so much and I love just
digging in with Truly, those posts were like my first
reaction as you were watching. Yes, I love it, I
hope so yes, I'm going to write review posts for
it this year. We will be reviewing it, of course
on the podcast. If you hadn't read Wendy's recap and
review posts, those are still on our website from Finding
(03:48):
Mister Christmas Season one. They're an absolutely I recommend them,
especially if you are rewatching or watching season one for
the first time. I love that show. I cannot wait
for that show to come back. Game so excited. Hey,
we have a Facebook group if you are looking to
chat with people who really know their Hallmark movies. And
(04:09):
I'm talking these people know their stuff. Come join us.
We are girls Gone Hallmark in Facebook groups. That's right.
We're gonna jump right into A Royal Montana Christmas with
a synopsis. Princess Victoria of Zelarnia is ready for a
change of pace. Looking to decompress in the days leading
(04:29):
up to Christmas, she decides to take a vacation to
Peaceful Pines Ranch in Montana. Peter Benson directed A Royal
Montana Christmas. Peter is booked and busy this holiday season
as he will also direct Christmas Above the Clouds and
The More the Merrier. Peter will also appear as an
actor in The More the Merrier. Oh really, that's a
(04:51):
nice addition, right. I always enjoy seeing him pop up
in our movies. Mark fa mcleetti and Michael test Duh
wrote A Royal Montana Christmas. This is the first Hallmark
movie for both writers. I feel like I hear you
snickering over there over my pronunciation of I'm not doing anything.
(05:12):
Warren Christy stars as Huntley. Warren was recently in the
fall movie Home Turf, as well as last year's Our
Holiday Story with Nikki de Loach. His other Hallmark appearances
include Crashing through the Snow and Holiday Road. Fiona Googleman
plays Princess Victoria of Zolarnia. Am I seeing Zalarnia correctly? Yes, ma'am.
(05:33):
Fiona was last seen on Hallmark in Tis this season.
To be irish, she's been busy for the last several
years on the series The Good Doctor. David Ka plays
Gabriel with eighty eight acting credits. He was last on
Hallmark and Christmas under the Lights. He's also appeared in
The Wedding Contract and Wedding of a Lifetime. Eric keenly
(05:53):
Side plays Huntley's dad slash ranch owner. On IMDb, he
is listed as ranch owner. He had a name well.
To be fair, Linda Boyd wasn't even credited on IMDb.
The Lovely Linda Boyd, who plays Huntley's mother. Okay. This
movie marks Eric's two hundred and second acting credit. He
(06:17):
was last seen as Mac in the Wish Swap earlier
this season. Rebby Martholer plays Sam Remy was last scene
in Science You'll Delivered To the Moon and Back. She's
the older sister of Miles Marthaller of the Three Wiseman franchise.
Julia Benson plays Shelby. Julia has made a number of
appearances on Hallmark, including Hannah Swinson, Aurora Ta Guarded and
(06:37):
Curious Caterer Mysteries. Her resume also includes BH nine O
two one zero and to All the Boys I've Loved before.
Let's take a quick breay can come right back with
our first impressions. Hey, Wendy, what is your first impression
(07:00):
of a royal Montana Christmas? The kisses were hot, but
the plot was ice cold. Oh no, well to quote
Girls Gone Hallwark Facebook group member Steven Peter Benson pulled
a rabbit out of his hat with this one. Oh Wow,
(07:21):
House divided Friends, first movie out of the gate. You
liked it? Oh boy, let's talk likes Okay, let me
start Okay. I think this was a solid outing for
our first movie of the season. Interesting. I found it cozy,
I found it warm. I am acknowledging that there is
(07:43):
a little bit of first movie glow on this movie.
I was excited to sit down with a warm drink
and a blanket and let it wash over me. I
actually thought there was a lot to like about this movie. Well,
even behind the scenes. You and I were texting while
(08:05):
watching the Night Yet Saturday night. It was Saturday night.
We were texting, right, and I was like, both of
us were like, well, I don't hate it so far
that it fell apart for you. Yeah, it did. I
do have a lot of likes though. Okay, let's hear him. Well.
First of all, I thought Fiona and Warren were great.
(08:26):
I thought they had great chemistry. They had a lot
of energy, Like I was truly believing, like, okay, these
two were into each other, like there was no forcing
that by any means. I thought, Okay, I can see
these two naturally, like have feelings for each other. They
had solid kisses. I'm sure we're going to talk more
about that. Warren and a cowboy hat approved. I love that.
(08:49):
I love this rough cowboy. Can I interrupt you and
tell you that? Listener Michelle messages and asked if Warren
Christie has achieved wowie zowie status. Oh, no doubt, Yes,
no doubt. I also I thought their characters were totally likable.
(09:10):
And here's what I really liked about this movie. I
thought we were gonna get this fish out of water
princess who you know that typical trophe. Sure, I thought
this is exactly what we were gonna get. We did
not know and were in her element on the ranch.
(09:31):
I was pleasantly surprised by that. That was a good
thing for me, speaking of pleasant surprises. Our conflict in
the movie is not contrived. It's not rooted in anything
silly or frustrating to watch. It's just rooted in the
reality of life. They're different people with different life priorities,
and it was believable that she would leave after their kiss.
(09:55):
Put an asterisk by that. Yes, I agree. I'm not
saying the whole movie was believe okay, but I thought
her I thought that was very real. They had this moment.
They clearly like each other. There's no need to throw
a wrench in the system other than she's got to
go home and take over. She's got responsibilities. She's a
(10:17):
reluctant royal. Right. Additional likes, if I may Yes, I
loved our assistant Gabriel. I loved his wardrobe. I loved
Wendy's shaking her head No, I'm shaking my head a
good way, yes, snapping snappings. David Kay was a scene
stiller in this movie. Agree. I loved his wardrobe. I
liked his quibie one liners. I liked his sidekick bestie energy.
(10:39):
I thought that was a great choice for her sidekick,
for her sounding board, for her second her sidekick. Looking
for another word there that I can't pull out of
the depths of my brain. I really was touched by
Victoria reliving the memories of her father. I love like
(11:00):
the kids in those scenes, but I thought her visiting
this ranch and finding joy in the memories and reliving
how connected she felt to her dad on this trip.
I really liked that. And I really loved our supporting cast,
Lynda Boyd, Eric Keenley side. They just brought a lot
(11:23):
to this movie. Gabriel, of course, Danny Kay. I just
I David Kay, David K Danny Kay, it's the wrong guy.
I think they leveled up the movie. I would agree
with that. I thought I like I said, I thought
it was solid, And again I don't know if I
was just in the right mood for the first movie
(11:44):
of the season, but I felt the coziness of this
movie come through on the screen. Back to David Kay
for a second. I his role easily could have been
a bigger role. Yes, I thought he had some of
the best lines throughout this movie, Right at the top
when they're talking about him going to this ranch with
(12:06):
her and he goes the only ranch I know is
ranch dressing. I mean I laughed out loud. I thought
it was hilarious. He was so good. I was like,
put this man I wanted. I just wanted more from him,
Like easily could have been a bigger role, so good.
I Also what I liked about this movie is I
(12:31):
don't love a Royal movie because I don't like the
shenanigans that go along with it. So I was so
happy that this one was void of those. Like we
didn't have. She wasn't hiding her identity. There wasn't any
sort of like Papa Razzi looking for her, you know,
(12:54):
like those kind of tropes that we see in the
royal storyline. I think it was real that nobody knew
who she was because nobody knows who these second tier
royals are of these tiny little countries growing she the royal.
How many royals do you know outside of the British None?
Could you identify any of those other royals? Nope, no,
(13:15):
neither could I, And I think the vast majority of
people can't either. And that's real. And she was able
to be anonymous because that's rooted in reality. Exactly exactly.
One last like and it's a personal one to me.
When they did the light walk, I really like that
because they're reminded me of the one that we did
in Kansas City. The Oh yeah, I did think about
(13:38):
that too. I liked that lightwalk. I find that whimsical,
which is one of my daughter's favorite words. Right now,
she's bearing into whimsy. Oh, I like that. Pretty cute,
very whimsical. Yeah, the light walk was really pretty. It's
set a tone. It's set a tone. Well, what did
you wish for? I thought the script was a little
(13:59):
lifeless to me because it lacked conflict. There was no
conflict in this movie. It's all internal other than like
he was struggling with like his identity of I was
once a baseball player and now I'm not, and now
I'm trying to figure out who I am and what
(14:22):
value is in my life. Right, and then she was like, ah,
I gotta do this job. I'm not really fit for it.
So was it that it's too rooted in reality and
there wasn't enough Because to me, when you say that,
I'm like, yeah, that feels more like real life, that
there's not all of this external conflict. Yea, and I
(14:43):
like movies that are rooted in real life. But there
was just no there was. Maybe it's because it wasn't
what I expected. Maybe if I went back at a
second look and watched it from that point of view
of like, oh, this is in real life, this is
how these conversations would happen in real life with real people,
I might appreciate it more. Maybe I went into it
(15:06):
with meeting like oh I need some silly misunderstanding and
some crazy royal meltdown. I don't know. Maybe I maybe
I'm disappointed by it. I don't know. Okay, I don't know.
I just thought I there was no for me, there
was nothing mattered other than what was internal. Yeah, I
(15:28):
hear you, you know saying that. Now I don't want to.
I don't want to. What's the word on diminish. That's
the word. I don't want to diminish it because I
do find value in that, an internal struggle, human conflict,
so finding yourself. Yeah, like I appreciate all that stuff.
(15:52):
So okay, all right, I am. I can say maybe
I didn't hate it as much I thought I hated it. Interesting, gone,
what are your wishes? I have nothing but love for
Fiona Googleman. But my question, when we're making movies about
(16:14):
royals from fake countries, why do they all have to
sound British? Why if okay, this country is set in Europe,
so she's got to have an accent, I suppose, But
I just wonder if there's something to be gained by
not forcing our actors to have a fake British accent,
because many I and many other viewers found that the
(16:37):
accent took us out of the movie. It was the
single most distracting piece for me. And I think no
accent would have been preferable and would have added to
the movie for me. You think I think no accent
would have would I wouldn't have noticed it, I think
(16:58):
Anna I was constantstantly aware of it, constantly aware of
the accent, got it it? Bothered me a little bit,
but I wasn't hung up on it. I mean shout
out to Fiona, like I can't do an accent. Well,
I can't either, And I don't think it's I don't
think she did a bad job of it, Like when
I'm like, that sounds like a British accent, but I don't.
(17:19):
I can't put my finger on what I felt bothered by,
but I did find it distract Did you watch with subtitles?
I must have. I know some people said, like the
dialect was rough, like they couldn't understand some of the
words that she was saying. Oh. Interesting, I can't understand
(17:40):
people say even when they're not speaking in it exactly.
That's why I asked if you want those subtitles, because
that's all every show. I have a question. Think back
to Double Scoop, which we recently reviewed, starring front of
the show Jaqueline Collier. The daughter around that movie makes
a ton of cow jokes constantly because they're on a
dairy farm. The cowjokes in that movie, the horse metaphors
in this one. What are you voting for? Oh, the
(18:04):
horse metaphors? Yeah? I liked him. From Eric Keiley's side. Yeah,
it was like dad joke adjacent. Yeah, yeah, I just
maybe it's a teenager delivering punny jokes that greats on me.
I don't know. I was not bothered at all. Did
you wish for anything else? No? One, one one. How
(18:28):
do you feel? It's more of a question, how do
you feel about let's put a Christmas dance at the
plot line, like we're planning this look I like a
plan in a movie, like a montage of setting up
all the things. I'm not bothered by that storyline whatsoever.
How did you well, I don't know how it makes money. Yeah,
(18:51):
I don't or enough to be helpful, but I don't
mind it. It gives us something to do. It gives us.
You know, it had multiple purposes, right it They brought
back this dance that was important to her, But it
was also important to hunt Lee because they it kind
(19:11):
of the end of the dance had marked the end
of his career. But it also served the purpose of
being a fundraiser. It gave us something to do. It
brought the Christmas elements into the movie with the decorps.
You know, provided action in the movie. I'm not sure
where else the action would have come from right. So
I enjoyed the Christmas Dance. Yeah, I like it too.
(19:32):
My only criticism is sometimes I feel Hallmark writers, especially
new ones, feel like this is the formula we have
to follow, like we need an event. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
glad it was on the nineteenth and not the twenty fourth.
I'll tell you that much. I'm going to talk about
that in my wishes. Okay, this is our wishes. No,
I'm sorry, and my did you see that? Well, let's
(19:54):
do did you see that? Who? This is more of
a question, but do you go to a dude ranch
the week before Christmas? Ish? A week and a half
before Christmas. It's a busy time of year. I think,
you know, I think some people do. We We almost
never travel for Christmas, but one year with my family
(20:17):
before I was married, we traveled like we were gone
for Christmas at a resort town and it was packed,
really packed. That just seems so like out of the
norm for it is for me too, like I can't
imagine being anywhere but home. Yeah, but especially with like
young children, with young children, yes, because you're in school
(20:40):
still some y're in school, and there's something about like,
to me, Christmas is like waking up around the tree.
But I you know, I'm allowing for people to have
different traditions. And you know it's the week before, so
maybe they're home in time to have Christmas around their tree. Yeah.
Have you been to a dude ranch before? Seems to
(21:00):
me that you may have. I haven't, but it is
something I would love to do. I wouldn't look for Christmas.
I'm like like a luxury dude rink, like a luxury
dude dance. Yeah, I don't. I don't want glamping, but
I would like horseback riding, and I would like a
fire pit every night, and I would like I don't
want the muck stalls. I don't think they're actually making
(21:20):
you muck out stalls. That's my question. Why are they working?
I don't think they are. I don't think there really are. Okay,
you know I used to go to a ranch camp
right as a young queen ager there. I can see that.
And we did have to do chores, yes, and I
did have to muck outstalls. That feels expected at a camp, sure,
(21:44):
but on a vacation. No, I'm not paying to go
muck out stalls. But I would be interested in all
of those outdoor, like, yeah, teach me to lasso, Let's
play horse shoes, Let's go ride a horse, Let's go
fly fishing. The horseshoe scene, this is not in my digits,
not on my official notes, but now that you just
(22:04):
brought that up, they're playing horseshoes like inside a house,
and it's not a house. They're in the barn or whatever.
It's so loud, like they're throwing that horseshoe, that metal
horseshoe against the metal pole, and it's like clan Clinton clang.
If you were like in an enclosed area around that,
wouldn't you be like that's really annoying, annoying and disruptive
(22:26):
because I'm trying to have a conversation over here. I
have no fun. That would I retate me? Yeah? Me too.
The horseshoe pit should be outside, absolutely. Yeah. The hay
bail tree, I liked it. It doesn't look like a tree.
It looks like a stack of hay bales with lights
on it. They should have made it more three sixty like, oh,
I remember that movie. Just looks like a pyramid of
(22:48):
haybil What is that movie where they oh it was
from several seasons ago. It might have been the Andrew
Walker movie where they got caught on that Christmas island
and they made like out of fishing nets or something,
not nets but traps. I think, is it missed it
Christmas or was it Christmas Island? It was one of
(23:09):
those I can envision it. That was nicely done. It
looked like a tree right because it had it was.
It was tree shaped. This was kind of more like
a pyramid. It was. But I liked the idea. I
like the idea the snowman made out of the old tires.
I mean, you know, the execution I think left something
to be desired, but I liked I liked the thinking there.
(23:31):
Work with what you got right. Thank you to Facebook
group moderator Mackie who sent us this. Did you see that?
Aaron Cahill posted on her Instagram that a song featured
in the movie is performed by her husband, Paul Freeman.
The song is come Around for Christmas. Oh that's nice. Yes,
(23:52):
that's really nice. We didn't talk about it, so I
think we're going to talk about it here. How about
them kisses? Gosh? I just realized when we're talking about
the song that I didn't talk about the kiss in
my likes, because look, that kiss is a huge all
caps in my likes. He interrupts her while she's like
letting him know, like why they shouldn't do it. He
kisses her passionately, the snow falling around them, the music swelling.
(24:17):
I thought it was great that we're talking about the
first kiss, right because they had two major kisses. Yes,
the first kiss. The first kiss. I was watching it.
It's so passionate. And then the way he like embraces
her is like he's like I don't want to, like,
I don't want to let you go, Like I've felt
(24:40):
this too. I was like, this is so moving. I
thought it was a kiss from a guy who knew
he had a lot on the line. Yeah. Agree. Now
here's why did you see that? In that particular kiss,
her hair is in her face. I cannot see her
face at all in this kiss. It is literally covering
her her entire profile of her face. Interesting, drove me nuts.
(25:04):
Is it are his hands? No, it's just like a
wall of blonde hair in her face. His hands are
like kind of like grabbing her face. I'm like, but
I just was kind of surprised that she wasn't turned
toward the camera at all, Like we didn't see like
at all. But he is a great smoocher. We talked
(25:24):
about it in home turf as well. He's a great smoocher. Yeah,
we should start a smooch ometer. Smooch a meter ten
out of ten, ten flaming lips. Yep, you guys, it's
follow us on Instagram. It's gonna be there every single week.
(25:45):
Smooth Jimmy, you're gonna put it up there head day day.
What did you rate a Royal Montana Christmas? I feel
bad because of my like revelation I had while I
was discussing trust you're reading, I don't know what you
have written down. Keep it the same. I gave it
two and a half stars. I gave it three and
a half stars. Okay, before we end this episode, I
(26:07):
would like to share some recent listener feedback on our episode.
Last week we reviewed Autumn Dreams and way no no
oh no, and Wendy had said that great. You know,
we get that flash forward and they pull back and
she's pregnant, and I go, god, I must have missed that.
So then I go rewind, I'm like, did I turn
(26:27):
off the movie? So I go rewatch the end that
does not happen. So I text Wendy. I said, reh, hallucinated.
She goes, oh, I must have been another Joe Wagner
movie that I watched after So then I look for
Joe Wagner follow movies and I fast forward to the
last minute, and in fact, the movie with Joe Wagner
and Victor Webster there is that scene. And thank you
(26:49):
because as we're recording this, an email just came in
from Beverly listener Beverly who says that scene was not
in this movie, but with Joe Wagner and Victor Webster.
She also went back and double checked the name of
that movie with Wowie Zowie and Jill is a harvest wedding. Look.
(27:14):
My biggest pet peeve is when people are confidently wrong.
And I was so confident last week when we recorded
that episode. I was like, yeah, and they pulled back.
It's a great scene. It's a great We're like, I mean,
you must have turned the movie off to really had
to miss it. I just have two Jill Wagner Fall
movies just blended together. For me. It happens, it happens,
(27:35):
So thank you for your feedback. We love your emails.
Thank you Beverly for the reminder that did make me laugh.
I just left it in the episode. Yeah I know,
I heard it. Thank you for listening to this episode
of Girls Gone Homewark. If you love this podcast, we
love your five star readings and reviews. You might just
(27:57):
hear your review read on a future epidepisode of the podcast.
So hop into the Apple podcast app and let us
know what you think. We'll be back with more Hommark
reviews next time. Goodbye, bye. All right friends, before we go,
(28:22):
just a quick heads up, you're about to hear some ads.
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This is a Bramble Jam podcast. Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark,
(00:24):
a Hallmark review podcast. Him Megan and I'm a longtime
Hallmark fan. I'm Wendy. I'm a former Hallmark hater. Five
years later, we are here kicking off the start of
the countdown to Christmas season with our first movie review,
A Royal Montana Christmas, which originally aired on Saturday, October
eighteenth and is currently available to stream on Hallmark Plus.
(00:47):
Can you hear the excitement in our voices right now?
I am pumped? You're pumped because it's finally countdown to
Christmas season? Or yeah, yeah, I gotta tell you, like
there's a little bit of like whimsy in the air,
Like I'm excited that we're all in on Christmas movies now.
I have seen some chatter online about like people are like, no,
(01:10):
not until November. Yeah, And I'm kind of surprised by that.
I think that's all. You know, some people are purists
one holiday at a time. We've got to get through Halloween,
which I understand, but unfortunately the Hallmark calendar doesn't allow
us to do that. Also, in our house, Christmas decorations
go up No. Number eighth, so you know, we do
not respect the timelines around here. I think what I'm
(01:33):
feeling is, I'm really excited about the holiday season right now.
For some reason. It's because this year's been crazy, and
that's why. Yeah, right, I need like the coziness and
the warmth and tradition. Yeah. Yeah, Wendy and I were
just talking about this year. We both cried a little bit,
so it has been a weird year. Also, I'm feeling
this kind of renewed sense of excitement about our business
(01:56):
and doing this and sitting here and talking to you
about these movies. Yeah, it's not like we haven't talked
about Hallmark movies all year long, but I just think,
I think because we haven't had as many new movies
this year, it feels this year's felt different in terms
of Hallmark. So yes, I'm excited too. I'm excited. Well,
(02:19):
we want you to come along on this count on
a Christmas ride with us. We want to be your
go to resource for Hallmark news and reviews, and there's
several places you can find us. We are on both
Instagram and TikTok as Girls Gone Homework. Yeah, there's different
content over there. Sometimes it crosses over, but there are
two totally unique platforms we loved on Instagram. This weekend
(02:42):
we launched in our feed first impression posts for both movies,
and thank you to everyone who participated in those. It
was so fun to see your first impressions of those
new movies flowing in in real time. Agreed, I loved it.
So if you aren't following us yet, come on over
to Girls Gone Hallmark and join the comversation there, and
our website will remain your go to resource for Hallmark
(03:06):
news all season long, Girls Gone Hallmark dot com. You know,
a week from today, as we're recording this, the Finding
Mister Christmas season drops. Yes, and I'm wondering, is it
your plan to write those Killder synopsis posts? I? Yeah,
it's my plan. That was such a joy last year.
(03:26):
I love that show so much and I love just
digging in with Truly, those posts were like my first
reaction as you were watching. Yes, I love it, I
hope so yes, I'm going to write review posts for
it this year. We will be reviewing it, of course
on the podcast. If you hadn't read Wendy's recap and
review posts, those are still on our website from Finding
(03:48):
Mister Christmas Season one. They're an absolutely I recommend them,
especially if you are rewatching or watching season one for
the first time. I love that show. I cannot wait
for that show to come back. Game so excited. Hey,
we have a Facebook group if you are looking to
chat with people who really know their Hallmark movies. And
(04:09):
I'm talking these people know their stuff. Come join us.
We are girls Gone Hallmark in Facebook groups. That's right.
We're gonna jump right into A Royal Montana Christmas with
a synopsis. Princess Victoria of Zelarnia is ready for a
change of pace. Looking to decompress in the days leading
(04:29):
up to Christmas, she decides to take a vacation to
Peaceful Pines Ranch in Montana. Peter Benson directed A Royal
Montana Christmas. Peter is booked and busy this holiday season
as he will also direct Christmas Above the Clouds and
The More the Merrier. Peter will also appear as an
actor in The More the Merrier. Oh really, that's a
(04:51):
nice addition, right. I always enjoy seeing him pop up
in our movies. Mark fa mcleetti and Michael test Duh
wrote A Royal Montana Christmas. This is the first Hallmark
movie for both writers. I feel like I hear you
snickering over there over my pronunciation of I'm not doing anything.
(05:12):
Warren Christy stars as Huntley. Warren was recently in the
fall movie Home Turf, as well as last year's Our
Holiday Story with Nikki de Loach. His other Hallmark appearances
include Crashing through the Snow and Holiday Road. Fiona Googleman
plays Princess Victoria of Zolarnia. Am I seeing Zalarnia correctly? Yes, ma'am.
(05:33):
Fiona was last seen on Hallmark in Tis this season.
To be irish, she's been busy for the last several
years on the series The Good Doctor. David Ka plays
Gabriel with eighty eight acting credits. He was last on
Hallmark and Christmas under the Lights. He's also appeared in
The Wedding Contract and Wedding of a Lifetime. Eric keenly
(05:53):
Side plays Huntley's dad slash ranch owner. On IMDb, he
is listed as ranch owner. He had a name well.
To be fair, Linda Boyd wasn't even credited on IMDb.
The Lovely Linda Boyd, who plays Huntley's mother. Okay. This
movie marks Eric's two hundred and second acting credit. He
(06:17):
was last seen as Mac in the Wish Swap earlier
this season. Rebby Martholer plays Sam Remy was last scene
in Science You'll Delivered To the Moon and Back. She's
the older sister of Miles Marthaller of the Three Wiseman franchise.
Julia Benson plays Shelby. Julia has made a number of
appearances on Hallmark, including Hannah Swinson, Aurora Ta Guarded and
(06:37):
Curious Caterer Mysteries. Her resume also includes BH nine O
two one zero and to All the Boys I've Loved before.
Let's take a quick breay can come right back with
our first impressions. Hey, Wendy, what is your first impression
(07:00):
of a royal Montana Christmas? The kisses were hot, but
the plot was ice cold. Oh no, well to quote
Girls Gone Hallwark Facebook group member Steven Peter Benson pulled
a rabbit out of his hat with this one. Oh Wow,
(07:21):
House divided Friends, first movie out of the gate. You
liked it? Oh boy, let's talk likes Okay, let me
start Okay. I think this was a solid outing for
our first movie of the season. Interesting. I found it cozy,
I found it warm. I am acknowledging that there is
(07:43):
a little bit of first movie glow on this movie.
I was excited to sit down with a warm drink
and a blanket and let it wash over me. I
actually thought there was a lot to like about this movie. Well,
even behind the scenes. You and I were texting while
(08:05):
watching the Night Yet Saturday night. It was Saturday night.
We were texting, right, and I was like, both of
us were like, well, I don't hate it so far
that it fell apart for you. Yeah, it did. I
do have a lot of likes though. Okay, let's hear him. Well.
First of all, I thought Fiona and Warren were great.
(08:26):
I thought they had great chemistry. They had a lot
of energy, Like I was truly believing, like, okay, these
two were into each other, like there was no forcing
that by any means. I thought, Okay, I can see
these two naturally, like have feelings for each other. They
had solid kisses. I'm sure we're going to talk more
about that. Warren and a cowboy hat approved. I love that.
(08:49):
I love this rough cowboy. Can I interrupt you and
tell you that? Listener Michelle messages and asked if Warren
Christie has achieved wowie zowie status. Oh, no doubt, Yes,
no doubt. I also I thought their characters were totally likable.
(09:10):
And here's what I really liked about this movie. I
thought we were gonna get this fish out of water
princess who you know that typical trophe. Sure, I thought
this is exactly what we were gonna get. We did
not know and were in her element on the ranch.
(09:31):
I was pleasantly surprised by that. That was a good
thing for me, speaking of pleasant surprises. Our conflict in
the movie is not contrived. It's not rooted in anything
silly or frustrating to watch. It's just rooted in the
reality of life. They're different people with different life priorities,
and it was believable that she would leave after their kiss.
(09:55):
Put an asterisk by that. Yes, I agree. I'm not
saying the whole movie was believe okay, but I thought
her I thought that was very real. They had this moment.
They clearly like each other. There's no need to throw
a wrench in the system other than she's got to
go home and take over. She's got responsibilities. She's a
(10:17):
reluctant royal. Right. Additional likes, if I may Yes, I
loved our assistant Gabriel. I loved his wardrobe. I loved
Wendy's shaking her head No, I'm shaking my head a
good way, yes, snapping snappings. David Kay was a scene
stiller in this movie. Agree. I loved his wardrobe. I
liked his quibie one liners. I liked his sidekick bestie energy.
(10:39):
I thought that was a great choice for her sidekick,
for her sounding board, for her second her sidekick. Looking
for another word there that I can't pull out of
the depths of my brain. I really was touched by
Victoria reliving the memories of her father. I love like
(11:00):
the kids in those scenes, but I thought her visiting
this ranch and finding joy in the memories and reliving
how connected she felt to her dad on this trip.
I really liked that. And I really loved our supporting cast,
Lynda Boyd, Eric Keenley side. They just brought a lot
(11:23):
to this movie. Gabriel, of course, Danny Kay. I just
I David Kay, David K Danny Kay, it's the wrong guy.
I think they leveled up the movie. I would agree
with that. I thought I like I said, I thought
it was solid, And again I don't know if I
was just in the right mood for the first movie
(11:44):
of the season, but I felt the coziness of this
movie come through on the screen. Back to David Kay
for a second. I his role easily could have been
a bigger role. Yes, I thought he had some of
the best lines throughout this movie, Right at the top
when they're talking about him going to this ranch with
(12:06):
her and he goes the only ranch I know is
ranch dressing. I mean I laughed out loud. I thought
it was hilarious. He was so good. I was like,
put this man I wanted. I just wanted more from him,
Like easily could have been a bigger role, so good.
I Also what I liked about this movie is I
(12:31):
don't love a Royal movie because I don't like the
shenanigans that go along with it. So I was so
happy that this one was void of those. Like we
didn't have. She wasn't hiding her identity. There wasn't any
sort of like Papa Razzi looking for her, you know,
(12:54):
like those kind of tropes that we see in the
royal storyline. I think it was real that nobody knew
who she was because nobody knows who these second tier
royals are of these tiny little countries growing she the royal.
How many royals do you know outside of the British None?
Could you identify any of those other royals? Nope, no,
(13:15):
neither could I, And I think the vast majority of
people can't either. And that's real. And she was able
to be anonymous because that's rooted in reality. Exactly exactly.
One last like and it's a personal one to me.
When they did the light walk, I really like that
because they're reminded me of the one that we did
in Kansas City. The Oh yeah, I did think about
(13:38):
that too. I liked that lightwalk. I find that whimsical,
which is one of my daughter's favorite words. Right now,
she's bearing into whimsy. Oh, I like that. Pretty cute,
very whimsical. Yeah, the light walk was really pretty. It's
set a tone. It's set a tone. Well, what did
you wish for? I thought the script was a little
(13:59):
lifeless to me because it lacked conflict. There was no
conflict in this movie. It's all internal other than like
he was struggling with like his identity of I was
once a baseball player and now I'm not, and now
I'm trying to figure out who I am and what
(14:22):
value is in my life. Right, and then she was like, ah,
I gotta do this job. I'm not really fit for it.
So was it that it's too rooted in reality and
there wasn't enough Because to me, when you say that,
I'm like, yeah, that feels more like real life, that
there's not all of this external conflict. Yea, and I
(14:43):
like movies that are rooted in real life. But there
was just no there was. Maybe it's because it wasn't
what I expected. Maybe if I went back at a
second look and watched it from that point of view
of like, oh, this is in real life, this is
how these conversations would happen in real life with real people,
I might appreciate it more. Maybe I went into it
(15:06):
with meeting like oh I need some silly misunderstanding and
some crazy royal meltdown. I don't know. Maybe I maybe
I'm disappointed by it. I don't know. Okay, I don't know.
I just thought I there was no for me, there
was nothing mattered other than what was internal. Yeah, I
(15:28):
hear you, you know saying that. Now I don't want to.
I don't want to. What's the word on diminish. That's
the word. I don't want to diminish it because I
do find value in that, an internal struggle, human conflict,
so finding yourself. Yeah, like I appreciate all that stuff.
(15:52):
So okay, all right, I am. I can say maybe
I didn't hate it as much I thought I hated it. Interesting, gone,
what are your wishes? I have nothing but love for
Fiona Googleman. But my question, when we're making movies about
(16:14):
royals from fake countries, why do they all have to
sound British? Why if okay, this country is set in Europe,
so she's got to have an accent, I suppose, But
I just wonder if there's something to be gained by
not forcing our actors to have a fake British accent,
because many I and many other viewers found that the
(16:37):
accent took us out of the movie. It was the
single most distracting piece for me. And I think no
accent would have been preferable and would have added to
the movie for me. You think I think no accent
would have would I wouldn't have noticed it, I think
(16:58):
Anna I was constantstantly aware of it, constantly aware of
the accent, got it it? Bothered me a little bit,
but I wasn't hung up on it. I mean shout
out to Fiona, like I can't do an accent. Well,
I can't either, And I don't think it's I don't
think she did a bad job of it, Like when
I'm like, that sounds like a British accent, but I don't.
(17:19):
I can't put my finger on what I felt bothered by,
but I did find it distract Did you watch with subtitles?
I must have. I know some people said, like the
dialect was rough, like they couldn't understand some of the
words that she was saying. Oh. Interesting, I can't understand
(17:40):
people say even when they're not speaking in it exactly.
That's why I asked if you want those subtitles, because
that's all every show. I have a question. Think back
to Double Scoop, which we recently reviewed, starring front of
the show Jaqueline Collier. The daughter around that movie makes
a ton of cow jokes constantly because they're on a
dairy farm. The cowjokes in that movie, the horse metaphors
in this one. What are you voting for? Oh, the
(18:04):
horse metaphors? Yeah? I liked him. From Eric Keiley's side. Yeah,
it was like dad joke adjacent. Yeah, yeah, I just
maybe it's a teenager delivering punny jokes that greats on me.
I don't know. I was not bothered at all. Did
you wish for anything else? No? One, one one. How
(18:28):
do you feel? It's more of a question, how do
you feel about let's put a Christmas dance at the
plot line, like we're planning this look I like a
plan in a movie, like a montage of setting up
all the things. I'm not bothered by that storyline whatsoever.
How did you well, I don't know how it makes money. Yeah,
(18:51):
I don't or enough to be helpful, but I don't
mind it. It gives us something to do. It gives us.
You know, it had multiple purposes, right it They brought
back this dance that was important to her, But it
was also important to hunt Lee because they it kind
(19:11):
of the end of the dance had marked the end
of his career. But it also served the purpose of
being a fundraiser. It gave us something to do. It
brought the Christmas elements into the movie with the decorps.
You know, provided action in the movie. I'm not sure
where else the action would have come from right. So
I enjoyed the Christmas Dance. Yeah, I like it too.
(19:32):
My only criticism is sometimes I feel Hallmark writers, especially
new ones, feel like this is the formula we have
to follow, like we need an event. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
glad it was on the nineteenth and not the twenty fourth.
I'll tell you that much. I'm going to talk about
that in my wishes. Okay, this is our wishes. No,
I'm sorry, and my did you see that? Well, let's
(19:54):
do did you see that? Who? This is more of
a question, but do you go to a dude ranch
the week before Christmas? Ish? A week and a half
before Christmas. It's a busy time of year. I think,
you know, I think some people do. We We almost
never travel for Christmas, but one year with my family
(20:17):
before I was married, we traveled like we were gone
for Christmas at a resort town and it was packed,
really packed. That just seems so like out of the
norm for it is for me too, like I can't
imagine being anywhere but home. Yeah, but especially with like
young children, with young children, yes, because you're in school
(20:40):
still some y're in school, and there's something about like,
to me, Christmas is like waking up around the tree.
But I you know, I'm allowing for people to have
different traditions. And you know it's the week before, so
maybe they're home in time to have Christmas around their tree. Yeah.
Have you been to a dude ranch before? Seems to
(21:00):
me that you may have. I haven't, but it is
something I would love to do. I wouldn't look for Christmas.
I'm like like a luxury dude rink, like a luxury
dude dance. Yeah, I don't. I don't want glamping, but
I would like horseback riding, and I would like a
fire pit every night, and I would like I don't
want the muck stalls. I don't think they're actually making
(21:20):
you muck out stalls. That's my question. Why are they working?
I don't think they are. I don't think there really are. Okay,
you know I used to go to a ranch camp
right as a young queen ager there. I can see that.
And we did have to do chores, yes, and I
did have to muck outstalls. That feels expected at a camp, sure,
(21:44):
but on a vacation. No, I'm not paying to go
muck out stalls. But I would be interested in all
of those outdoor, like, yeah, teach me to lasso, Let's
play horse shoes, Let's go ride a horse, Let's go
fly fishing. The horseshoe scene, this is not in my digits,
not on my official notes, but now that you just
(22:04):
brought that up, they're playing horseshoes like inside a house,
and it's not a house. They're in the barn or whatever.
It's so loud, like they're throwing that horseshoe, that metal
horseshoe against the metal pole, and it's like clan Clinton clang.
If you were like in an enclosed area around that,
wouldn't you be like that's really annoying, annoying and disruptive
(22:26):
because I'm trying to have a conversation over here. I
have no fun. That would I retate me? Yeah? Me too.
The horseshoe pit should be outside, absolutely. Yeah. The hay
bail tree, I liked it. It doesn't look like a tree.
It looks like a stack of hay bales with lights
on it. They should have made it more three sixty like, oh,
I remember that movie. Just looks like a pyramid of
(22:48):
haybil What is that movie where they oh it was
from several seasons ago. It might have been the Andrew
Walker movie where they got caught on that Christmas island
and they made like out of fishing nets or something,
not nets but traps. I think, is it missed it
Christmas or was it Christmas Island? It was one of
(23:09):
those I can envision it. That was nicely done. It
looked like a tree right because it had it was.
It was tree shaped. This was kind of more like
a pyramid. It was. But I liked the idea. I
like the idea the snowman made out of the old tires.
I mean, you know, the execution I think left something
to be desired, but I liked I liked the thinking there.
(23:31):
Work with what you got right. Thank you to Facebook
group moderator Mackie who sent us this. Did you see that?
Aaron Cahill posted on her Instagram that a song featured
in the movie is performed by her husband, Paul Freeman.
The song is come Around for Christmas. Oh that's nice. Yes,
(23:52):
that's really nice. We didn't talk about it, so I
think we're going to talk about it here. How about
them kisses? Gosh? I just realized when we're talking about
the song that I didn't talk about the kiss in
my likes, because look, that kiss is a huge all
caps in my likes. He interrupts her while she's like
letting him know, like why they shouldn't do it. He
kisses her passionately, the snow falling around them, the music swelling.
(24:17):
I thought it was great that we're talking about the
first kiss, right because they had two major kisses. Yes,
the first kiss. The first kiss. I was watching it.
It's so passionate. And then the way he like embraces
her is like he's like I don't want to, like,
I don't want to let you go, Like I've felt
(24:40):
this too. I was like, this is so moving. I
thought it was a kiss from a guy who knew
he had a lot on the line. Yeah. Agree. Now
here's why did you see that? In that particular kiss,
her hair is in her face. I cannot see her
face at all in this kiss. It is literally covering
her her entire profile of her face. Interesting, drove me nuts.
(25:04):
Is it are his hands? No, it's just like a
wall of blonde hair in her face. His hands are
like kind of like grabbing her face. I'm like, but
I just was kind of surprised that she wasn't turned
toward the camera at all, Like we didn't see like
at all. But he is a great smoocher. We talked
(25:24):
about it in home turf as well. He's a great smoocher. Yeah,
we should start a smooch ometer. Smooch a meter ten
out of ten, ten flaming lips. Yep, you guys, it's
follow us on Instagram. It's gonna be there every single week.
(25:45):
Smooth Jimmy, you're gonna put it up there head day day.
What did you rate a Royal Montana Christmas? I feel
bad because of my like revelation I had while I
was discussing trust you're reading, I don't know what you
have written down. Keep it the same. I gave it
two and a half stars. I gave it three and
a half stars. Okay, before we end this episode, I
(26:07):
would like to share some recent listener feedback on our episode.
Last week we reviewed Autumn Dreams and way no no
oh no, and Wendy had said that great. You know,
we get that flash forward and they pull back and
she's pregnant, and I go, god, I must have missed that.
So then I go rewind, I'm like, did I turn
(26:27):
off the movie? So I go rewatch the end that
does not happen. So I text Wendy. I said, reh, hallucinated.
She goes, oh, I must have been another Joe Wagner
movie that I watched after So then I look for
Joe Wagner follow movies and I fast forward to the
last minute, and in fact, the movie with Joe Wagner
and Victor Webster there is that scene. And thank you
(26:49):
because as we're recording this, an email just came in
from Beverly listener Beverly who says that scene was not
in this movie, but with Joe Wagner and Victor Webster.
She also went back and double checked the name of
that movie with Wowie Zowie and Jill is a harvest wedding. Look.
(27:14):
My biggest pet peeve is when people are confidently wrong.
And I was so confident last week when we recorded
that episode. I was like, yeah, and they pulled back.
It's a great scene. It's a great We're like, I mean,
you must have turned the movie off to really had
to miss it. I just have two Jill Wagner Fall
movies just blended together. For me. It happens, it happens,
(27:35):
So thank you for your feedback. We love your emails.
Thank you Beverly for the reminder that did make me laugh.
I just left it in the episode. Yeah I know,
I heard it. Thank you for listening to this episode
of Girls Gone Homewark. If you love this podcast, we
love your five star readings and reviews. You might just
(27:57):
hear your review read on a future epidepisode of the podcast.
So hop into the Apple podcast app and let us
know what you think. We'll be back with more Hommark
reviews next time. Goodbye, bye. All right friends, before we go,
(28:22):
just a quick heads up, you're about to hear some ads.
These little gems help us keep the show running and
the hall Park love flowing. So do with that info
what you will, Grab a snack, hit the skip button,
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favorite product. Bye
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