OK, I am a sap for this genre of little American girl meets big royal and captures their heart. The culture clash is always interesting. So I paid $3.99 to watch it.
The casting was OK with two good looking kids as the leads but the girls mom...on the list of "Face Lifts" gone bad. It hurt to look at her face every time...and she at one time was a really good looking woman. (Is there a really a woman in Wyoming who has had this much surgery done)?
2. Acting and script: looked a lot like first run through in rehearsal. The young lovers seemed like to people just meeting in a grad school study group. Just nice friends.
3. Location: Wyoming. Have the directors ever been there? Or seen pictures? People in most parts of the state are ranchers who wear cowboy hats, boots, worn jeans that outdoor people wear. Faces that show character and some wear and tear! The small towns are like most of the USA.. The town in the film looks a lot like a Disney Works set. Too perfect.
4. Time of year: Christmas? Check this weeks temps in the state. Probably near 15 high and lows of -3. The actors sit outside in short sleeves drinking their coffee and tea. Good God.
5. The Home Kingdom of the Prince. Shows a painting of the Swiss Alps...still pic. Cuts to a small room...the same for every shot. Obviously a Hollywood set. Could someone carry a video camera in and out of a castle like building somewhere in the world? The same with the quaint and unrealistic Wyoming home...a photo of a house. Then an interior shot of a room. Can someone walk in and out? Please to show it isn't just a photo of a house.
6. I am a composer musician. The score is just terrible. Sorry to the composer. It sounds like a "temp" track someone did on a $200 Casio from Walmart...one that would be replaced in a music studio with real instruments. But...they ran out of budget and kept the Cassio version. How about some local Country Bands in Wyoming? They would have probably done it for scale...and it would have been real.
7. Editing: The constant 'Fade to black" effects from the 1930's. I kept thinking the film had broken...oops digits had broken? I can edit better using Windows Movie Maker. Best to pull this film and do a total reedit...and a new music score.
But the almost: The two leads and the young lady and...the prince have some creds and acting chops. Hope they both get a real full budget movie soon.
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