Usually the actors in these royal romances are stiff and fake.

However you can feel the heat between Phillipa Northeast (worst stage name ever?) and Brant Daugherty.

And that car? Hubba hubba!

Hallmark is on a nice winning streak. I'm tired of plots involving royals, but this is one of the better ones. The opening shot of a beautiful foreign coastline is actually a scenic view of one of the Azores islands, nearly 1,000 miles off the coast of Portugal. For a moment, I thought the fictitious location was called Northeast Phillipa after I saw that on the screen, but then I figured out that Phillipa Northeast was actually the name of the actress who played Princess Amelia, and that the latest fake country name was Bundbury. I knew nothing about Phillipa (she's an Aussie actress with few film credits) but she was lovely to watch as she becomes aware of her feelings, interacts kindly with others, and experiences things she had never experienced before as a sheltered princess. The scenes in front of a fire at the B&B and at an outside camp fire were effective in showing how she and Grady (played by Brant Daugherty) were "warming up" to each other and I liked the family reunion that she suggested. The artist, however, seemed a little too blasé about having a sweet beautiful princess interested in him. I would have gone to L. A. as soon as I found out Amelia was there.

And, once again, Hallmark included a gay character who was presented in a matter of fact positive way. He's a character (played engagingly by Vincent Gale) who just happens to be gay, just like a character may happen to be Black or Asian. I applaud Hallmark's more inclusive approach to making movies. It's very healthy.

I also like it when Hallmark movies show two people really getting to know each other before falling in love. People can learn a lot about each other during long road trips even though I acknowledge that setting up such road trips, with people who have just met each other, usually requires some outlandish plot contrivances. But here, the set up didn't seem all that outlandish. That's due to some surprisingly good writing by Jake Helgren, who wrote and directed one of the worst Hallmark movies that I've ever seen (Save the Wedding).

I'm looking forward to seeing Phillipa Northeast in another Hallmark movie soon.

Introducing Princess Amelia of the made up kingdom of Bundbury. Amelia has her Royal portrait painted (and it is stunning!) and during the process falls in love with the Chicago portrait artist Wes. In order to visit Wes she contrives a Royal visit with her uncle the envoy to America, who lives in Beverly Hills. Assigned a security detail (Grady Beck) when she arrives, she initially tries to give him the slip. When caught trying to steal a vehicle to drive across country from LA to Chicago, Amelia confesses the true reason for her visit to her beloved gay uncle...who also came to America to pursue a man he loved! So, he sets Grady and Amelia up with a convertible to drive across country in, giving her a little taste of freedom before she has to assume the crown.

And along the way...well a romance blossoms with the very handsome and capable Grady. What will happen when they reach New York and her portrait artist? Well, you will just have to watch to find out!

"Sorry. It turns out I don't like being pulled away from my days off to play cross-country chauffeur."-Grady

What starts as an antagonistic relationship, softens into allies and then more.

"This is so strange, they serve breakfast here all day."-Amelia.

"He said when he travelled across America he didn't just learn about the country, but he learned about himself."-Amelia about her father

"Especially don't believe in love at first sight. It takes years to build true love and even then it might not be as true as you think. It's a two way street. Why isn't this guy meeting you halfway."-Grady.

"But it's a true American pastime isn't it? It will be just like in the movies only preferably with out the grizzly bears." -Amelia (in regards to Camping) "Yeah! Camping."

This was fun and funny. The princess was surprisingly naive. She was an American classic movie aficionado which she learned from her father. (That was fun for me as a classic movie fan myself.) She threw herself whole heartedly into learning and enjoying American customs. It was such a refreshing change from the usual American bashing.

Grady is very pragmatic, but fun loving. It was a match made in heaven. There is a beautiful song played at the barn dance that suited their trip, and they meet some lovely couples along the way to Chicago.

If you enjoy the Royal romance genre...this is Royal romance with a twist. Enjoy!