This rating and some of the review is probably going to sound like it has been written by somebody who hates Christmas and criticises anything Hallmark and festive. Far from the truth on all counts. Have seen some surprisingly good Hallmark films, festive and overall, and have liked some of the Christmas films seen recently from this year because they succeeded in charming the viewer and warming the heart regardless of the cliches and formulaic storytelling.

'Once Upon a Holiday' is not one of the best of my recent Christmas film viewings seen as such a fan of Christmas and needing some serious distracting from health woes. Neither is it one of the worst. Somewhere in the solid middle if anything. It is certainly watchable and much better than the basic plotline looks like on the page, with some things noticeably done quite well. 'Once Upon a Holiday' is also not a great film either, with some obvious flaws that are as noticeable as the good things. So not a must see but far from a must avoid as well.

Will start with 'Once Upon a Holiday's' good things. It is nicely photographed and has a quite magical atmosphere in its best parts. Always love nostalgic festive soundtracks, and 'Once Upon a Holiday' is no exception to that. There is nothing mean-spirited about it, it is generally very charming and it does warm the heart enough.

Did like the nice subtle humour present in the film, there is an easy-going chemistry and Paul Campbell is a very likeable male lead. Greg Evigan is the standout in a more than serviceable supporting cast.

For all those good things, 'Once Upon a Holiday' does have debits too. Briana Evigan really doesn't fit her role, the voice and attitude sounded and felt all wrong and like the role needed somebody more at ease and looked and sounded younger. The dialogue has its moments but really could have done with more energy and too much is very forced and cheesy. The location never looked authentic and at times had a cheap look.

Predictability is inevitable in festive Hallmark films, but the predictability here was excessive with at times contrived situations and stereotypical characters and the pace was like the dialogue, more energy was needed. The ending was cute but quite pat.

Summing up, watchable but not great. 5/10

Katie (Briana Evigan) is a reluctant princess. She's tired of being over-scheduled and wants to see the sights in New York. She sneaks away from her aunt and gets robbed on the streets. Nice guy Jack Langdon (Paul Campbell) tries to help but the thieves get away with her purse and her old camera. He tries to help her navigate the big city and she keeps her identity a secret.

It's always a little wrong to have Canada for New York although modern cities are more uniform than before. I don't particularly like this princess. She's a little too old to be so clueless and so tired of responsibilities. That sort of story is better done with teenage princesses. Quite frankly, it would make more sense if she has amnesia. Evigan has the constant smile necessary for the role but the role isn't good. It may not fit the Hallmark brand other than the simplistic romance. Also nobody steals old cameras. I do like the Santa Claus community but the movie doesn't follow that up with the couple doing Elf duties. At least, that could have been fun.

Every once in a while, the usual Cinderella genre gets a new twist, so if you're tired of an average, common young woman falling for a royal prince, check out Once Upon a Holiday. In this one, an average, common young man falls for a princess!

Briana Evigan is a royal princess visiting New York, and she's pretty tired of the rules and schedules, so she runs away from her assistants and guardians to see what life is like as a regular person. This isn't exactly Roman Holiday, but it's the same basic concept. Paul Campbell is the non-royal person she meets, but unlike Gregory Peck, he's not a journalist vying for a story about her. He really doesn't know who she is, and he thinks they're just two people experiencing holiday magic.

Not to sound like a snob, but if Hallmark had cast another of their actresses, I would have like this movie much better. Briana was very pretty, but she didn't for one minute seem like a royal princess. Her speech and mannerisms were very contemporary and common. Paul was a total cutie, so if you can get past a princess who doesn't seem like a princess, you'll definitely be rooting for her to snag the guy. He's not only sweet and cute, but he does lots of good deeds that show her a good example. Next up, check him out in either A Godwink Christmas or Window Wonderland!