Hallmark Channel
Hallmark’s second ‘Unwrapping Christmas’ movie, Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince, makes its debut on the network (after first premiering on Hallmark+ last year), and it is a slight improvement over the first movie thanks in great part to the charming performance of Kathryn Davis, who takes center stage in this outing.
Set in approximately the same timeline as the first movie — they both end at the gala which is sponsored by the main four characters’ gift wrapping business, and therefore includes some of the prep that went into the event (though there is no mention of the venue about to be sold) and each part of the gift wrapping contest, as well as giving fleeting glances of characters who’ve yet to be featured in their own films — Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince focuses on Mia Parker, the dreamer of the group who gets lost in her historical romantic fiction novels. A holiday tradition, carried over from when she was a child, is re-reading the novel ‘Christmas in Derbyshire’, a 100-plus-year-old story that has all the fixings of a Harlequin romance that finds its heroine engaged in a forbidden love with a prince. Mia often dreams, or daydreams, that she is the heroine and one night while closing down the shop, her prince shows up at the front door, needing a gift wrapped at the last minute. The man is actually dressed as a prince, for a costume party, and the two are instantly smitten. When he tries to pay, Mia says it’s on the house since they are technically closed, but he leaves her a $100 tip and vanishes into the night. The next day, she tells Lily (Ashley Newbrough) what happened, but Lily thinks it was a dream. Mia tries to prove it with the $100 bill he left on the counter … but it’s gone. So was she dreaming. No, because she later finds it on the floor under the counter, and she adds it to her savings to purchase a first edition of ‘Christmas in Derbyshire’ from the local used bookstore, it’s value placed at $6,000. With the hundred she just added, she’s only $500 away and should have the money by February.
After Mia’s sister shows up unexpectedly at her apartment, with her cat in tow (Mia is super allergic), Mia decides she will only have peace sleeping at the shop. She begins to doze off while reading her book when the mystery man shows up again with more gifts … knowing the store would be closed, but apparently hoping to find Mia again. It’s a very awkward moment as Mia is in her nightgown and no gifts are wrapped but he introduces himself as Beau, and asks Mia if she’d like to give a gift wrapping demonstration — her specialty is a Japanese form of wrapping that uses material and no tape — to his mother’s book club. She accepts and when she arrives she discovers she is at the mansion of the wealthiest family in St. Paul, the Cavannaghs. Almost running away, Mia’s Uber pulls away so she has to go in and give the demo. Luckily Beau is there but his mother is a tough nut to crack, obviously feeling that Mia is far below her and her friends on the status ladder. She also senses some chemistry with Beau and Mia, so she is sure to announce that Penelope is on her way … and Penelope turns out to be Beau’s girlfriend. Fiancee to be exact. Not wanting to get involved with an engaged man, Mia later tells Beau that it’s best they don’t see each other anymore while she has to deal with one disaster after another leading up to the gala, from the wrong decorations arriving, to crews, the photographer and caterer dropping out (luckily her sister is a chef and Mia hires her to save the day). But Beau is determined to get Mia back despite his mother setting a date for his and Penelope’s wedding without either of their consent, spurred on by gossip that Beau may be involved with an unknown woman (Mia) after their picture appeared in the local paper and online when he helped her out with a tree lighting at a soup kitchen where she volunteers. What Mia doesn’t know at first is that Beau and Penelope are just besties, putting up a front for their families (sort of like a royal arranged marriage). But Penelope has her own boyfriend, and she tells Mia that Beau is clearly interested in someone else as well (wink, wink). But can Mia get the gala organized and win back Beau’s heart? That may be even more difficult when Beau’s mother buys the book right out from under Mia’s nose, for spite, when she hears owning it is Mia’s Christmas wish.
Hallmark Channel
Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince is a nice step up from Unwrapping Christmas: Tina’s Miracle, mainly because Kathryn Davis is utterly charming and sweet, and she has wonderful chemistry with Nathan Witte as Beau. Davis’ Mia is a dreamer but she’s also a professional businesswoman, balancing her work and home life … until big sis shows up, steamrolling right over Mia in her own home. She completely sells her instant attraction to Beau, the flesh-and-blood embodiment of the prince she’s pictured from the book. She also makes Mia strong enough to deal with each negative thing that befalls the gala, those things that she is responsible for, she is encouraging to her sister who is searching for a new job, and she makes the viewer want to give her a big hug when she feels she has to end things with Beau … even though we know it’s all going to work out in the end. She really is delightful. Nathan Witte is also very good as Beau, also selling his attraction to Mia with just a simple locking of eyes. He also shows Beau’s unease when the subject of Penelope comes up, and when Penelope and Mia are in the same space, torn between having to keep up appearances or admit how he feels about Mia. We can see his heart break when Mia rejects him, and he finally gets a nice moment when he tells off his mother, revealing the truth about him and Penelope and his feelings for Mia. You can’t help but root for these two. Lanette Ware is appropriately haughty as Claire Cavannagh, always looking down her nose at Mia, always going out of her way to mention Penelope in Mia’s presence. To find out that she bought the book Mia wanted so badly makes her the villain of the movie, but she does get to have a nice moment of redemption after the talking-to by Beau and she shows up at the gala unannounced, having donated a particular book to be raffled off, rigging the game in the process.
Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince is written by Kathleen Fox and W. Stewart (who did not write the first movie), having a better grasp on the characters and fully fleshing out Mia. There are some inconsistencies though — Mia is always super busy with the gala planning but always has hours to go off and do something else, and there is no reference to the venue nearly being unavailable. It’s almost like this is a completely separate movie although it takes place concurrently with the first movie. New director Amy Force does a nice job of guiding the actors and moving the story forward. As the movie concludes at the gala, it’s fun to see the other characters, and the second part of the gift wrapping contest, Freestyle Wrap (the first stage, Best Wrap, was won by Tina). What’s interesting if you go back to the end of the first movie, you’ll notice neither Beau or Claire are in the crowd, having arrived after the first stage of the contest. So there is some continuity here. One of the pitfalls this movie avoids, thankfully, is the constant snow … which seems to break the continuity of the first movie since it snowed all the time but it makes more sense that it isn’t snowing. The film, though, ultimately succeeds because of the performances and chemistry between Davis and Witte.
One is tempted to compare this series of films to the Hearts Around the Table films, even though this one came first. So far, in both series, the first two films were okay — and this one is almost a three star movie — but finished strong with the last two. Will the Unwrapping Christmas series follow that same pattern?
Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince has a run time of 1 hour 24 minutes, and is rated TV-G. The film is streaming on Hallmark+.
Preview – Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince
Hallmark Channel