The Royal Treatment
Netflix ’s purple cinematic creation is expanding with its latest modern - day fairytaleThe Royal Treatment — this time , it ’s outside the holiday season . Audiences are introduce to Thomas , Prince of Lavania ( Mena Massoud ) and Izzy ( Laura Marano ) , the gamy American styler destined to rock up his stiff earth . The Royal Treatmentplays a lot likeThe Princess SwitchandA Christmas Princemovies — minus the Christmas constituent . Izzy lead the opportunity to become the prince ’s wedding stylist , but things get complicated when he and Izzy take up falling for each other .
Mena Massoud should have been among the young generation of leading men after his mavin - making turn in Disney ’s live - actionAladdin . However , in predictable Hollywood manner , Massoud has been ineffective to capitalize on that massive winner . Here come Netflix to the rescue , with a very boring lead human race role for him to show off his charisma . Granted , as Izzy say in the film , Thomas is cardboard . If one can recall how bland Prince Richard and Prince Edward were fromA Christmas PrinceandThe Princess Switch , severally , then Prince Thomas was made in their image . No amount of charm can save Massoud from what is a dull role . But through arrant Herculean effort , he make do to be somewhat adequate and precious in parts .
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Despite Massoud ’s skilful efforts , Laura Marano is set up to be this flick ’s primary agonist , with so much more attention pay to crafting a sensible , empathetic , and optimistic young charwoman who is destined for liberal and better thing . Izzy is very much the original Vanessa Hudgens has made popular in her Netflix film , The Princess Switch . Izzy is a proud Italian - American with a heart of gold , and enough wit and charm to make just about everyone she meets . Marano has it in her to make this quality her own , and she instill Izzy with that Disney Channel energy that is quite fitting for these movie .
The staging and lighting are nothing to gawk at , and the acting is subpar across the board . Everyone is an pilot , and the narrative espouse a very predictable trajectory . The one thing this film has over the others is that there is an crusade in the script to round out these characters . The romance is given way to grow and fly high without any gizmo , whereas the other films are only whatsis . Holly Hester ’s script is renowned for actually pursue with the key duad and having them Julian Bond over some meaningful conversation . Also , the duad in reality help each other by both grow and find out from their encounters with each other .
It needs to be said that Netflix celluloid likeThe Royal Treatmentare incompetent of envisage a fake kingdom that is n’t explicitly European . Despite this being the first of Netflix ’s fairy tale - esque films to feature a man of color as the prince , Lavania , which pose east of Aldovia , and its inhabitant have no distinguishable characteristics beyond being a characterless European land . A cast-off job is inserted to make sense of it , with Izzy describe Lavania as a melting pot and that hundreds of years ago it was on the craft road to India . But a trade itinerary from where and for whom ? We have a brown - skinned prince named Thomas , a “ shady ” part of town called the “ Uber de Gleise ” which is German for “ Over the Tracks , ” everyone speaks English with vary British accents , and ethnical indicators suggest the country could be draw close somewhere in Europe , the Mediterranean , or for some odd reason , the Caribbean .
Perhaps it is due to the limitations of filming during a pandemic or Netflix ’s awe of making anything seem too ethnical , but the lack of imagination greatly dampensThe Royal Treatment’senjoyment . More effort is put into flesh out out Izzy ’s Italian heritage ( which coincidentally is also Marano ’s inheritance ) than it is in create a kingdom befitting an actor of Egyptian inheritance . colour - unreasoning molding is all well and good when it comes to providing opportunity , but disregard someone ’s racial and ethnic background should n’t be a means for equality .
The Royal Treatmentis ultimately benign fun . It is scented , simple , and tiresome . It does n’t reinvent the wheel and lacks creativity , but it does have a noticeable melioration on take and cinematography that makes it stand out from the residue . Although it is lacking in the excogitation and depth of the fabricated Lavania , and even more so with Thomas , the motion-picture show is come the blandly laid path of its predecessors . Clearly , the formula is work for Netflix , but that does n’t think of it ca n’t be amend upon . Hopefully , future tense installmentsThe Royal Treatment(if there will be any ) will take note of Izzy ’s interest in traveling the earth and history and exposit its horizons .
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Chelsie Preston Crayford and Laura Marano in The Royal Treatment
The Royal Treatmentbegan streaming on Netflix Friday , January 20 . The film is 96 minute of arc long and is range video - PG .
In The Royal Treatment , Isabella runs her salon and is n’t afraid to utter her mind , while Prince Thomas campaign his own country and is about to wed for duty rather than love . When Izzy and her fellow stylists get the opportunity of a lifetime to do the hair for the purple wedding , she and Prince Thomas study that taking ascendance of their destiny requires follow their philia .
Mena Massoud and Laura Marano in The Royal Treatment
