The Knight Before Christmas
Netflix’s The Knight Before Christmas is a perfectly charming holiday rom-com, with plenty of time-travel hijinks and a valiant effort from its stars.
With Lifetime and Hallmark antecedently cornering the landscape painting of made - for - TV holiday romantic comedies , Netflix has made an effort in recent twelvemonth to join in . Thanks to successes likeThe Christmas Prince(which launched its own dealership of royal - themed holiday movie ) , Netflix has become more of a address for fans of the holiday fixed storage - com musical style - though whether its films are of the same tone as either Lifetime or Hallmark is disputable . Its latest entry in this niche music genre isThe Knight Before Christmas , telling the story of a time traveling knight who find sexual love after being enthral to mod twenty-four hour period . Netflix’sThe Knight Before Christmasis a dead witching holiday read-only memory - com , with stack of sentence - travel high jinks and a valorous elbow grease from its maven .
The story ofThe Knight Before Christmasbegins in 1334 England , where Sir Cole Christopher Frederick Lyons ( Josh Whitehouse ) is searching for a quest that will make him a on-key knight when he stumbles upon an old beldam who delight him to 2019 Ohio . With just a few days until Christmas , the sometime witch severalise Cole he must fulfill his quest before midnight on Christmas Eve or he ’ll be perplex in the future . Cole run across school teacher Brooke Winters ( Vanessa Hudgens ) , who ’s disillusioned in beloved after being cheat on by her ex - beau . Though she ’s unconvinced by Cole ’s storey that he ’s a 14th Century horse , she endeavour to give him a place to live and help him in his pursuit . Along the way , Cole and Brooke grow closer and develop smell for one another , but it remains to be seen if their fledgling romance can make it their strange circumstances .
The Knight Before Christmaswas write by Cara J. Russell and directed by Monika Mitchell , both of whom have experience in direct - to - TV vacation fare . The former wrote the shortMy Christmas Grandpafor Lifetime and the latter helmed both Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas moving picture ( The Christmas ContractandChristmas Joy ) . As such , The Knight Before Christmasfeels mightily at home in the incredibly recess and charmingly sentimental rom - com genre that ’s reached new heights of popularity in late years . Certainly , the incorporation of a clip travel horse is a short outside the box for holiday rom - coms ( though not within the romance genre as a whole ) , which typically stay root firmly in realism . But Russell ’s script waves a magical wand and does n’t get into the difficult details of how a fourteenth Century horse would acclimate to modern times so easily . or else , Sir Cole ’s fish - out - of - water state of affairs is played largely for laughs , and to give Brooke a gallant love interest .
Thankfully Hudgens is enough of a virtuoso to make the dynamic oeuvre and sell the not - so - satisfy do the film gives about time travel . Hudgens is becoming one of Netflix ’s regular stars , withThe Knight Before Christmasbeing her 2nd vacation rom - com after 2018’sThe Princess Switch(which is commence a sequel in 2020 ) . Whitehouse , too , works especially well as the charmingly fuddle Sir Cole , though the horse ’s personality incline to be tailor to the setting rather than the character being a well - developed actor in the tale . Still , Hudgens and Whitehouse bring a unfermented exposure to their character , and they have enough alchemy together that viewers will be endeared by their wild-eyed journey . The supporting player ofThe Knight Before Christmasdon’t get much to do - though Emmanuelle Chriqui has a playfulness chumminess with Hudgens as Brooke ’s babe Madison - but that ’s fairly distinctive of holiday rom - coms like this . To be sure , this is Hudgens and Whitehouse ’s movie and they have a cute romance amid the time traveling antics and vacation preparations .
Sure , The Knight Before Christmasdoesn’t make much sentience as far as movie plot go . Russell ’s script lean to be a little heavily - handed with the trite messages about love and religion during the holiday as a means to avoid dive too in depth into what exactly Cole ’s pursuance is , why he was bring to the future and how on the nose Cole and Brooke ’s family relationship could ever survive their monumentally unlike life experiences . But vacation read-only memory - coms should have a certain amount of cheesiness to them , andThe Knight Before Christmasdelivers plenteousness of dependably charming romanticism tropes . So long as viewers have n’t already gotten a bodily cavity from holiday delicacy ( or other sugary sweet fixed storage - coms),The Knight Before Christmasis sure to meet fans of the genre .
As such , The Knight Before Christmasis worth checking out for rooter of romance , specially the specific kind of holiday rom - com that has become so pop in late years . Being on Netflix , The Knight Before Christmasis an easily gratifying vigil with friends and mob or alone on the couch . And with clear continuation frame-up , Netflix seems confidentThe Knight Before Christmaswill get the Black Maria of viewers in the same elbow room asThe Christmas Prince- though the streamer might ’ve been a mo too hasty in that . Even ifThe Knight Before Christmasnever quite rises to the highest ranks among the ( many ) other vacation rom - coms , it ’s a noble effort from Netflix and should provide some hunky-dory holiday fun .
Trailer
The Knight Before Christmasis now rain buckets on Netflix . It is 92 minutes recollective and stag goggle box - PG .
The Knight Before Christmas is a holiday wild-eyed drollery directed by Monika Mitchell . The film follows a chivalric knight , Sir Cole ( Josh Whitehouse ) , who is as if by magic transported to present - day Ohio , where he meets a high school skill instructor , Brooke ( Vanessa Hudgens ) . Together , they pilot the challenge of modern life and the mystery of prison term travel while forming an unexpected bond during the Christmas time of year .
Josh Whitehouse and Vanessa Hudgens in The Knight Before Christmas
Josh Whitehouse and Vanessa Hudgens in The Knight Before Christmas
