Sophie and Myles’ meet-cute is adorably instigated by Myles’ overly excited dog Hamish (played by Barley, a total ham). Genre tropes are employed only when necessary. Lambert, along with screenwriters Ally Carter and Kim Beyer-Johnson, instills the picture with a heap ton of heart, charm and ebullience. Yet his plan to drive her away inevitably brings them closer together. He puts her up in a dank, dilapidated room and overwhelms her with threats of property maintenance issues like horrible heating, poor plumbing and shoddy electrical work (which, incidentally, are things we never see become actual problems). The pair strike an agreement, but Myles is convinced he can get the new tenant to quickly vacate the premises. He finagles a dastardly deal: a 90-day escrow that allows her to take immediate ownership provided he continues to live there with her during that time and, if she backs out, his ownership will be reinstated. The only problem is that obstinate owner Myles ( Cary Elwes), an adversarial, cash-strapped duke, is reticent to hand over the keys.
Not only do the townsfolk recognize Sophie and unwaveringly support her work, but she discovers that the palatial palace from her dad’s youth is for sale. But when Sophie arrives, she’s greeted by many unexpected surprises. She hopes that this trip will allow her to reconnect with her family history and work in anonymity. Her dad, the son of the groundskeeper, had a penchant for telling romanticized stories about his childhood, inspiring her future endeavors as a writer. An on-air breakdown on “The Drew Barrymore Show” causes her to rethink her creative pursuits and hightail it to Dun Dunbar, a tiny town in Scotland where lies the castle in which her father was raised. However, the celebrated author has recently come under fire by her fans since choosing to kill off her protagonist’s love interest - a creative decision motivated by her own bitter divorce after her husband left her for another woman. Sophie Brown ( Brooke Shields) is a successful romcom novelist, having released a dozen books in the popular “Emma Gale” series. Trading cloying for cute, treacly for tolerable, and caustic for comforting, its sincere, aspirational sentiments about it never being too late to write your own second chapter feel genuinely meaningful, making up for its struggles to pay off unrequited setups. Director Mary Lambert’s romcom is centered on a divorcée who, after a public meltdown, buys a castle in Scotland, meets a dreamy duke and regains her creative vitality.
Despite its smattering of shortcomings, “ A Castle For Christmas” is gently disarming, heartening, holiday-themed escapism that’s as satisfying as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night.
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