The Royal Treatment, directed by Rick Jacobson, was added recently to Netflix’s original romantic-comedy repertoire on January 20th, 2022. The movie follows the New York hair-dresser, Izzy (Laura Marano), as she is offered the chance of a lifetime to work at the royal wedding of Prince Thomas of Lavania (Mena Massoud). When a spark between Izzy and The Prince ensues, they struggle between the principle of duty and following their hearts.

My ego will not be bruised if I admit that I enjoy watching Romantic Comedies. I like to see relationships between the main characters build as the realization hits them: they have been in love the entire time. I am a person who prefers romantic comedies with actors that may have a spark between them. Marano and Massoud had it, just not throughout the entire movie. Some scenes were extraordinary, making the audience believe they were falling in love with giving each other “the look”, yet there were other points in time where I was questioning it. Their lines seemed forced and almost cringe-worthy at times.

While their lines were a bit hard to get through, nothing compares to the countless accents within the movie. Everyone had an accent making it difficult to establish Lavania’s identity as a nation. Marano was attempting a typical New-York style accent that was faltering between incredibly strong and almost nonexistent. The King and Queen of Lavania along with the prince’s personal assistant had British accents, not to mention the abundant Kiwi accents of native New Zealand citizens, a random French accent, some Italian, and Southern; if you thought America was a melting pot, Lavania might take the cake.

The most notable element of this film was the scenery. The introduction to “Lavania” was breathtaking. I was blown away at the high-angle shots, filming above Lavania. The scenery in New York was no joke either, however, it was quite convenient that our New York hair-dresser main character who has, “no money” had a lavish apartment with a view that could make a grown man cry.

I am not sure if this movie introduces anything to the Romantic Comedy genre. There were predictable plot points, lines, and the audience can tell how this movie ends. In terms of nuance, this film is sorely lacking; but, when it comes to entertaining fantasy-filled romance, this movie might be for you. As the end credits appeared on my screen, I wondered if I wanted the last two hours of my time back or to watch it all over again.