Tara Reid was an incredibly bad actor. Much could have made the movie better. Very similar to the movie "What a girl wants" that was created in 2003.

As a true and loyal fan of Hallmark movies,especially in the pre-holiday season, this is one movie I really looked forward to watching. Sadly, there were several distractions from what could have been a truly classy and appealing film.The story line was original, featured mature characters, which is often unusual for Hallmark, except for secondary roles. The King..was perfectly cast..an elegant, handsome and intelligent man..The actor is absolutely flawless, in looks, speech, physical mannerisms..His best friend from college also the same intelligent, appealing man. The female leads were a problem for this viewer. If the King was returning to reconcile with his college sweetheart..Tara Reid was poorly chosen for the role..Her physical appearance is inconsistent with someone the King might fall in love with and yearn for..for decades. Her scraggly platinum blond ill-cut hair, her glossy, shiny hot pink lipstick and her overly rouged cheeks do not speak of a college lover who has gone on to become a land developer or architect. She looks cheapened by her makeup, clothing, and general facial demeanor. One would wonder why the King chose her and stayed in love with her all those years..She also seems to have a sullen look on her face..not just a sad look for love lost, or angry for his abandoning her..but more uncaring..The king could have done much better..a more serious actress,..someone who exudes intelligence, maturity, and physically appropriate appearance.Her daughter was well-cast in terms of age and physical appearance, but one wonders if teenagers..especially an older teen (17?) giggle and laugh, wide-eyed, as much as this actress does..She was very beautiful, played her role well, except that 75% of her giggling could have been thought through differently and eliminated. All in all..an appealing film and story line, but one this viewer would happily re-cast..and then watch in a more realistically-cast version.

I had to give up twenty five minutes into the movie due to choppy visual despite the color print more accurate than in some past Ion Christmas movies. Too many sharp cuts in the editing make the visual to me almost unwatchable and ditto with the soundtrack. Nothing in under the first half hour for me to even consider watching more on the first run. I recall once waiting for my movie to start in a New England multiplex when three people walked out of an auditorium after a showing of a film each demanding a refund. I somehow or other got this aura from less tha the first half hour of this film. Should anyone think the rest is an improvement perhaps I will consider watching the rest because I have not yet deleted the DVR recording.

I didn't have any issues with this movie. However, it was an ION Channel premier movie and the ION Channel isn't high quality or high definition viewing. And yes, it probably could have had better directing in terms of the editing. I kept seeing the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego in this movie (I've been there many times, so I know that seen very well) and they were calling it some other hotel in Los Angeles. I thought the plot was alright. I just don't really like watching less than high definition channels because I'm spoiled with the picture quality on them. I was with and at my mother's (a 71 yr old she is) when she chose this movie for us to watch on the ION channel. These baby boomer's are not that picky when it comes to television and technological quality. I keep telling them, you get what you pay for in most cases, but they are all deaf ears at this point in their lives. So I just let it be. I was fine with this movie through to the end. It turned out OK despite the editing. I don't think it was filmed in San Diego. I think they 'edited-in' shots of the Hotel Del Coronado, but I'm not convinced it was filmed there. I was trying to recognize more of it, but I never got a solid or clear vision that would tell me it was filmed there. It's best to watch it once all the way through and then formulate an opinion of your own.