This was considerably more thoughtful and interesting than the title and, the trailer, implied. It managed to combine two apparently pretty contradictory genres the ‘commoner romance with a Royal’ and the ‘dark teen trauma’ genre. The combo worked well and the darker side of events was well and convincingly dealt with. The performers were admirable too -particularly the two leads who genuinely looked like teens, down to less than perfect skin and no absurdly perfect movie star looks – particularly the Prince who had an endearingly gawky and awkward look to him.
The ‘issues’ that were dealt with (online bullying/lack of boundaries with social media/teenage sexuality) arose naturally from the drama and the gradual revelations, and darkening of the story as it progressed, particularly in the final section were genuinely powerful and did not come across as crassly manipulative. I particularly liked the way that some characters – notably the Princess and the fashion blogger – were gradually and thoughtfully revealed as more nuanced and thoughtful than they at first appeared – it would have bene very easy for them to remain predictably two-dimensional – but they did not.
One excellent scene was the cringingly awkward dinner at the palace which was marvelously done – not least as they allowed pauses and silences to communicate and did not feel they had to rely on dialogue.
It will be interesting to see if there is a sequel; as with many Netflix films and final episodes of their series, the very ending was clearly set up for an almost necessary continuation – and I wonder of nowadays that is to be expected so as to almost force the funders to commission another series – which, of course, they may or may not do. I know there have been a number where there is a blatant cliffhanger which is then NOT taken up for the hoped-for sequel.