In Hallmark’s newest holiday movie A Suite Holiday Romance, a woman named Sabrina (Chicago Med‘s Jessy Schram) meets a British man that she assumes is a royal and falls for him while they’re both staying at a luxe New York hotel. The thing is, he’s not a royal (but he does work for one), but he never really comes clean about being a regular guy and eventually, the misunderstanding drives a wedge between them.
The Gist: Jessy Schram stars as Sabrina, a writer hired to ghost-write the memoir of an esteemed art dealer, Grayson Westcott (Sopranos actor Al Sapienza). Westcott puts Sabrina up at the iconic Grand Fairbanks Hotel in New York, a stand-in for the Plaza, in part because he’s a fan of an article Sabrina wrote about Hazel Holley, a children’s author whose Cordelia books, about a young girl who lives in the Grand Fairbanks, are world famous. (Cordelia’s a stand-in for Eloise, of course.)
Westcott arranges for Sabrina to stay in the hotel while she writes his biography, living out her own Cordelia fantasy and pretending she’s a wealthy resident of the hotel, which is what the handsome Brit Ian Turner (Dominic Sherwood) assumes when they meet in the hotel bar. And due to some poor communication, Sabrina assumes that Ian is a royal named Lord Spencer Braxton, who has traveled to New York to donate a small fortune of jewels for charity. In fact, Ian is the assistant to the real Lord Braxton and is not a wealthy aristocrat at all, but the royals are intensely private and Ian never corrects Sabrina’s incorrect assumption about who he is so he can protect the real Spencer’s identity.
As part of his job, Ian is responsible for keeping the unruly Lord Braxton on a tight leash while they’re in New York, and he’s always dashing away to rein in Lord Braxton. Sabrina assumes this is just some mysterious royal business and is a little annoyed that he’s so mysterious and always rushing off, but that’s also part of the allure, too.
As Sabrina falls for Ian, she assumes that because he’s a royal, they’re too different to make a relationship work. They might actually have a chance if she knew the truth, but because he’s tasked with keeping his royal charge’s identity a secret, it’s easier for him to keep up the ruse than come clean to her.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? A Suite Holiday Romance is not exactly a story about a mistaken identity, so much as a miscommunicated identity. It reminds me of last year’s Jodie Sweetin-led Hallmark film The Heiress and the Handyman, about a formerly wealthy heiress who assumes her neighbor is the hired help.
Performance Worth Watching: Adam Hurtig adds humor to the film as the real Spencer Braxton, the hopelessly romantic royal who falls fast and hard for women in every city he visits. Despite Ian’s attempts to babysit Spencer while they’re in New York, Spencer is too slippery, and he’s fallen in love with a hotel gift shop employee.
Memorable Dialogue: “Just because I’m English doesn’t mean my life is an episode of The Crown,” Ian tells Sabrina when she suggests he spends his Christmas “In church at Sandringham, followed by a mile-long buffet.”
A Holiday Tradition: If “Christmas in New York” can be a tradition, this movie is bursting – the red, white and green of the Empire State Building, the twinkly lights of the city, fancy Manhattan galas and parties…
Does The Title Make Any Sense? The name perfectly combines Sabrina’s lavish hotel fantasy with her romantic adventure.
Our Take: While the chemistry and relationship between Sabrina and Ian is the primary story here, there’s a second story running parallel to theirs. During Sabrina’s time at the hotel, she spends time with Grayson Westcott so she can write his life story, and he regales her with tales of his time as a butler employed at the hotel, waiting on author Hazel Holley while she also lived in the Grand Fairbanks. Grayson fell in love with a girl named Charlotte but their love was unrequited; we see scenes of their 1960s-era New York love affair, and Sabrina realizes that Grayson’s been teaching her a lesson about regret and what happens when you let true love slip through your fingers.
Al Sapienza, the actor playing Grayson, is familiar (he’s appeared in over 300 titles, he’s got a classic “Hey, I know that guy!” face), and here he shows a warm, paternal quality toward Sabrina. At first, it felt unclear just how his story would fit into hers, but as Grayson, he is the glue holding the film together, mentoring her professionally and personally. His relationship to her feels just as important as the romance she develops with Ian, and it adds a layer of tenderness and intimacy to the story. And because this is a Hallmark movie, it wouldn’t be complete if both his and Sabrina’s unrequited love stories were ultimately requited by the end. There’s some extra satisfaction to that as we see just how intertwined all the plots in the film really are.
Our Call:STREAM IT! With two equally engaging storylines set against a beautiful backdrop of New York at Christmas, A Suite Holiday Romance is a winning romance that sparkles with sincerity and a message that if love presents itself to you, you shouldn’t let it slip away.
Photos: Everett Collection, Photo Illustration: Dillen Phelps
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (At least, that’s what Andy Williams promised.) The holidays are a time to celebrate with family, friends, food, and, let’s not forget, fun things to watch. Whether you’re huddled up with the whole family in your living room or cozying up under the covers with your tablet, let Decider be your guide to all things festive this holiday season.
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.
