Story by Abi Safago, Reporter
Photo courtesy Glamour

Everyone fantasizes about their happily ever after. Often times, that includes hoping for a knight in shining armor—brave, daring, and sometimes a bit funny. This holiday season, however, it definitely wasn’t who Brooke, the main character of “The Knight Before Christmas”, was expecting to actually arrive.

This new Netflix original is better than its name-play. It stars Vanessa Hudgens as Brooke, alongside Josh Whitehouse as Sir Cole. They’re a duo you wouldn’t expect to play out chaotically well, but they exceed expectations.  Sir Cole’s hijinks include drinking excessive amounts of hot chocolate, setting Brooke’s lawn on fire, and trying to fight Brooke’s ex, medieval style. 

The film is easy to summarize, so without giving away all the fun, here are some plot points. 

• Our main [male] character, Sir Cole, gets transported through time to complete his quest in order to become a true knight. He travels from the 1300s in Norwich, England, to modern-day Ohio, USA.
• Our [female] lead, Brooke, is a teacher in Ohio, who has a history of bad boyfriends. She also has a funny niece, who asks Santa for her aunt to get a “nice boyfriend who won’t cheat on her for Christmas.” Ouch.
• Brooke hits Cole with her car as he’s wandering around looking for his horse, who definitely didn’t time travel with him to 2019. He’s all right, thanks to his knightly armor.
• They both find each other kind of odd, but intriguing. 
• Obviously, they fall in love after a few days, but he must finish his quest before midnight of Christmas Eve and return to Norwich or he will never be a true knight.

I’ll leave the ending for you to find out. But overall, this movie definitely shows some Hallmark essentials and great add-ons.

One Hallmark trait is how the main characters meet and how their romance plays out. In many Hallmark movies, the “one” is someone the main character just bumps into. This person is usually someone from a completely different world than them. Maybe they’re from a big city instead of a small town or they work in business instead of art. This film presents a 14th-century knight versus a modern-day teacher. 

Something genuinely entertaining about this new duo is exactly how different their worlds are. With a lot of discussion about “steel dragons and steeds” and “boxes that make merry,” there are quite a few moments of comedic confusion between the pair. 

Additionally, Sir Cole stays up an entire night watching reality television and tries to use its slang. He doesn’t do great, but it’s hilarious to see Old English mixed with the modern slang you’d find on twitter.

Another Hallmark Christmas movie cliche present in The Knight Before Christmas is the tragic love story of the lead’s past. In many films, this storyline consists, of an e falling out of love with them during the holiday season. Other times, it is even more drastic such as having an ex cheat on them and then left. This movie has exactly that, to fill all of your heart-break needs to make a perfect movie.

Lastly, some of my favorite things about the Hallmark tone of this movie are the sassy side characters and a great sense of family. While Brooke may seem delirious for letting this ancient knight into her home when he has no place to go, her family supports and cheers her on. Especially her sister and niece, who wished that her aunt would get a good man.

If you’re looking for another classic to add to your holiday movie-watching, toss this one on the list and maybe ask Santa to bring a knight in shining armor for you as well.