Valentine’s day is coming up, and watching movies could be a great way to spend your day with your loved one. “The Royal Treatment” is a newly released heartfelt romance film starring Laura Marano and Mena Massoud and was released on Jan. 20 and has since then been on Netflix’s top ten movies.

When viewing the title, I immediately thought of other movies that incorporate royalty into their movies, like “Princess Diaries” and “Enchanted.” I loved these movies as a kid and it immediately sparked my interest in this movie. The thought of princesses and princes when I was younger seemed so foreign because the U.S. does not have a royal family, but as I got older, I realized that many places all around the world do have royal families.

The star and main character, Laura Marano, has been a recognizable actress in most young adults’ childhoods. She was one of the main characters in Disney’s popular show “Austin and Ally,” and has come out with numerous well-known movies associated with Disney and other entertainment companies. Another main character, Mena Massoud, is famous for his star role in Disney’s remake of “Aladdin.” Both “Aladdin” and The “Royal Treatment” have done extremely well in theaters and on Netflix.

This movie is a charming love story that focuses on the main character Izzy, who owns a hair salon in Manhattan, New York. She is always on the move, constantly helping others in her community. As the prince of Lavania visits New York, he realizes he needs a haircut. Mistakenly, the prince’s assistant schedules a hair appointment for the prince at Izzy’s salon instead of a luxury and expensive salon. Prince Thomas and Izzy meet for the appointment and the prince immediately takes a liking to her. He then invites her back to his home to do the hair and makeup for his upcoming wedding. I found this little strange because he invited her to work at his wedding, typically romance movies are straightforward and have two characters that are single. I was surprised when he explained that he was engaged.

An important part of the movie was Izzy’s values and love for helping others, which she learned from her Italian family. She shows the prince what it means to be a family and how to treat others in the community like your family. The prince learns valuable lessons from her, which helps him better understand his community of Lavania. I loved seeing the people of Lavania dance and sing all together in the town, it really gave me a sense of unity in the community. 

I think the plot developed nicely as I definitely was rooting for the Prince and Izzy, but it was also enjoyable to see the development of the Prince’s character and how he changes because of Izzy. It wasn’t the most straightforward romance film, but slowly the two main characters in Lavania begin to grow closer as they learn more about each other. I enjoyed seeing the character’s development throughout the movie.

With the upcoming holiday approaching, this film would be a great movie to watch with your loved one to get into the spirit of romance. It was very much a cute heartfelt movie that I strongly recommend to people who enjoy romance movies. It is a cheesy love story, but most romance movies are, and I really liked watching it.