Love is rarely simple and rom-coms show us that, where Royalteen differs is how other characters percieve the same lovesick relationship in a myriad of ways.
Like all rom-coms, tropes and stereotypes are a given, it is what writers do with the stereotype that makes all the difference. With Purple Hearts giving an abysmal idea for what a rom-com is, viewers were naturally skeptical of Royalteen, a Norwegian film focussing on the party animal crown prince falling in love with a teen who did some perceived not good things in the past, DM Talkies reported.
In this film, however, we see the protagonists getting along well. Lena goes to the same high school where Crown Prince Kalle, and his sister Margrethe study. Already showing some sass to the Crown Prince, they become friends (following the trope here quite a bit). He invites her to a pool party but Lena plays it off and doesn’t really mean to go to this rager. But Kalle comes over to her place to escort her and while Lena’s mother seems a little flustered, she eventually allows Lena to go. Margrethe hasn’t quite taken a liking for Lena but Arnie and Tess seem to be okay with her existence.
It gets bad enough that Margrethe seems to have a vendetta against the home girl. Kalle invites Lena to dinner and the King is right there alongside Lena and while he seemed happy to see Lena there, it became evident that he was using Margrethe as a mouthpiece for all his hostility. The Queen, Sofia is said to suffer from some anxieties regarding the pressure on her, meanwhile, Margarethe is dubbed Princess Paranoia. Not backing down from a challenge, Margrethe decides to make Lena’s life a bigger hell when her former friend Guro makes an appearance and the two fight it out quite visibly. Margrethe affirms Lena that she wouldn’t say anything but invites Guro to a meal, forcing Lena to leave.
We find out here that Guro, Kristian and Lena were friends and there was a major falling out that made Lena an outcast in her own friend group. Quickly becoming dramatic, Margrethe confronts Lena about her past, Guro and Kristian stop being friends with her and things with Kalle were great until Margrethe using the past as leverage got Lena to break up with him. Lena’s supposed younger brother is actually her own son. She decides that it’s enough that all these secrets keep haunting her, so she tells the internet about Theodore, her son and while Margrethe is not annoyed, she still asks Lena to stay away from Kalle. It is unclear whether the characters get back together or not. Because while Kalle does sing a heartfelt song for Lena, the camera pans out Margrethe getting a panic attack and passing out.
There is major potential for a sequel because we don’t know what happens with Queen Sofia, Margrethe’s condition and Kalle’s photo disaster. Hopefully, the next film can shift focus to involve more perspectives from which the story unfolds.
Royalteen is streaming on Netflix.
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