‘A Castle for Christmas’ is vapid escapist fare

If you are looking for some holiday escapism, look no further than “A Castle for Christmas.”

Sophie (Brooke Shields) is a recently divorced author whose latest book is not a hit with fans, so naturally she decides to take some time off to go to Scotland, where her dad grew up. There she meets Myles (Cary Elwes), who owns a castle that’s for sale, so of course Sophie decides to buy it because logic doesn’t exist in this world. Myles agrees on one condition: Sophie has to live in the castle until Christmas; if she leaves before then she forfeits the castle and her down payment. As you can imagine, Sophie agrees and Myles takes every opportunity to make her stay miserable. Surprising no one, this leads the two to have warmer affections for each other.

The supporting cast provides colorful characters for Sophie and Myles to team up with in their schemes. All of this is in the backdrop of Scottish hills, forests and roads populated with sheep and highland cows, and the beautiful castle.

If you throw out the real-life logistics of finances, travel and international real estate and focus on escaping for 1 hour and 38 minutes into an idealistic Scottish countryside with the guy from “The Princess Bride,” you might just find yourself charmed by “A Castle for Christmas.”