 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
If you were thinking this was just a movie for pre-teen girls, well maybe you are right but the entire family will get a kick out this Disney film staring Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse Renaldi. In fact just about everyone in The Princess Diaries, shines in their roles. The feeling is Pretty Woman meets Cinderella. You have Hector Elizondo as Joe, you remember him from Pretty Woman. The hotel manager that helped Julia Roberts get a dress and taught her table manners, well he teaches Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) the new princess of Genovia all about being a young princess, and her grandmother Andrews (Victor/Victoria) teaches her the difference between being a grandmother and a queen. The Cinderella feel, well come on it’s Disney. You have the awkward fifteen year-old just trying to survive high school now come into her own as a princess, including sparkling waterfalls and a light display just as she gets her first leg popping kiss. Now you are asking how did this young girl become 15 and not know she was royalty, well the answer is simple, her mother never told her, her father never mentioned it as he went away to be a prince in his country and the Queen, well she was hoping he would remarry and have a new suitable family. Mia’s mother, Helen (Caroline Goodall, Harrison's Flowers) is a wild hair free spirit of a painter living in a renovated firehouse with her daughter in San Francisco. Her daughter attends a private high school, that the prince pays for. But, the man died a couple of months ago. The only contact he ever had with his daughter was a great gift on her birthday and a few cards. Mia still felt he loved her and we are never led to believe he didn’t. Now after never having any contact with Mia, the Queen shows up and announces that blood needs to take over ruling her country. She married into royalty but Mia was born into it. See her father never did remarry and have a suitable family so now granny has to take the only heir she has. Well Mia freaks because she was lied to by her mother, her whole life and ignored by her grandmother her whole life. So she gets princess lessons before a grand dinner event and will have to make a decision by the ball time about accepting the role of princess and ruling her country. Mia’s best friend is Lilly (Heather Matarazzo from Welcome to the Dollhouse) and she makes a great ecologically aware and socially awkward best friend to the girl who was invisible until grandma came to town. The evil cheerleader, Lana Thomas, is Mandy Moore and the boy who noticed Mia when she was invisible was Michael, Lilly’s brother (Robert Schwartzman.) The director was Garry Marshall and writing credits go to Meg Cabot for the novel and Gina Wendkos for screenplay. The Princess Diaries is full of laughs for children and adults. Mia is charming and witty. She will have you rooting for her all the way. I give this film a nine on the About-Movies.com scale. Shutup!
Last updated: Saturday, October 28, 2006 05:37:39 PM Click Here to get back into frames.
|
