The Princess Diaries (2001) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews Carolind Goodall, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Robert Schwartzman and Sandra Oh. Screenplay by Gina Wendkos. Based on the novel by Meg Cabot. Directed by Garry Marshall. Rated G. Approx. 114 minutes.
The Princess Diaries is an appealing live-action fairy tale from Disney that is simplistically charming.
This G-rated family feature is an undemanding as it is preposterous, but somehow it actually works and holds your attention, even at an overlong 114 minutes.
The movie is basically the ugly duckling story transported to contemporary San Francisco.
Mia Thermopolis is a 15-year-old at a private high school where she passes unnoticed. She even considers herself invisible. With the exception of her best friend, Lilly, she is basically ignored by the other students.
But all that changes when Mia's grandmother, whom she has never met, comes to the city for a visit. It seems - surprise - grandma is Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genovia and Mia is a princess. Not only a princess, but the heir apparent to the throne of the small European principality.
Mia's mother and father divorced when Mia was an infant. Pop went back to the old country to take care of royal business, while Mom remained in San Francisco to follow her career as an abstract artist.
The Princess Diaries is a movie aimed at young girls, most of whom can probably identify with Mia's predicament. `I don't want to run my own country, I just want to pass 10th grade,' Mia says.
Mia is intelligent, but painfully shy; she can't make it through debate class without having to hurl. It also doesn't help that she's a bit nerdy looking as well as awkward. But once her regal grandmother begins giving her `princess lessons' - and she gets a complete makeover - she emerges as a graceful, self-assured young woman.
Anne Hathaway's portrays Mia with the right combination of brains, gawkiness, reluctance and finally, confidence.
It is a bit difficult to imagine the reaction of an anonymous teen-ager being told just before her 16th birthday that she is heir to the throne. Hathaway, Caroline Goodall as her mother and Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse nearly succeed in making this unlikely scenario believable.
Truly, though, this is one of the film's weak points. It is difficult in today's split-second, Internet, super-electronic age to fathom such a secret being buried for almost 16 years without a leak.
Andrews is dazzling and slyly humorous as the royal grandmother playing Henry Higgins to her granddaughter's Eliza Dolittle. Those who remember Andrews from her classical stage performance in My Fair Lady can appreciate the irony of the situation.
Director Garry Marshall, he of Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride fame, tries to keep the proceedings moving, but a little more judicious editing could have been used. At nearly two hours, the film drags in spots.
The Princess Diaries, based on a young adult novel by Meg Cabot, plays out as you'd expect, with everyone living happily ever after.
And even though the bumps and detours on this road to happiness are very predictable, The Princess Diaries is a movie parents and children can enjoy together. It's not grand cinema, but it is an enjoyable confection that will give some families an excuse to spend some time together.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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