Movie Scene
Julie Andrews gives 'Princess Diaries' a royal rush
By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
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Julie Andrews makes a welcome return to the big screen in this otherwise-modest teen comedy about a nerdy girl who blossoms after she learns she's European royalty. Anne Hathaway is the girl; Andrews is her queenly grandmother. Veteran director Garry Marshall gives the project a humorous polish. Disney. Rated G, ** 1/2 (Fair-to-Good). Disney, 115 mins. |
The much-loved veteran, who hasn't been seen much on the big screen over the past decade, plays an elegant grandmother who helps a modern teen-age Cinderella get to the ball on time.
As capably directed by Garry Marshall, "The Princess Diaries" is the umpteenth take on "Cinderella" (and "Pygmalion"). It's a familiar narrative explored earlier by Marshall for more mature audiences in "Pretty Woman."
"The Princess Diaries" is about Mia (Anne Hathaway), a nerdy, under-appreciated San Francisco girl who eventually blossoms after she learns she's of royal blood.
The news is delivered by her estranged grandmother (Andrews) who Mia is shocked to learn is really Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genovia, a supposed tiny European principality in the Monaco mold.
The queen further shocks Mia by telling her she's also of royal blood – and next in line for the Genovian throne. "Shu-u-u-t up!" the astonished teen responds. (The queen is briefly offended until an aide tells her a modern teen "shu-u-u-t up" is equivalent to "gee whiz" or "holy cow!")
"The Princess Diaries" than revolves around the rebirth of Mia as princess material, as well as the ways her renewed confidence enables her to stand up to the high school cliques and stuck-up kids who've given her a hard time in the past.
As part of the process, Mia finally gets the attention of the hot boy she's long admired. As fits the cliche, of course, he's all wrong for her. Then the nerdy male friend comes out of the wings to also shine.
Along the way, the granddaughter and grandmother must also establish a relationship of trust and affection.
If this all sounds familiar, of course it is. In lesser hands, with a lesser cast, "The Princess Diaries" would never escape the confines of an after-school TV special.
However, Marshall (whose other credits include "The Flamingo Kid" and TV's "Happy Days") knows how to exploit the laughs in even the most familiar material.
And, thankfully, Marshall also brings along his good-luck charm, actor Hector Elizondo, who has brightened no less than 12 Marshall films. Here he's the queen's chief of security, who gives protocol lessons and fatherly advice to the princess-in-training.
As Mia, Hathaway makes an ingratiating film debut. The star of TV's "Get Real," Hathaway is adept at both the flamboyance of pratfall comedy as well as the subtlety of character development. She brings a lot of appeal to the film's central role.
And then, of course, there's the inestimable Andrews, bringing her well-established grace, elegance and charisma to the throne of Genovia.
Indeed, Andrews seems to the manor born. And, by now, it's clear she is.
