Posted on: Friday, August 10, 2001
Movie Scene
Julie Andrews returns with a regal role in 'Diaries'
By Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today
No whiskers on kittens. No woolen mittens. And don't even think about the schnitzel with noodles.
None of the items so detailed in the lyrics of "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music" actually makes the hills come alive for Julie Andrews.
The 65-year-old British actress, who immortalized the Rodgers & Hammerstein tune as the singing nun-turned-nanny in the 1965 Oscar winner, exhibits a less Hallmark-card taste when it comes to her own favorite things.
Her choices? "My grandchildren. My garden. Rivers and nature. Switzerland. And peanut butter. Crunchy."
On bread with jelly? Elvis-style with fried bananas?
"Any way I can get it," she trills crisply, her pristine diction still intact despite the botched 1997 throat surgery that has all but silenced her once four-octave singing voice.
That sort of sturdy resolve has served Andrews well since she became a showbiz sensation in the '50s and '60s, first on Broadway ("My Fair Lady," "Camelot") and then on the big screen. With talking-parrot umbrella in hand, she primly flew over the London rooftops and sailed into our hearts as the practically perfect governess in her 1964 movie debut, "Mary Poppins."
That Disney smash won her a best-actress Oscar. But its success carried more baggage than just Mary's magic carpetbag. Andrews became forever synonymous with wholesome entertainment, a situation exacerbated by the sentimentality of "The Sound of Music," which earned her another Oscar nomination.
Andrews, who sought solace in therapy after she fell victim to Hollywood typecasting and a box-office slump in the late '60s, says that for a long time, "I kept my Oscar hidden away. I just felt shy and unworthy of it."
She's made movies both bawdy (most directed by her husband of 32 years, Blake Edwards, including the 1981 Hollywood satire "S.O.B.," in which she infamously flashed her breasts, and the 1982 musical sex farce "Victor/Victoria") and benignly adult (the 1966 Hitchcock thriller "Torn Curtain"). But the spoonful of sugar that clings to her like a hard candy shell stubbornly refuses to dissolve.
So be it. Andrews is re-embracing her inner goody-two-shoes with a return to family films.
A Disney family film, no less, her first since "Mary Poppins."
"The Princess Diaries," which opened last week, is a modern-day fairy tale directed by Garry Marshall ("Pretty Woman") and the only release this summer brave enough to bear a G rating. It tells the story of a typically awkward American teen (18-year-old newcomer Anne Hathaway) who learns she's heir to the throne of a small European country. She gets royalty lessons from Andrews playing her estranged grandmother, the queen of Genovia. Beauty makeovers, slapstick shtick and a few happy tears ensue.
"From Day One we had great chemistry, and I was like, 'Wow, I have great chemistry with a person who's been my hero since I was 3,'" enthuses "Diaries" star Hathaway. "She is my idol."
This is one idol, however, who is also down to earth. Says Hathaway, "She has every right in the world to say, 'I am Julie Andrews, worldwide sensation. Bow down and do my bidding.' But she was so lovely and open on the set."
Director Marshall also got to see the Andrews effect first hand. "My wife and I went to the opera in San Francisco with Julie. Everything stopped when she entered. The whole lobby. I never saw people get so crazy. They were so happy to see her."
Her reaction to the hubbub? "She just smiled."
It's hard to imagine any other actress who could pull off a modern-day ruler. As Marshall says, "When she walks into a room, your posture improves."
But for all her ladylike refinement, Andrews can get down and dirty. She admits her sense of humor is the most improper thing about her. As Marshall says, "It's nice to see a still-elegant lady of substance who can get a laugh."
In her usual way, the actress remains as optimistic as possible about the chances for the recovery of her voice. "My speaking voice has improved immeasurably," she says brightly.
Andrews has a slate full of upcoming duties that rival those of her "Diaries" queen. A children's book author since she published "Mandy" in 1971, she and daughter Emma have penned three stories featuring Dumpy the Dump Truck. A fourth is due in fall. "In this one, Dumpy saves Christmas."
Andrews also is working on her autobiography.
Correction, she says. "I am attempting to do it. I want to do it for my grandchildren. Whether I succeed or not is a question. I have to find the right voice. It will probably go up to when I starred on stage in 'My Fair Lady.' I want to talk about the years I had in my teens while performing in vaudeville and music halls. People aren't so familiar with those eras."
She also has a cameo in the upcoming comedy "Who Shot Victor Fox" directed by P.J. Hogan ("My Best Friend's Wedding"). "It's a slight take on my image. But I can't tell you what because it's too delicious."
And there's already talk of a possible sequel to "The Princess Diaries."
As for the current location of her Oscar for Mary Poppins, she says, "These days it's in my office. Funnily enough, about a year ago I had it redone. It had gone a little dull."
As for its owner, she sparkles as brightly as ever.
