Females rule in new releases on DVD shelves

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

"The Princess Diaries" stars, from left, Heather Matarazzo, Anne Hathaway and Mandy Moore in a tale of a schoolgirl (Hathaway) who finds out she is of a royal bloodline. Advertiser library photo

So we are not at all surprised to see a two-disc upgrade of the tweener comedy "The Princess Diaries" (Disney) in stores this week, preceding the Aug. 11 release of its sequel, "The Royal Engagement." This enjoyable live-action fairy tale from 2001 stars charmer Anne Hathaway as an ordinary U.S. teenager obsessed with school and boys until she discovers that the father she never knew was royalty and that she's next in line for the throne of a tiny European country called Genovia. Along for the ride is none other than Julie Andrews as the wise grandmother who takes on the job of giving the princess her "My Fair Lady" makeover.

The new DVD contains a full- and widescreen transfer (originally sold separately), a bloopers and outtake reel and a new featurette titled "Livin' Like a Princess." But the real come-on is a free ticket to the sequel, a marketing device that also worked for "Bourne" and "Spider-Man 2" (whose predecessor had no less than three DVD releases). Considering that this will be discounted at most outlets by at least $5 per disc (that is fast becoming the industry standard), it means the DVD is almost as attractive as its young star.

It's obviously a good week to be a young girl, especially if you're one whose mother thought the PG-13-rated spring release "13 Going on 30" starring Jennifer Garner might have been a little too much for you. If that's you, you can argue that you're now a whole 4 months older and therefore ready to see the DVD version (Columbia-Tristar) of this "Big"-inspired comedy. It's about a girl who hates being 13 so much that one day she wakes up to find herself suddenly age 30.

Fortunately, she is soon reunited with her once-sensitive and geeky (but now sensitive and hunky) best friend from the old days (Mark Ruffalo), whom she leans on when the job she's dreamed of — that of a fashion-lifestyle magazine editor — throws her back into the stressful, competitive relationship she once had with the popular girl (local actress Judy Greer).

The only thing missing from this fantasy is anything like original style, but who cares when you have so many cool accessories: Deleted scenes! A featurette in which Garner recalls her own middle-school miseries! Original videos of the '80s songs her character still loves! Plus, there's the scene where the grown-up Jennifer kicks off the '80s revival when she saves a boring party with a dance-floor re-creation of the "Thriller" video.

Garner's star is still ascending, as evidenced by the concurrent release of a two-disc set containing every episode of her 1998 TV series "Significant Others" (Columbia-Tristar), a surprisingly well-written and well-acted ensemble "dramedy" — I always hated that word — from the team that made "Party of Five."

So what would Gidget have made of all this? We'll never know, but we can revisit her (seemingly) more innocent era in "The Complete Gidget Collection" (Columbia-TriStar). This two-disc set is anchored by the original 1959 film "Gidget," based on a best-selling novel about a California teenager (Sandra Dee) who, in one wild summer, falls in love with surfing and two surfer boys.

The set also includes the sequels, 1961's "Gidget Goes Hawaiian," which has Deborah Walley wearing the ponytail, and 1963's "Gidget Goes to Rome," which finds long-forgotten Cindy Carol in the title role.

Walley hung around for a bit, showing up in Elvis Presley's 1966 movie vehicle (he's a race-car driver) "Spinout," though he actually prefers Shelley Fabares.

It's one of five occasionally fun but interchangeable Presley jukebox musicals released on DVD this week (all Warner). The others (with Elvis' role and the romantic interest) are:

• 1968's "Speedway"; racer again, Nancy Sinatra.
• 1963's "It Happened at the World's Fair"; freelance pilot, Joan O'Brien.
• 1969's "The Trouble with Girls"; medicine-show huckster, Marilyn Mason.
• And, regrettably, 1965's "Harum Scarum"; sheikh impersonator, Mary Ann Mobley. This is a film that has aged even less well than the King's other post-Army misdventures.