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'Princess Diaries' is a dear submitted by: Lisa D. source: Scripps Howard News Service Date: August 1, 2001 By BETSY PICKLE Not since the early days of the Princess Diana story has a fairy tale been as "ooh"- and "aah"-worthy as "The Princess Diaries." A film for little girls of all ages - as well as their fathers and brothers - "The Princess Diaries" revisits the traditional princess fantasy, putting a contemporary, empowering spin on the whole notion of nobility. A tiara doesn't help a girl sleep comfortably at night, but a mantle of positive power does, so this comedy would have us believe. Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is a San Francisco teenager who's virtually invisible to her private-school classmates. So shy that she can't speak in public without losing her lunch, or breakfast, Mia has one friend, Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo). Well, maybe two - Lilly's shaggy-haired brother, Michael (Robert Schwartzman), is always warm, but Mia doesn't notice that he has feelings for her. Coordinated enough when it comes to climbing rock walls or riding a scooter, Mia is a klutz at organized sports such as baseball and dating. Her crush on preppy heartthrob Josh Bryant (Erik Von Detten) is strictly minor-league, and it's negated anyway by Josh's cheerleader girlfriend, Lana Thomas (recording star Mandy Moore). Mia knows nothing of her father, who disappeared after a divorce from her mom, Helen (Caroline Goodall). So she feels shocked and betrayed by both parents when she learns that her paternal grandmother, Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), is queen of the tiny European country of Genovia. Mia's father has died, and Mia is now the heir to the Genovian throne. Clarisse wants to start grooming her for her destiny, but Mia isn't so sure she wants to rule a country. However, she agrees to take "princess lessons" from her grandmother, with a little help from Clarisse's bodyguard, Joe (Hector Elizondo). Mia tries to keep her newfound identity a secret, but it's impossible for her schoolmates not to notice her makeover. Soon, there are misunderstandings and wounded pride with Lilly and Michael and predictable deluded detours with Josh and Lana. Scripted by Gina Wendkos from a novel by Meg Cabot, "The Princess Diaries" is a "Pygmalion" story that earns brownie points by casting Andrews - Broadway's original Eliza Dolittle - as the Henry Higgins stand-in. It flirts with danger by suggesting that teens can be rescued from gawkiness by a beautiful royal grandmother, but it counters the pie-in-the-sky propaganda by providing a dead father and several painful friendship crises. Director Garry Marshall occasionally lets the tempo drag. But Marshall knows his fairy tales - he catapulted Julia Roberts to fame in the Cinderella story "Pretty Woman" - and he picks another winner with newcomer Hathaway. Hathaway has the right balance of beauty and awkwardness, and she conveys the anxieties of teen life accurately. Andrews fits the bill perfectly as the regal but far from tyrannical Clarisse. Her presence gives the production just the sense of magic it needs. The supporting cast - which also includes Larry Miller and Sandra Oh in brief but hilarious roles - seems inspired by the two leading ladies. Sunny, funny and constitutionally incapable of causing offense, "The Princess Diaries" is so entertaining it's a shock to be reminded that it's rated G. In this case, the rating definitely stands for "Gee." (Betsy Pickle is the film critic for the Knoxville News-Sentinel in Knoxville, Tenn.) (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service) Site design by: Dolphin Webpage Designs © 1996-2001