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Evil dragon, stepmother are missing
submitted by: Lisa D.
source: Toronto Star
Date: August 3, 2001
By Daphne Gordon, Entertainment Princess
Every girl wants to be a princess.
This seems to be the basic premise behind Disney's modern-day fairy tale, The Princess Diaries, a remake of the standard peasant-to-princess story that is behind so many enduring fables for children.
Though it's set in modern San Francisco, Princess Diaries is really just the age-old daydream of every female preteen: Geeky girl stumbles upon royal roots, acquires shoes, overcomes obstacles and lives happily ever after with the boy of her dreams.
And that's why, even if the parents in the audience roll their eyes at this movie's flimsy plot, clumsy dialogue and unbelievable characters, young girls will no doubt fall for the fantasy. The appeal is in the idea that they, too, might wake up one day and find every one of their wishes suddenly and completely fulfilled: Unlimited clothes in their closet; dates with boys who once ignored them; and their picture in every magazine in the kingdom.
The geek in Princess Diaries is 15-year-old Mia Thermopolis, played with sweet and vulnerable awkwardness by big-screen newcomer Anne Hathaway. When Mia discovers that her long-lost father was actually the prince of someplace called Genovia and that she is the heir to the throne, she finds that the life of a princess isn't all it's made out to be in fairy tales.
First, there's princess school, which is taught by Mia's ultra-elegant grandmother, Queen Clarisse, played with perfect poise by Julie Andrews. Mia must learn to sashay not schlump, sip instead of slurp and, most challenging of all, be the belle of the ball instead of the wallflower in the corner.
A lot of cornball comedy results from princess school and Hathaway pulls off the physical schtick fairly well, though the movie tends to drag in the middle. Still, adults might find enough sweet charm in the budding romance between Queen Clarrise and Joseph (Hector Elizondo), Mia's handsome driver and dancing teacher, to stay awake for the duration.
Hard to believe, but Mia finds the idea of becoming a princess utterly unappealing at first. At times she thinks she'll disappoint everybody and would rather go back to her boring old life than risk upsetting her grandmother by using the wrong fork at dinner. It's a totally unbelievable plot twist. What girl would pass on the gowns, shoes, princes and personal stylists? None I've ever known.
Though director Garry Marshall, (Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride) throws in a few fluffy complications in the form of nasty school friends who try to use Mia for her newfound fame, there are no real obstacles for the princess to overcome in her quest.
In other words, The Princess Diaries is too Disneyfied. Sure, parents looking for a feelgood family movie with a nicey-nice message will appreciate the clean language, modest costumes and didactic overtones. But the lack of a real struggle between good and evil in this movie is its major downfall. The only conflict here is within Mia, who seems to be battling totally banal self-esteem issues.
No fairytale resolution is truly satisfying when the heroine's obstacles haven't been challenging, and Mia's aren't. She didn't have to fight dragons or outsmart her evil stepmother to become a princess. She just had to learn to pluck her eyebrows and wave without moving her arm. So when the twinkly tiara is placed on her glossy hair, it's no big whoop.
Still, Marshall gets some credit for the modern girl-power message. Though she does score the guy in the end, it's clear Mia, who does yoga and hangs out with activist types, plans to use her new power to effect social change rather than primp for a prince.
Starring Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Hector Elizondo and Mandy Moore. Directed by Garry Marshall. At major theatres
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