A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Reviews from Video Reviews of the Classics Personal Background

Title: The Princess Diaries

Date Viewed: 9/3/01

Details:

Julie Andrews

Anne Hathaway

Hector Elizondo

Heather Matarazzo

Caroline Goodall

Robert Schwartzman

Director: Garry Marshall

Score: +

The Review: Light fluff: a cross between adolescent wish fantasy fulfillment and a real-life (well, at least film-life) Anastasia. Mia (Hathaway) presents as an ugly-duckling teenager, at odds both with herself ("I'm still waiting for body parts to arrive") and with her classmates. Her mother (a quirky and endearing Goodall) is a free-spirit San Francisco artist who watches over Mia's budding adolescence with good humor, hiding a teeny little secret about Mia's father. But the ball starts rolling when they are visited by Mia's grandmother (Andrews), who brings a surprising revelation and serious request.

Julie Andrews is perfect in the role of the queen of Genovia, a fictional tiny European monarchy nestled somewhere between France and Spain, trying to convince the last living heir to the throne that the job really is worth doing. The real problem with Hathaway was making her look clunky and unattractive for her initial on-screen character; while this makes the inevitable transformation all that more effective, it's still a stretch. Elizondo is wryly fabulous as chief of security, limo driver, and confidant.

Enjoyable.

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