CORPORATE LINE: Fifteen-year-old Mia discovers that her father is the Prince of Genovia and she is the sole heir to the throne. She must decide, by her sixteenth birthday, whether she will live as a princess and move to Genovia or remain in Manhattan where she lives with her artist mom. She must suffer through the indignity of princess lessons at the hands of her stern grandmother.
THE GOOD: We will always have remakes—however this doesn’t feel forced or artificial. If anything it’s a refreshing new twist. The Princess Diaries is smart and doesn’t talk down to its audience. Often we see adult comedy that is smart—but rarely a comedy for teens with the same sass. Even with its sass this won’t be confused for a film that both adults and kids will enjoy. This is a teen film plain and simple.
THE BAD: The Princess Diaries does suffer from the makeover mistake that many teen films make—where the girl gets a makeover but looked better pre-makeover. Only in Hollywood. There are many boring characters—see Mandy Moore. Cut the fluff and the Princess Diaries would have been much better.
DVD FEATURES: The special edition is full of fun things to watch. There is a good commentary by actresses Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, and director Garry Marshall. Eight deleted scenes with optional commentary add some bang for your buck. New to this edition are widescreen and full screen presentations, bloopers and outtakes, a sneak peek of The Princess Diaries 2, “Livin’ Like a Princess” featurette, photo gallery and a few more.
FRANKLY: It’s the wit and sass that make this one to see. The Princess Diaries is right on target if you are a teenager. To bad it didn’t have a little more for the parents.
+ Charlie Craine
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