Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

My last foray into Family Movie Night! was all about big kids and dinosaurs. Sometimes, though, the littlest person gets to make all the decisions, so Mininocket and I had a different kind of Family Movie Night!, complete with popcorn and painting toenails. That’s right, it was girls’ night at the movies, and Mininocket chose to view The Princess Diaries. Now, this would not have been a choice of mine, being as how I’m not generally a big fan of the teen romantic comedy. But having children is all about sacrifice, you know, so Princess Diaries it was.

First of all, the premise here is one that can more or less be discarded as irrelevant. It’s simply a classic Cinderella story with a little twist, nothing more and nothing less. Mia (Anne Hathaway) is an exceptionally clumsy, introverted, frizzy haired teen. She and best friend Lily (Heather Matarazzo) cling to the edge of life in their private high school by the tips of their fingers – they’re more or less invisible. Mia likes it that way. When her mother announces that her until-then absent paternal grandmother will be visiting, Mia isn’t enthused. She is even less enthused to discover that she is, in fact, a princess. The Princess of Genovia, to be precise. Princess lessons, teen angst, social awkwardness and a whole host of clumsy-in-front-of-royalty moments ensue. Will she take on the job of Genovian royalty? Will she skip it and return to frizzy anonymity? Will the fact that these questions can be answered without ever laying eyes on the film ruin the fun of the movie?

So. Not very original, not very believable, not very exciting. Yet, somehow it all gets turned into a cute, appealing, surprisingly un-nauseating film. The primary reason this is so is that whoever cast this film (oh! it was Gail Goldberg, Donna Marong and Marcia Ross, what do you know) is nothing short of a genius(es). Anne Hathaway is cute, but not too cute. She does look like a dork in her glasses with her hair flying around her head as if it were sentient and intent on making her life miserable. A scene in which she stands up to deliver a debate rebuttal and nearly gets sick on stage looks both real enough not to be stupid and silly enough to laugh at without feeling cruel. She likes her mother, likes her few friends, fantasizes about the cute, popular boy and generally exudes a nice sense of teenagerness. Her reaction to her impending entry into the world of royalty is one of the natural fear of change and the natural anger of being lied to about her parentage. Hathaway is simply very good in this role. We like her, we want her to be happy, we don’t have that gut level loathing that happens too often with romantic comedy “heroines”. It doesn’t hurt that this character is not written to be weak and spineless – just young and timid. Perhaps not a big difference in what the character wants, but a huge difference in how appropriate those wants are. She isn’t a grown woman pining for a man to save her – she’s just a teenager making the same mistakes all teenagers make at some point – hers just happen to be royal mistakes.

Now Anne Hathaway is cute, but the grandmother seals the deal. Played by the eternally regal and graceful Julie Andrews, this is the kind of royal grandmother every brand new princess should have. She’s proper yet warm, firm yet caring. In short, she’s practically perfect in every way, just as she has been since she played Mary Poppins in her first movie role. Just her presence brings a little bit of dignity to the otherwise fairly pedestrian proceedings. Somehow, when spoken in a perfectly clipped English accent, even the term “Princess of Genovia” doesn’t sound entirely absurd.

Hector Elizondo fills the role of servant-who-is-really-more-than-a-servant quite nicely - reprising his Pretty Woman role for a younger audience. Heather Matarazzo is gawky and awkward and perfect as the best friend and Mandy Moore is only slightly nauseating as the requisite mean-but-really-popular-girl. The supporting cast here is fine, adding touches of comedy and quirkiness – but the film really does belong to Hathaway and Andrews.

Finally, we have the “romantic” aspect to this romantic comedy. The heroine here is not an adult, so of course the romance is going to take on a different tone than it would otherwise. Less sexual, one would hope. And that is exactly what we get. The film is rated “G”, and the rating is perfectly appropriate. Mia’s idea of romance is raising her foot when she receives her first kiss. Her interest in boys says “crush” not “let’s get an apartment together”. It’s a very innocent portrayal, quite well suited to a fairy tale. There are no scenes here that make me cringe as I watch my daughter’s wide eyed adoration of the entire production. Director Garry Marshall manages to make a fun, very cute, quite sweet movie appropriate for little girls as well as teens and adults. Not that all adults will like it, of course. This is one definitely aimed directly at women and girls. It can be a touch cloying in its sweetness and absolute predictability, but overall The Princess Diaries is a fun, cute movie, especially good for Family Movie Night! when all the Y chromosomes have left the house. Mininocket gives it her complete, wholehearted recommendation, with no reservations. I’d qualify that only to say that “Genovia” is a silly name and makes me wince. Other than that, my toenails look fabulous, fun was had by all and The Princess Diaries turns out to be less of a sacrifice than anticipated. It seems that having children is also all about pleasant surprises.


Recommended: Yes