I wanted to like this movie, really I did. I typically like girly movies although they’re not my favorite. One of the reasons I rarely write movie reviews is just because I’m so darn easy to please! There’s hardly ever a movie that I really, really, don’t like. If I actually wrote reviews on all the movies I watch that would practically be one every day! (At least 3 a week.)

I wasn’t even expecting much from The Prince and Me, but when you’ve seen almost everything else in Hollywood Video, you have to make certain sacrifices. The plot of this movie isn’t even semi-original, but what movie these days is? Go-getter Paige Morgan, played by Julia Stiles is career-minded, level headed, good old country girl attending the University of Wisconsin. Spoiled Prince Edvard (what kind of name is that anyway?), played by Luke Mably is a wild child party animal who disgraces the families good name. He is to be heir to the throne, and one can’t behave in such crazy manners, you know. So when the prince sees a Girls Gone Wild type advertisement that’s set in America’s heartland, Wisconsin colleges, he decides he has to go and find these girls so he too, can firsthand witness the crazy acts of T and A that obviously from the implications, Denmark doesn’t have.

So of course, he enrolls in the University and now calls himself Eddie, because he doesn’t want the press to recognize him and exploit his innocent efforts of female companionship. Of course, under parent’s orders, he is accompanied by what I would call best an au pair named Soren. Yeah, that’s real inconspicuous!

Anyway, boy meets girl, falls in love, yada, yada, yada. You’ve seen this story a million times over. I have many problems with this movie. First of all, Julia Stiles would have had more chemistry with a dead fish in this movie! I see absolutely nothing at all charming or even vaguely interesting about Luke Mably and think he’s horribly unfit to be a leading man in a romantic comedy. Please, please, please give me Matthew Goode from Chasing Liberty. Mind you, Chasing Liberty wasn’t the best or most original movie in the world, either, but at least Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode had chemistry, and man oh, man wouldn’t I have loved to play the part of his fantasies!

Second, is the pacing and predictability. The movie could have used a lot of editing; certain scenes were just outright unnecessary. The movie is well over halfway over before Paige even finds out that Eddie is a prince, and was barely even remotely interesting. Some movies you just know that you’re going to see every moment coming a mile away. This is a movie that tries hard not to be one of those movies, with a “twist” here and a “twist” there, but it doesn’t work at all. Every single plot point, you’re going to know 10 minute before it even happens.

All of our characters are so stereotypical, from the royal family to Paige and her family, and that’s a huge peeve of mine when it comes to fiction. Also there’s one scene where Paige and Eddie go to her home in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and they have lawnmower races (yes, you read that right) and everyone there is wearing thin long-sleeved shirts. Okay, anyone who’s ever been to the Midwest will know that there is no way you’re going to be outside in Wisconsin all day in just a thin shirt when it’s almost Christmastime! It’s so cold there, no one even wants to go outside to even start their car!

I normally enjoy the performances of Julia Stiles, but this one didn’t really win me over. Her character in Mona Lisa Smile has a few traits that are similar, and in other ways they are different, but I see Julia as kind of playing the same role in this movie as before. She didn’t add anything new or dynamic to her character to make this a more relatable movie. And I was completely turned cold by Luke Mably…I don’t know where they got this guy!

For a “romantic comedy”, I didn’t find this movie romantic, or even funny. There was moment when I actually laughed out loud, (where Soren was addicted to Xbox), but that scene only lasted like 10 seconds. Like I said at the beginning, I’m very easy to please, so for a movie not to make me laugh a few times is really pathetic. Even when a movie doesn’t appeal to me that much I at least have enough interest to finish the movie to see how it ends, but this one I really had to choke down.

Anyway, if you’re in the mood for a good chick-flick and want to ogle a very hot leading man, I suggest that you rent 13 going on 30, and if you just want to see a decent movie with a hot, hot leading man, you can check out Chasing Liberty. Whatever you do, avoid The Prince and Me.


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above