The Princess Diaries (2001)

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Directed by Garry Marshall.

Starring Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Anne Hathaway, Mandy Moore.

This teen comedy from Disney is based on a popular novel by Meg Cabot and directed by Garry Marshall. Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is a teenage klutz who's openly mocked by the popular Lana Thomas (pop singer Mandy Moore). In fact, Mia's only friend at her exclusive prep school is the socially outcast Lilly (Heather Matarazzo). Mia's life takes a dramatic turn, however, when her mom announces that her late biological father was in actuality the crown prince of a small European nation, Genovia. Now Mia is the sole heir to the throne, and her grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews) wants to tutor the awkward teen in royal behavior. It's a daunting task given Mia's lax table manners, poise, and hair care, but the girl perseveres with some makeover help from her grandmother's security chief Hector Elizondo) and a style expert (Larry Miller). In the meantime, Mia's romantic affections are torn between the handsome, popular Josh (Erik Von Detten) and the more appropriate Michael (Robert Schwartzman), who also happens to be Lilly's brother. The Princess Diaries is the second film from Whitney Houston's production shingle after the television version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

The Bad Seed Princess Messenger ...
by dibot in dibot Blog

is neutral about it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Talk about behind The Bad Seed focuses on a seemingly perfect little girl, blond braids, sweet smile. But when a schoolmate has a tragic accident on a picnic, her mother starts to suspect evil beneath the little girl's sweetness. This is an old school suspense movie. The characters are introduced and given plenty of time to impress us (sometimes the wrong way like the grating voice of the land lady). Though I wanted the length to be a bit shorter, this film has to be seen for the double whammy of the ending. Be sure to watch the credits. I left this film laughing in disbelief as well as feeling sort of dirty inside. The Messengers starts out as a tight little PG-13 horror movie. The family moves from the city to an isolated farm house in order to escape some trouble their teenaged daughter caused. Kristen Stewart ("Jumper") stars and pulls off the tortured teen with enough aplomb to make this cliched character seem to have depth. The ghosts are creepy, especially wi ... " [More]

The Princess Diaries
by MovieBabe in MovieBabe Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"Despite its misfit-turned-princess premise, The Princess Diaries isn't just another babe-behind-the-glasses movie. Fifteen-year-old Mia (Anne Hathaway), who lives in a funky San Francisco apartment with her artist mom (Caroline Goodall), is a believable candidate for a fairy-tale ugly-duckling transformation. Her problem isn't nerdiness, exactly -- though her mound of frizzy hair and not-yet-grown-into features are unlike those of her classmates and therefore seen as unattractive. And she doesn't lack for brains or a sense of humor, either. What plagues Mia is the curse of invisibility: Teachers don't remember her name, people sit on her, and that cute boy with the sun streaks in his hair, well, he just about runs her over on the way to class. Pleasant and funny around adults and her best nerd friend, Lilly (stock weird girl Heather Matarazzo of Welcome to the Dollhouse), Mia nonetheless makes herself sick with anxiety when she has to speak in front of a group and p ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

lost interest.

Few directors find as much success in their comfort zone as Garry Marshall. After fashioning a huge hit from the inferior Runaway Bride, Marshall has produced another box-office winner with the worthier The Princess Diaries -- kind of a "Pretty Woman Jr." No, luminous Anne Hathaway does not play a young prostitute trying to make good, but she does have Julia Roberts' toothy grin and gift for acting klutzy, which may be star-making qualities for young Hathaway as well. One of the few live-action movies to garner a G rating, The Princess Diaries has a giddy throwback feel even when it shows its star riding a scooter and features such concepts as virtual homework and the after-school feng shui club. Unable to rely on gross-out jokes -- although Hathaway's reluctant princess does vomit off-screen near the beginning -- Gina Wendkos' adaptation of Meg Cabot's novel rises to the challenge of finding kid-friendly humor that also tickles older funny bones. The supporting cast is a great complement to Hathaway's natural charisma, including the triumphant return of Julie Andrews as a pampered but sympathetic queen, often as charmingly clueless as her granddaughter. Hector Elizondo, who appears in nearly every Marshall film, again provides comic warmth as the queen's chief of security and driver. Certainly aimed at the dizzy fairy tale dreams of young girls -- tea parties were held prior to screenings at Los Angeles' El Capitan theater -- The Princess Diaries follows its formula so efficiently that it offers something for all ages. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Tags: clumsy , based-on-a-book , cinderella-story , grandmother , princess
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