The Princess Diaries 2 - Royal Engagement (Full Screen Edition)

I am a HUGE fan of princesses (and angels). I saw Princess Diaries 1 and 2. I LOVE them BOTH!!!!! I especially like the part in number 2 where they sing Breakaway. That is one of my favorite songs! I love Mia's personality and I love the Princess Diaries series. I hope a number 3 comes out soon.


BUY THESE MOVIES!!!!! BOTH!!!!

*1/2

In the original "Princess Diaries," San Francisco teen Mia Thermopolis discovered, just like every other red-blooded American girl, that she was next-in-line to the throne of a fictional country called Genovia - a virtually all-white kingdom (with a perpetually happy citizenry) that looks as if it had been lifted straight out of a book of fairy tales all done up in modern dress. Now, five years later, Mia is about to turn 21, the age at which she will finally be eligible to assume her rightful place as queen of the country. However, there turns out to be a royal fly in the ointment, for the law stipulates that she must have a king to accompany her to the throne. Thus, Mia must find and fall in love with a man within thirty days or forego her title as queen to the nephew of a conniving, power hungry viscount who is determined to get the scepter for himself.

Burdened with a dopey premise that even the lamest sitcom would reject as hopeless, "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" is an inane, mind-numbing white bread fantasy that galumphs along at a tedious pace and wastes the talents of Ann Hathaway and Julie Andrews into the bargain. I can't imagine that even the most sheltered schoolgirl will be enchanted by the clumsy plot contrivances, tepid wit and low grade slapstick that are the hallmarks of this film. Among its many other faults, "Princess Diaries 2" endorses an elitist view of benevolent monarchy - in which servants stand in the hot sun holding umbrellas for royalty - that is rather dismaying in the 21st Century.

It's fun seeing Julie Andrews playing the Henry Higgins to Anne Hathaway's Eliza Doolittle for a change, but that momentary pleasure hardly compensates for the ordeal of sitting through the rest of the film.

If the people who made this film were truly being honest, they would have titled it "Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Pain in the ___."

To my surprise, I enjoyed this film even more than its prequel. It is a "G" rated film, so the plot is fairly simple and straightforward with a lot of light comedic touches. This is a film that will appeal to young and old alike, even though its targeted audience appears to be young girls.

This film picks up where the first one left off. Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia (Anne Hathaway) has just graduated from college and is now twenty-one years of age. Her mother has married her high school teacher, and they are expecting a baby. Her best friend, Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo) is now a student at UCLA at Berkeley. Mia's grandmother, Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), is still Queen of Genovia but plans to step down at year's end so that Mia can be crowned the new Queen. Joseph (Hector Elizondo) is still head of security for Queen Clarisse with whom he is still in love.

When Princess Mia returns to Genovia upon graduation, together with her pampered black and white cat, Fat Louie, she gets ready to assume her exalted position. Unfortunately, Viscount Maybrey (John Rhys-Davies) throws a monkey wrench into the plan, citing an age old law that requires would be Queens to marry within thirty days or forfeit the right to wear the crown as Queen. Of course, should she be unable to do so, Viscount Maybrey's nephew, Lord Nicholas Devereaux (Chris Pine), is next in line for the throne and would then be crowned King of Genovia, a young and handsome man whom Mia has already met at the formal reception welcoming her to Genovia.

Let the Games begin! As Mia and Clarisse hunt for a suitable husband, Viscount Maybrey schemes to ensure that the crown passes to his nephew.
Mia and Clarisse finally come up with a suitable arranged marriage prospect from England, Lord Andrew Jacoby (Callum Blue). The only questions are whether or not Mia will go through with the arranged marriage or whether she will fall in love with the handsome Lord Devereaux. Mia will undergo many funny and trying situations, as she tries to decide what to do. Will she follow her head or her heart? The fates, however, will also have their say. Of course, Queen Clarisse has her own issues, as she tries to decide what to do about Joseph, the man she has always loved, and who also loves her.

Anne Hathaway is, as always, perfectly delightful and beautiful in every scene. She has a fresh-faced naiveté that perfectly suits the role of Princess Mia. Julie Andrew is, of course, totally charming and perfectly regal as the lovely Queen Clarisse. A seemingly svelte John Rhys-Davies, however, almost steals the show as the diabolical Viscount Maybrey. Chris Pine is a little wooden as the hunky, Lord Devereaux. I miss Lilly's brother, Michael (Robert Schwartzman), the handsome, good guy who won Mia's heart in the prequel. Callum Blue is perfect as the pleasant and polite Lord Andrew Jacoby. Hector Elizondo is marvelous in the role of the faithful Joseph. Heather Matarazzo has a few brief winning moments in the film, looking out for Mia's interests, after she travels to Genovia as a surprise for Mia. It was also nice to see Tom Poston in the small role of Lord Palimore.

Garry Marshall does an excellent job in directing the cast, keeping the mood of the film light and playful throughout. This is a film that is really squeaky clean, so parents can rest assure that it really is suitable for children of all ages, although young girls are the ones that will adore this fairytale of a film.

In this sequel to the 2001 hit movie "The Princess Diaries", Mia (a charming Anne Hathaway) has graduated from Princeton and moves to Genovia to prepare to take over the role of Queen from her grandmother Clarisse (a regal Julie Andrews). Her preparations, however, hit a snag when it is discovered that she must marry in 30 days or forfeit the crown to Nicholas Deveraux (a handsome Chris Pine). Mia now struggles to complete her training to become Queen (she's still a bit of a klutz), as well as look for a husband, while Nicholas's uncle, Viscount Mabrey (an appropriately evil Jonathan Rhys-Davies) does everything he can to sabotage Mia so Nicholas will inherit the crown. Mia soon becomes engaged to Andrew Jacoby (a bland Callum Blue) but she finds herself attracted to Nicholas and has to decide whether she will sacrifice love to become Queen.

Young girls (the target audience) who loved the first movie will also love this one. They'll laugh over Mia's clumsiness, drool over Nicholas, think the slumber party is lots of fun, laugh at the antics of the dog and cat, giggle at Mia's ladies maids, and sigh over the romance between Mia and Nicholas. As an adult who usually likes these kind of movies and who enjoyed the first movie, I thought the movie tried way too hard. A little of Mia's clumsiness goes a long way (how many times did we really need to see Mia learning to shoot a bow and arrow, destroying things along the way?). A scene in which Mia stopped a parade to let orphans join in fell flat. The slumber party scene went on far too long, although it was a joy to hear Julie Andrews sing again. But even that scene was partially ruined by having Raven (who appears to be thrown into the movie only because she has a show on the Disney Channel) join in the song. Anne Hathaway showed that she could sing in "Ella Enchanted" and it would have made more sense for her to sing the duet with Andrews. Anyone who has seen these types of movies could see the "twist" that takes place at the wedding coming a mile away. Finally, a scene in which Mia and Nicholas spend the night together (dismissed with a single line saying "nothing happened") seemed inappropriate, although children probably won't get the implications.

This isn't a terrible movie, just not a great one. Put it in the DVD player and let your daughter watch it alone, dreaming of her own Prince Charming.

But what do you expect from a Disney movie? OK, it has a really sweet ending, and Mandy Moore doesn't return - thank God. It's alright to watch, but it's pretty iffy, and Heather Matarazzo gets less of a storyline. Her funniest line though, HAS to be walking down the aisle, saying: "I'm a girl who likes black, who's wearing pink" or something to that effect.

The mattress surfing scene has to be the highlight of the movie, especially, for which Julie Andrews did her own "stunt" - hardly something I would call a stunt, but you never know. There's also a cheeky reference to Julie's role in Mary Poppins, so keep your ears open for that.

Allan Kent reappears in this movie, as he did in another of Garry Marshall's not so well known movies, called Pretty Woman. When Princess Mia is introduced at the ball, his character catches her ring and says, "It happens all the time." Kent also appears in The Princess Diaries where he says the same thing when Mia breaks her glass, and in Pretty Woman where he says it as he catches the escargot that escapes from Viv's plate. Larry Millar also reappears as the mad hairdresser.

I didn't relate to this movie as much as the previous one, due to the fact, Princess Mia's transformation from ugly duckling into swan reminded me so much of myself, but that obviously doesn't reappear in this. She's already changed into the swan.

This is an unneeded sequel, and no doubt there will be a third, despite Anne Hathaway saying she's "hanging up the tiara". Stick to the first, give the second an attempt cheaply.