Written by: Gina Wendkos
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Héctor Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Mandy Moore, Caroline Goodall
Rating: [3/5]
Becoming a princess serves as the dream for many young ones, which explains the wide prevalence of Disney princesses as they watch the wish fulfillment of those wanting to wear the fancy gowns and tiaras along with the privileges that come with an esteemed title. This also spills over into the real, especially Americans’ fascination with the English monarchy where this royalty still exists to some degree. Capturing this fantasy for all to enjoy is The Princess Diaries where it presents us a surprising princess and the makeover that necessitates it.
Never caring for her appearance and not very popular at school, Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) receives a visit from her grandmother from Europe. When meeting Mia, the grandmother, Queen regent Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), informs the teenager that she’s a princess and next in line for the throne. Surprised at this revelation, Mia must now contend with her new reality and how it impacts her current life.
As wish fulfilling as it gets for a rags-to-riches story, The Princess Diaries takes someone who does not fit the typical description of what a princess could be and then molds her to it not only on the exterior but also the proper demeanor she should display. The Mia we meet at the beginning of this film has curly unkempt hair, glasses, bushy eyebrows, and the coordination of a baby deer. Obviously, these elements of her do not align with our conceptual visualization of royalty and their always manicured look and regal behavior. Therefore, we have this journey for Mia to become what’s expected of her and if one were to press upon this idea, it does feel a bit harsh to make this argument. Considering Mia maintains her straight hair not only for this film but also the next one, it certifies this film’s assertion that amongst other things, having curly hair does not befit royalty. With this film being a piece of wish fulfillment for young ones to dream of becoming a princess in the future, it does send that message to those curly haired individuals who already feel the pressure to always straighten their hair in order to be deemed pretty.
Despite what can be seen as a darker undercurrent of this film, the tone of it all comes in a brightly comedic manner where we see this transformation happen as Mia learns the truth of her having a Kingly father who has now passed. In these moments, Julie Andrews displays why she is, please pardon the pun, the crown jewel of this film in what she brings as this elegant fixture of the narrative. Not only does she represent the queen, but also Mia’s grandmother, who has completely dropped a bombshell on her. Their cultural clash where Clarisse represents this older and more classy individual while Mia is this brash younger person allows their positives to rub off on each other. These moments represent the very best this film has to offer, but unfortunately it comes few and far between compared to all of the nonsense at the high school.
High school hierarchies typically do not need a breakdown with its obviousness in the superficial where the cheerleaders are rude to Mia because of the way she looks and general awkwardness. It surprises them more than it does her to learn about her title as princess, which makes some turns slightly towards the positive to Mia seeing as these youngsters would love to cling onto any sort of notoriety even when they have ridiculed that individual all this time. A simple arc but this film’s insistence in spending more time at the high school meant things got supremely sour and took another turn into something much darker that it surprised me. When we get to the scene with the tent, I had to remind myself this was a Disney production in the horrificness of what these classmates do to Mia even with the knowledge of her now being a princess. Compounding this along with Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo), probably the worst friend ever captured in film, and it made all of the scenes spent with these adolescents and away from Julie Andrews borderline unwatchable.
Even with all of the negatives. The Princess Diaries has this timeless and lovable premise that makes getting through all of the high school scenes possible. This happens primarily in the relationship between Mia and Queen Clarisse and the beauty of them connecting for the first time through this process. Sprinkle in Héctor Elizondo being charming as ever as Joe, the head of security, and we have a feature that has some incredible positives that outdoes its many negatives.
Films with Josh 