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 Princess Diaries 2:

Royal Engagement

Princess Diaries 2 gives you plenty of reasons to hate it. Many, many reasons when you count them all up (bring a calculator). However, the charming lead actors save the film from becoming dreadful. In a way, they make it bearable for anyone looking for a family movie night out.

Anne Hathaway is back as Princess Mia - a clumsy San Francisco gal rescued from obscurity and geekdom, when it turned out she was heir to the crown of Genovia (I think it's located just east of Grand Fenwick). It's 5 years later, (which was slightly confusing for me since the original film came out 3 years ago), and Mia has just graduated from college. Since she is 21 years old, her grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews), is ready to retire and let the young lady take over the crown. However, a new wrinkle has developed.

Member of Parliament Viscount Mabry (John Rhys-Davies) has found an obscure Genovian law requiring any Genovian Queen to be married upon ascending to the vaunted job. Since Mia is not married, Mabry believes his nephew, Nicholas (Chris Pine) is the next and rightful heir to the crown, since he also is 21 years old and descended from royalty (a male heir to the crown does not have to be married).

Can Mia find a husband in time to become Queen? Will Mabry's evil plan thrust Nicholas into the position of power? Since they are both 21 years old, what do you and everyone who has ever seen a movie think will happen?

Anyone who has seen The Santa Clause 2, The Bachelor with Chris O'Donnell, or any of the many movies where our lead character must get married to get the job or keep the fortune will know where this movie is going to go. It's the ride to the end that matters, and director Garry Marshall, along with writer Shonda Rhimes (based on the novel by Meg Cabot), don't do much to make it memorable (I'm going to trash the movie for a while, but stick with me).

While trying to establish a fairy tale feel complete with horse drawn carriages, grand balls and a castle that puts Donald Trump and anyone on MTV's Cribs to shame, Marshall still is compelled to hip up the movie with modern touches such as the annoying montage, musical performances featuring a dance beat (even when Andrews sings her big song, a BIG DEAL considering her vocal problems in recent years that doesn't need to be cheapened by a forced duet with Raven), and lots of girls gone wild (although, it's more like girls gone mild since this is a G-rated film). Interspersed among the scenes of Princess Mia learning the business of state and getting blown away by the scope of her new responsibilities and riches, we get to see a royal slumber party bridal shower, a parade of man meat as the Princess and her girls try to pick out a fitting (but, more importantly, studly) fiancé and mattress surfing down the grand staircase, which are Marshall's attempts to reach out to young people who will want to see the movie, but won't buy into the more magical aspects of it due to our jaded, modern attitudes.

Sadly, Marshall lets the movie go on and on and on. We have two girl party bonding moments, when one will do. We have the inevitable wedding scene with enough twists and turns and revelations to make the writers at All My Children jealous, and a few too many scenes of Mia and Nicholas doing the whole Moonlighting-type verbal sparring sessions that only prove to us they might be hot for each other. Then, we have two endings, when one will do. Even through all of the time filling junk, Princess Diaries 2 is somewhat entertaining thanks to the actors who give their all.

Andrews and co-star Hector Elizondo, who plays the Queen's head of security and not-so-secret love interest, show enough class and naturalness to make them the most interesting characters in Princess Diaries 2. Hathaway and Pine could learn plenty from these two vets who effortlessly flow through each scene.

Meanwhile, Hathaway is forced to engage in about 300 more clumsy moments than needed (we get the point!) with her ever more calculating attempts to react in a wacky way, while Pine could use a little more flirtiness and playfulness in his attempts to banter with her. Hathaway is best in the quiet moments, like Mia's attempts to make the kids feel special or her growing disenchantment with the arranged marriage that is supposed to save her seat on the throne. She has a way to go to be considered a potentially great actress, but Hathaway could become a star if she chooses the right parts and graduates to more adult roles (not roles requiring nudity, just parts where her character is dealing with weightier material, I'm not a total pervert).

For all of its flaws, Princess Diaries 2 is not a total waste of time. The young girls in your life will want to see it, and you can vicariously enjoy their happiness.

1 ½ Waffles (out of 4)

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