Cast:
Julie Andrews... ...Clarisse
Anne Hathaway... ...Mia
Heather Matarazzo... ...Lilly
Hector Elizondo... ...Joseph
Mandy Moore... ...Lana
Caroline Goodall... ...Helen
Robert Schwartzman... ...Michael
Erik Von Detten... ...Josh
Directed by: Garry Marshall
Written by: Gina Wendkos, Based on the novel by Meg Cabot
Rated G
Running Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Wealthy Woes
Several years back I remember watching an Oprah Winfrey special
about teen issues. One segment featured her posing a question
to her group of guests: if given a choice, would you rather
be beautiful or intelligent? Of course, there were the conformists
who said looks and the rebel-types who said intelligence.
Winfrey, utilizing her trademark charisma, made a strong point
in favor of book smarts. But in the middle of the query a
boy responded: "I'd rather have the looks, because no
matter how smart you may be, no one will listen to you if
you're not beautiful." I wasn't so much caught by his
statement as by her response to it ... she didn't have one.
Apparently caught off guard, she said softly "I see,"
and immediately moved on to the next kid.
Regardless
of whether you believe the statement to be true, it does seem
to be the proverbial wrench tossed into the plans of brilliant
individuals like Winfrey who battle tirelessly to help those
in finding the best in themselves. The fact that she was unable
to respond is quite revealing.
Personally,
I think it's true. Hardly anyone achieves a level of notoriety
for their intelligence if it isn't accompanied by a captivating
physical presence. If you're good-looking, you have a better
chance at getting your ideas across. If by an extreme stroke
of luck one achieves a degree of fame for their ideas and
is not good-looking, you can bet that somewhere in the Big
Apple a Saturday Night Live cast member is practicing a glib
impersonation. Sad but true, on the stage of acceptance, looks
play a leading role. Hell, even one of my favorite feminist
writers is Naomi Wolf who, let's face it, really does look
great. (Yeah, I know. I'm my own contradiction. Sorry.)
Now, I
don't want to immediately point my finger at the new Disney
movie "The Princess Diaries" and accuse it of perpetuating
the myth that looks are more important than smarts. But the
film certainly does seem trapped by it. Consider two of the
main characters: best friends who share the distinction of
being outcasts at their school. One is a somewhat bland, depressed
kid who's about to learn she could inherit the throne of a
foreign country. The other has a fiery attitude and houses
a myriad of brilliant ideas and dreams beneath her rather
unfortunate hairstyle. One is infinitely more interesting
than the other, and I'll give you a hint ... it isn't the
"princess."
The soon-to-be-notified
heiress is Mia Thermopolis, and is played by Anne Hathaway
who doesn't really look like a teenager, especially after
going through her "physical transformation." Her
best friend is Lilly, winningly portrayed by the consistently
fascinating Heather Matarazzo. She is one of the film's best
elements, but the movie keeps suppressing her character not
so much by accident as out of necessity. Director Garry Marshall
("Pretty Woman") struggles to maintain the story's
fairly tale feel that it ends up getting mired in the preservation
of an old-fashioned concept that's getting too old-fashioned
for its own good.
One fateful
day, Mia's grandmother (Julie Andrews) re-enters her life
after a lengthy absence. She asks to meet with her granddaughter
and tells her that her recently deceased father was the Prince
of Genovia, and that the throne is hers to claim. Too used
to being picked on by the popular kids led by the superficial
Lana (pop singer Mandy Moore), Mia is not quite ready for
the attention associated with being a princess. She is given
a complete physical makeover which makes her suddenly popular
in school and threatens her relationship with Lilly. Basically,
the story is of Mia trying to deal with the pitfalls of being
a beautiful princess.
Yep, that's
right. The pitfalls of being a beautiful princess, and that's
the cornerstone of the film's problem. Mia's initial struggle
prior to her lifestyle change seems much more daunting - and
curiously fascinating - than her unfortunate bouts with the
news media. I suppose one could argue that the movie is simply
conforming to the fairy tale formula upon which it is perched,
but come on, folks. Isn't this material a bit dated? It is
for me, as I kept noticing better avenues the storyline could
have taken.
Director
Marshall and screenwriter Gina Wendkos show flashes of intelligence,
yet even those are strangely misguided. The movie is smart
enough to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, but does so in the wrong
scene, after Lilly berates Mia for her new look. That's right,
Lilly. Not the mean-spirited Lana, but the basically good-natured
Lilly, battling a sad bout of envy. That's when it decides
to make its point about standing up for yourself. In another
head-scratching moment during a speech near the end, Mia talks
about why she's eager for the glamour associated with the
throne, and offers one reason as being a gateway for brilliant
ideas (those from Lilly, in particular) to become actions.
Say what? That plays right into the hands of the aforementioned
notion of looks winning the war over intelligence.
Despite
some other good performances, including the always terrific
Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo (a Marshall favorite) as
the queen's head of security, the movie ultimately collapses
beneath the weight of its beauty-laden, fairy tale mentality.
That notion may be the perfect comeuppance, as there are more
important issues than how a teenager must learn to cope with
being rich, popular, famous, and attractive.
Copyright
2001 Michael Brendan McLarney
Critically
Ill
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