The Princess Diaries

Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) faces the most difficult decision of a girl's life: whether to remain the invisible dork, lusting after the class jerk, or become the Princess of Genovia. Then her royal grandmother (Julie Andrews) resurfaces and serves as catalyst to her decision. The Princess Diaries reads as an adolescent version of Pretty Woman, with Mia's Pygmalion transition from nerd to princess recalling Julia Roberts's leap from prostitute to Beverly Hills beauty -- and that's hardly surprising, since Garry Marshall directed both films. Repeating himself to a T, Marshall infuses Diaries with recognizable details, from Hector Elizondo's continuing role as faithful watchdog over the impressionable young woman (Barney the hotel manager in PW; Joe the Secret Service agent here) to the way our heroine's best friend (Laura San Giacomo in PW; Heather Matarazzo here) must overcome her jealousy before bestowing her blessing. Still, Mia's reluctance to be royal ("I'm still waiting for normal body parts to arrive") and her rocky road from ugly duckling to beauty (beautician's comment when plucking her eyebrows: "If Brooke Shields married Groucho Marx, you would be their child") provide fresh humor. Even riding on the coat tails of an earlier success, Marshall proves he can reproduce high-quality schmaltz.
-- Peter Keough