The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Review by Clint Morris

Garry Marshall apparently saw in young Anne Hathaway what he saw in Julia Roberts, upon casting the latter lass in Pretty Woman.

According to the director, the young star of The Princess Diaries had the same star quality, gorgeous looks (no arguing there), personality, magnetism, sense of humour and blissful screen presence as a young Roberts.

That might be true, but one thing's for sure – Julia Roberts is a little sharper. After all, she never said yes to Pretty Woman 2 did she? Whereas here's Hathaway headlining a sequel that almost single-handedly smears sludge across the title of her breakthrough hit.

So much for going on to bigger and better things…

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is the epitome of bad sequels. Its clichéd, tired, and most of all, no more, no less than a rip-off of every other ‘unlikely suitor’ pic.

You've seen the plot of Princess Diaries 2 plenty of times before – and done a lot better than this. American high schooler-turned-overnight-princess, Mia (Anne Hathaway), is informed that she has to find a husband if she's to take over as Queen (from current ruler, her grandma, played by Julie Andrews).

She essentially chooses the first reasonable guy she sees, knowing he's all wrong for her, but doing it so she doesn't lose out on her promotion. Meanwhile, there's an uncle and nephew duo scheming against her – one of them not as bad as the other - in fact, he's probably Mia's perfect match.

The performances here are bushed and lackadaisical – Hathaway and Andrews look especially bored – and Marshall barely tries to inject much excitement, oomph or anything novel into the cast-off proceedings.

While the first Princess Diaries was great value for young girls, this one's likely to have them all hurling their stale popcorn towards the screen. One diary entry that isn't worth sneaking a peek at.

1.5 out of 5

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Australian release: Thursday September 16th
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Callum Blue, Hector Elizondo, John Rhys-Davies, Heather Matarazzo, Larry Miller, Chris Pine.
Director: Garry Marshall.
Website: Click here.

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