The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(December 16/04)

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is almost identical to its predecessor in tone and quality - ensuring that fans will have little to complain about. Overlong and excessively mediocre, the film does admittedly feel like a natural extension of the original (which isn't necessarily a good thing, given the quality of that movie).

Set three years after the events of The Princess Diaries, the film catches up with Mia (Anne Hathaway) just as she's graduating from college (where she's been taking courses designed to help her be a better Princess). Upon her return to Genovia, Mia learns that her grandmother (played by Julie Andrews) plans to abdicate the throne - leaving Mia first in line to become Queen. There's a hitch, however, in the form of an evil Count (played by John Rhys-Davies) who wishes to see his nephew Nicholas (Chris Pine) become ruler of Genovia. As a result, Mia finds herself forced to marry within 30 days - even though she's not currently dating anyone.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement has been directed by Garry Marshall, who also helmed the original, and he imbues the movie with the same sort of uneven pacing and bland visual sense that accompanies all of his films. Generally speaking, about the only positive constant in Marshall's productions is the presence of Hector Elizondo - who reprises his role of bodyguard Joe here. Fortunately, the rest of the cast is equally good - with Hathaway a genuinely charismatic actress who clearly deserves better material than this.

The storyline doesn't offer a whole lot of surprises, beginning with Mia's initial engagement to a stuffy British chap named Andrew Jacoby (Callum Blue, essentially playing the opposite of his Dead Like Me character). Because Andrew is a slightly dull nice guy, we know that their relationship isn't going to go anywhere. However, that Mia would find herself attracted to the sleazy charms of Nicholas is more of a contrivance than one can easily accept (the character seems to have been modeled after Archie Comics' Reggie).

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is unapologetically aimed towards young girls, making this review virtually moot. The film is, at least, not completely boring, primarily thanks to some better-than-expected acting by the various performers (ie it could've been worse, much worse).