The Prince and Me (Julia Stiles)

(Amazon UK link)

We saw the 2004 film ‘The Prince and Me’ early in 2013 and had entirely forgotten what it was about. But the box said it was uplifting and ‘feel-good’, so it seemed like a good DVD to re-watch.

Julia Stiles is Paige, the main protagonist. She’s a hard working college student in the United States, hoping eventually to train as a doctor. She’s taking mostly science classes, and works in a bar to earn a bit of money. She’s more geeky than some of her friends, but likes to have fun too. She comes from a farm, with a loving and welcoming family.

Luke Mably is Eddy, who just happens to be the Crown Prince of Denmark. He’s a fast-driving womaniser who has little interest in politics or running his country, rather to the despair of his parents (Miranda Richardson and James Fox). He keeps trying different things, determined to ‘find himself’, but ends up in disgrace time and again.

Eddy happens to see a TV show about a university in the US where women routinely take their tops off - or so it seems. So he tells his parents he wants to study at this university. They agree unwillingly, and he says he will fund himself. Their only requirement is that Soren, his minder (Ben Miller) goes with him.

Eddy and Soren are rather unimpressed with student accommodation, particularly when they learn that they have to share a room with another student. Eddy wants to be incognito and insists that Soren stop addressing him as ‘your majesty’. But Soren keeps calling him ‘sir’, and cooks his breakfast in the room… although for some reason nobody seems to find this anything other than quirky.

When Eddy and Paige meet, it’s in a conflict scenario, as in traditional light romantic stories, and it takes a while for him to persuade her that he really does like her, and is not such a jerk as he appears. And their romance follows a fairly predictable path until they’re tracked down by the paparazzi….

The two main characters are okay, though I’m not sure I found either of them particularly believable. I didn’t quite understand why Eddy’s parents were so old - or at least late middle-aged, with his father in failing health - when he’s probably meant to be around thirty. My favourite character, however, was Soren. His expressions - mostly deadpan - and lines are excellent, with perfect timing. His role lifted the film out of the average, into something we enjoyed very much.

There’s a slightly strange interlude in the middle of the film where Eddy - whose main talent appears to be mechanical - adapts some lawnmowers to take part in a race. One of the extras on the DVD explains that lawnmower racing is a real thing in many countries.

There are one or two interesting issues explored in the film, relating to the duties of royalty, and how much personality a person can keep if they are going to become King or Queen. But since that’s not likely to apply to the vast majority of viewers, and the utter discipline and subjugation of the will isn’t necessary for most careers or roles, it’s more of passing interest than anything deep or thought-provoking. Still, the balance of career and romance is nicely done, and Paige is a strong character, a good role model for some of today’s teens.

Overall we thought it a nicely done light-weight film. It’s PG in rating so entirely clean, with a predictable but satisfying ending. Suitable for all the family, although I doubt if small children would find it very interesting. And while nothing explicit happens, there’s rather a lot of passionate kissing, which would not appeal to many young children or pre-teens.

Still, we enjoyed it, and will probably see it again in another six or seven years.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Mona Lisa Smile (Julia Roberts)

(Amazon UK link)

I had never heard of the film ‘Mona Lisa Smile’. But when I saw it - at 50 cents - in a church sale, I decided to buy it. Julia Roberts is usually good value and the story sounded interesting. We watched it last night, and thought it a very good film, with plenty to think about.

The film is set in the 1950s. Roberts plays the main character, a young woman called Katherine Watson. We meet her when she is about to take up a post as lecturer in History of Art at a very conservative all-girls American university. She’s a little nervous, but this has been her dream for a long time - partly because she hopes to introduce some new ideas to the students.

There are quite a number of characters, but the most important students soon emerge with their different personalities. Betty, who is soon to be married, is very condescending. Her parents are wealthy, and care for appearances above everything else. Her friend Joan would quite like to study law, but is more interested in getting married. And in those days having a career was not compatible with marriage, in most cases.

Then there’s Giselle, who is somewhat promiscuous but also very kind-hearted, and there’s Connie who’s rather insecure. These four girls are some of the first to answer questions in Katherine’s first lecture, and they share an apartment. Katherine lives in a house with the elocution and poise lecturer, Nancy, who seems to spend her spare time in front of the television.

It’s an interesting setup. Katherine is at first treated with scorn by the students, who have read all their course text books and know all the ‘answers’. It appears at first that there is nothing left to teach. So Katherine introduces some new ideas - modern art, and questions where the girls have to think for themselves, and decide what it is that makes something ‘art’.

Unfortunately, in doing this she comes up against the authorities, who want her to stick to the syllabus - after all, the girls are just biding their time until they can get married….

Julia Roberts is great as Katherine. She’s her usual self, looking very young, as this film was made in 2003. It’s never really possible to forget who she is as an actress, but it doesn’t much matter as she fits very well in this role. The younger woman who play the various students are good too, albeit rather caricatured.

It all feels very old-fashioned, which isn’t surprising as it’s set seventy years ago. Some of the customs of the university seem extremely strict and sexist; perhaps US colleges really were like that in the 1950s. I gather there were some ‘goofs’ and inconsistencies, but they don’t deter from the story,, which is, in essence about someone trying to make a difference, only to realise that perhaps not everyone wants to be changed.

Rated 12A in the UK, PG-13 in the US. There isn’t anything explicit, although there are lots of innuendoes and implications. There’s some bad language, but not an excessive amount, and no violence or gore. However I can’t imagine that this film would be of any interest to children anyway.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Prince and Me (Julia Stiles, Luke Mably)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m not quite sure how this ended up on my wishlist, since I had not heard of any of the cast of this film. Perhaps it was my liking for other ‘rom coms’, or perhaps someone recommended it to me. In any case, I was pleased to be given it for Christmas, and, in the aftermath of a protracted cold and cough, it promised some lighthearted viewing that would not tax my brain cells too much.

‘The Prince and Me’ has been called a modern Cinderella story, but in my view, that’s far from the case. Paige (Julia Stiles) might be a commoner, but she’s party of a contented farming family. She has parents who welcome her and any random friends she might bring home. She’s studying to be a doctor in Wisconsin, and is highly focused on her work, slightly to the annoyance of her friends who are rather more into having fun.

Paige works in the evening as a waitress, presumably to fund her studies - but she’s no geek; she likes hanging out with friends, and although she doesn’t want romance (having no time free) she’s a very likeable, believable young woman.

Eddie (Luke Mably) is the Crown Prince of Denmark. But, at the start of the film, he has hardly been a Prince Charming. He likes nothing more than fast cars and fast women... and is also utterly bored. His parents are almost in despair.

Then Eddie sees a TV show in which university students in Wisconsin remove their tops on request, and decided that this would be a much better place for him than stuffy old Denmark. Naturally he tells his parents that he wants to study in the US and turn his life around - and that he does not even want them to fund him. They insist that his minder Soren (Ben Miller) should accompany him, and Eddie decides to be incognito, determined to throw himself entirely into student life.

There are plenty of amusing moments as Eddie and Soren learn to deal with the squalid nature of student accommodation, the demands of university classes, and the fact that the girls are nothing like the TV show. Eddie and Paige find themselves unwilling lab partners, and - unsurprisingly - their initial hostility develops into a real friendship...

Oh, it’s predictable, of course. At least, the ending is. But there’s a lot in this film, which is much more intelligent than the DVD cover would suggest. We get quite an insight into royal life, at least, from the vantage point of Hollywood. I doubt if it’s realistic, but there are some rather stunning sets and costumes.

There’s also a very funny interlude at Paige’s home town, where Eddie takes part in a traditional lawnmower race at a country fair - and when watching the extra later, we learned that this is based on a real event, and that members of the lawnmower racing association were involved in this part of the movie.

It’s Julia Stiles who really carries this film, as far as I’m concerned. She has just the right blend of indignation, inspiration and imagination. I thought that her character made an excellent 21st century role model; I did have some concern towards the end, that she might deny all her principles... but then was very impressed with the way it was all resolved.

There were several places where we laughed - yes, my husband enjoyed this as much as I did - and several where we were completely engrossed in the action. Expecting a bit of silliness, we enjoyed this film very much.

We watched the extras afterwards - just the standard deleted scenes, a few bloopers, and some commentary. The bloopers were mildly amusing, the deleted scenes interesting (there were a couple which we felt should have been included in the movie). The commentary was fascinating, describing the way the film was made, interviewing the person who produced the amazing costumes for the royalty, and giving some insights into how the film was achieved.

Definitely recommended.

(I understand that there are several sequels, which are considered inferior and not worth watching, partly because Paige is played by a different actress)

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews