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Prince & Me Special Collector's EditiRating:
Release Date: 10 August, 2004 Retail Price: $12.98 OUR Price: $9.99 You SAVE: $2.99! Cast: |
Prince & Me Special Collector's Editi Reviews
another wretched modern fairy tale
For a country that prides itself on having severed its monarchical roots over two hundred years ago, it's amazing how many American movies designed to titillate the fancies of teenaged girls still endorse the antiquated notion that finding one's very own Prince Charming is the key element on the road to happiness.
In the lame romantic comedy "The Prince and Me," Julia Stiles plays a premed undergrad in the Midwest who falls for a handsome "foreign exchange student" who just happens to be the Prince of Denmark in disguise. He's a royal slacker who has come to the University of Wisconsin in the naively boorish belief that coeds in the States will be willing to lift up their shirts for him the moment he asks them to do so. And all I can say is if you can swallow that premise, then you can pretty much swallow everything else that comes along in the wake of it.
Not pretty in a conventional sense, the gifted Stiles has a full-moon face and a wincey expression that gives her a an air of intelligence that seems sorely out of place in the mind-numbingly preposterous scenario she`s been called upon to enact here. Luke Mably is bland and flavorless as her knight in shining armor, and the whole production is so sloppy in its details that, even though it is supposed to be Thanksgiving in Wisconsin, everyone is running around in shirtsleeves and shorts among the trees that seem to have forgotten to turn colors and shed their leaves for the season. You can blame it on global warming, I suppose - but I suspect the true culprit lies in incompetent moviemaking.
A cute tear-jerker: Great DVD to have in any collection
First, a little background of myself - I'm an U.S. Air Force officer, with background in both physical sciences & project management. I tend to steer towards movies that either make me think, or invoke emotional responses (interpret at will). I also gravitate toward movies that have fantastic soundtracks.
I first sought this movie out because my wife enjoys cute love movies, and because Julia Stiles plays roles in love stories quite well. The premise itself is a cute one - two people who are made for each other question their lifelong chosen destinies. It touches topics such as class (rich vs. poor), values (working for every penny vs. being spoiled), destiny (pre-destined vs. taking the bull by the horns), to name a few.
I shed tears as I watched this movie with my wife. Not because it's depressing, but because the movie strongly reminded me how lucky I am to be married to my wife, and how a combination of perfect timing, maturity, and perspective got me to recognize true love at the right time in my life. In essence, the movie reminded me how my wife (just a friend @ point of enlightenment) saved me from pursuing an insular, safe life.
Ok enough about my runin with Kleenex -
You can easily watch this with teenagers (most boys won't sit still for this movie). It reinforces the notion that true love can be had for those who are willing to accept it. In short, it's a cheery movie you'd want to have out for viewing, when you have friends/family over for the weekend.
Miranda Richardson and James Fox play the role of queen & king quite nicely. They create a good level of tension with the prince, displaying tension that just begs to be resolved before the movie ends. Eliza Bennett hams up the role of the younger sibling princess quite nicely - especially playing a Gameboy while dressed elegantly.
Alberta Watson, as Julia Stiles' character mother, reminds the audience that parents can be a great source of wisdom. The rest of the supporting cast play roles of people you'd probably find in normal life - college dorm settings mostly.
The movie does a great job of showing how the two main characters grow and change for the better. Rather than seeing one person become a different person within one frame, you can easily see the progression over the entire stretch of the movie.
The movie's soundtrack is fantastic. It's a good synthesis of new and vintage materiel - I learned who Tom Waits was due to listening to the music. Plus, I discovered another fantastic contemporary composer, Jennie Muskett.
I gave this movie 5 stars, because it reminded me how lucky I am to be married to my wife (made me think), got me to shed tears (the emotional response), and because I discovered Tom Waits and Jennie Muskett along the way (the soundtrack thing). Plus, I ended up buying it too, because I don't tire of watching it with my wife.
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