The Princess Diaries is a movie about a girl who finds out she is a princess, and then spends the rest of the film doing exactly what you expect her to do. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Clarisse, the queen of Genovia, while Anne Hathaway plays Mia Thermopolis, the American teenager who learns she is the rightful heir to the throne. The setup is clever. The execution is not.
The film is directed by Garry Marshall, and it plays like a feature-length sitcom pilot. The jokes land with the force of a pillow fight. The pacing is slow. The character development is thin. And the central relationship between Mia and her grandmother never quite clicks, because the movie is more interested in spectacle than in substance.
Trailer, via YouTube Movies.
Mia’s Discovery
The story opens with Mia being dumped by her boyfriend, Josh. She is a high school student in San Francisco, living with her father, Joe, who is played by Patrick Dempsey. Her life is normal until she receives a letter from her grandmother, telling her she is the princess of Genovia.
The revelation changes everything. Mia has to learn royal etiquette, dress codes, and the responsibilities of a monarch. She also has to deal with her classmates, who start to treat her differently once they find out her secret. The film handles this with a light touch, mostly focusing on the comedy of Mia’s attempts to balance her new life with her old one.
Hathaway is charming, but she is working with material that is often shallow. Mia is supposed to be relatable, but her reactions are often exaggerated for effect. She is constantly surprised by things that anyone who has ever watched a royal drama would already know. The movie keeps telling us that Mia is a regular girl, but it never quite shows us what makes her unique.
Clarisse and the Royal Family
Clarisse is the queen of Genovia, and she is played with warmth by Paltrow. She is protective of Mia, but also strict. She wants Mia to learn the ways of the monarchy, even if it means pushing her granddaughter into uncomfortable situations.
The other members of the royal family are less developed. Lord James is a handsome prince who seems to have a crush on Mia, and he is played with a steady charm by Rupert Everett. His scenes are the film’s weakest link. He exists to be handsome and to provide a romantic complication, but there is no depth to him.
There is also Mia’s father, Joe, who is a lawyer in San Francisco. He is supportive of Mia, but he is also confused by the sudden change in her life. Dempsey plays him with a warm sincerity, but the character is mostly a device to get Mia back to Genovia after she leaves. The film does not give him much to do beyond that.
The Comedy Misses
The Princess Diaries is a comedy, and it tries to be funny in several ways. There are physical gags, there are jokes about royalty, and there are moments where Mia is put in ridiculous situations. None of it lands with any force.
The physical humor is the worst offender. There is a scene where Mia falls down the stairs while wearing a formal gown, and it is meant to be hilarious. It is not. The joke is obvious, and the execution is clumsy. The film keeps trying to make Mia look silly, but it never succeeds.
The jokes about royalty are slightly better. There is a running gag about the way Mia speaks, and how she cannot seem to say the word “royal” without stuttering. This is the closest the film comes to being clever, but it is still not enough to carry the weight of the whole movie. The jokes are frequent, but they are rarely sharp.
The Romance That Never Takes Off
The romance between Mia and Lord James is supposed to be the heart of the story. Mia is attracted to him, and he seems to feel the same way. But the film never commits to the relationship. It is a subplot, not a main plot.
The problem is that the film does not trust the audience to care about Mia and Lord James. Every time the romance starts to build, the film pulls back. It throws obstacles in their way, but it never lets them connect on a meaningful level. The result is a love story that feels unfinished, and that is a shame.
The chemistry between Hathaway and Everett is present, but it is buried under a script that does not know what to do with it. The film keeps reminding us that Mia and Lord James have feelings for each other, but it never shows us those feelings in a way that feels earned. The romance is a promise the film never delivers on.
The Running Time Problem
The Princess Diaries runs for 97 minutes, and it feels much longer. The pacing is slow, and the middle section drags. There is a stretch where Mia is learning the ropes of being a princess, and the film keeps showing her doing the same things over and over again. It is not engaging, and it is not fun.
The film also suffers from a lack of stakes. Mia is learning to be a princess, but the consequences of failing are never made clear. There is a moment where she is in danger, but it is resolved quickly and without much tension. The film is more interested in showing Mia in fancy dresses than in making her situation feel urgent.
What Works
It is not all bad. The film has a few moments that work, and they are worth noting. The opening sequence, where Mia discovers her true identity, is handled with a quiet grace. The film takes its time, letting the news sink in, and that pays off. It is a strong start, even if the rest of the movie does not live up to it.
There is also a moment near the end, where Mia makes a decision about her future. It is a small beat, but it is honest. The film has spent so much time making Mia question whether she belongs on the throne that this moment feels earned. It is a rare instance where the movie trusts its audience to understand what is happening.
Ranking the Elements
Here is how the film’s elements rank from strongest to weakest:
- The opening discovery of Mia’s identity
- The honest final decision about her future
- The comedy about royalty
- The physical humor
- The romance between Mia and Lord James
- The pacing and stakes
The weakest parts of the film are the ones that should be carrying it. A romantic comedy needs a believable romance, and a comedy needs jokes that land. The Princess Diaries has neither.
The score for The Princess Diaries is 5.0 out of 10.
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