Toon Talk: Princess Diaries 2 Review
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Toon Talk
Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt
Royal Engagement
From Genovia With Love
Anne Hathaway continues her winning streak after the first film and the recent Ella Enchanted with this Royal Engagement; even more so then previously, she carries herself like a gamine amalgamation of Audrey Hepburn and Lucille Ball, as if those two screen legends collided head-on, with her lithe form as a result. She effortlessly carries the film with an effortless poise, but not above a geekette relapse or two, and avoids lapsing into the dangerously overt commercialism of the recent roles of, sadly, Lindsay Lohan.
(c) Disney
Chapter 2 begins with Mia, at age eighteen, returning to Genovia to claim the crown following the reign of her paternal grandmother, Queen Clarice (Julie Andrews, as luminescent as ever … what else can one say?). But parliamentary politics complicate matters when it is revealed that Mia has a rival for the throne, and the only way she can truly become Queen is if she marries … immediately. Behind all these Machiavellian mechanizations is Viscount Mabrey, played with a dastardly twirl of his moustache by The Lord of the Rings’ John Rhys-Davies, who aspires to rule Genovia through his young nephew, Sir Nicholas (newcomer Chris Pine).
Of course, Nicholas is a “hottie�? on his own, which only complicates Mia’s attempts to find, with the aide of Clarice, best friend Lilly (Heather Matarazzo) and the Queen’s ever present aide-de-camp (and secret paramour) Joe (Hector Elizondo), a suitable suitor to fulfill the parliaments’ wishes, not to mention Mia’s own happiness and sense of duty. (Also on hand, in small roles, are a pair of perky lady’s maids that are a hoot themselves, plus a visiting African princess played by That’s So Synergistic Raven.)