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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Taking place five years
after the first film, Princess Mia (Anne Hathaway)
has finally settled in Genovia and looks forward
to romance and adventure, only to discover she's
going to experience both right now! If Mia doesn't
get married within one month, she'll forfeit the
throne.
I'm not much of a fan of Garry Marshall's
modern-day fairytale romances. They tend to be
trite and contrived. It's akin to being forced to
eat a microwave version of a terrific meal -- much
of the flavor is lost and the food, like the story
here, is a bit soggy. While "The Princess Diaries
2 " has a number of terrific comedic performances
that brighten an otherwise predictable and weak
film, Marshall's work in film tends to amplify the
worst qualities that marred his TV shows, "Happy
Days" and "Laverne and Shirley."
The transfer certainly gets the royal treatment
from Disney. The picture has vivid, fairytale-like
colors and sharp images that will immediately
transfix tweens. It has the same hypnotic effect
as watching your clothes tumble in a dryer. The
5.1 sound mix has remarkable clarity and good
presence with crystal clear dialogue and music.
Although the featurettes and extras are somewhat
thin by Disney standards, they're pretty decent.
My favorite of the extras here is the "Find Your
Inner Princess" quiz. Yes, I've finally discovered
my inner princess and she's not very happy with
garbage like this. I noticed that Whitney Houston
is one of the producers of the film. Given her
tendency to record overwrought ballads and funk
that seems as natural as silicon breast
enhancements, I'm not surprised she was involved
in this tripe. "Making a Return Engagement" hosted
by Raven seemed like more fluff than stuff but
your kids may actually watch it a couple of times
and not get bored.
Garry Marshall and Julie Andrews provide the
play-by-play (or blow-by blow depending on your
view of the film) background on the production. At
least Marshall and Andrews are entertaining. They
prevent the film from being a complete waste of
time.
Final Words: "Royal Engagement" like a lot of
tween flicks is all about style with no substance.
Hathaway is charming as usual and the professional
work by a top-flight cast makes "Royal Engagement"
tolerable. The extras seem a bit slim by Disney
standards (particularly when you compare them to
some of the 2-disc sets packed with extras from
their animation division) but aren't as bad as the
movie. |
