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# Performance poor for the Princess
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/performance-poor-for-the-princess/
- Published: 2004-08-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:50:25.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Events, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Thank heaven for little girls. Surely that is what the Disney brass must be thinking as this trifling sequel hits theaters, because the flick’s financial fate l a r g e l y depends upon that undiscriminating demographic. Little girls still dream about marrying the handsome prince, and so what if he can’t act very well. And little girls don’t even know what empowerment means, let alone care that this 21st Century film twists the feminist movement’s principals to conform to a decidedly Eisenhower-era-esque ideal: If a gal wants to succeed (i.e. become queen) well, darn it, that gal’s got to get herself a good husband first.

Such is Princess Mia’s (Anne Hathaway) quandary as she returns fresh out of college to Genovia, the fictional kingdom she is destined to rule. Her grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews), has announced her imminent retirement and intention to hand the crown over to Mia. But after the duplicitous Viscount Mabrey (John Rhys-Davies of “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy) invokes an ancient Genovian law that mandates a woman be married before assuming the throne, Mia has just 30 days to get hitched to a proper suitor or abdicate to Mabrey’s handsome young nephew, Nicholas (newcomer Chris Pine). She quickly commits to the qualified but unremarkable Duke of Kenilworth (Callum Blue), all the while getting more deeply entwined in a hormonally-charged love-hate relationship with Nicholas. No points here for guessing who Mia winds up with. Pine is certainly good-looking enough to make a princess’s heart flutter, but pretty blue eyes and a toothy smile alone do not a beau ideal make … except in director Garry Marshall’s fairy tale universe, that is. Pine’s performance goes nowhere. Of course, even the most accomplished thespian would be hard-pressed to gather momentum working with such static material. Hector Elizondo reprises the role of the kindly, all-knowing lackey he’s played in virtually every other Marshall film. The truly-talented Andrews and up-and-comer Hathaway are pleasant enough at the outset, but as they muddle through this mess their performances take a turn for the hypnagogic that may even induce yawns from the little princesses in the audience. (Rated G. Running time 115 minutes)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 13, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081304.pdf?ref=smdp.com)