Director Garry Marshall, who once presented to the world the heartbreaking story of sincere love that erupted between a millionaire and a prostitute, once decided to film the novel Meg Cabot under the promising title “Princess Diaries”. So there was a romantic comedy “How to Become a Princess” (actors: E. Hathaway, D. Andrews, G. Elizondo, H. Matarazzo, M. Moore), which told about the adventures of American teenager outsider Mia, who once found out that she Princess of Genova - Amelia Mignonetta Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo.
Tale of the beginning of the XXI century
So, thanks to the efforts of the creative union of screenwriters Gina Wendkos and Meg Cabot and director Garry Marshall, in 2001 the world saw one of the sweetest and most touching “Cinderella stories”, which can distract the viewer from the ordinary routine and carry it into a fairy tale extravaganza. The film "How to Become a Princess" is an ideal product of the Dream Factory.
A win-win
Throughout the history of its existence, the Hollywood film industry has perfectly mastered many genres (and many of them have invented). Even unconsciously seeking out “competitive advantages”, the viewer understands that one of the most sought-after and popular, perfected genres of modern Hollywood is romantic comedy. It also has its own hierarchy, in it the so-called “transformation films” occupy not the last place. There are a great many such films - from "My Big Greek Wedding", "This is All She" to the "Beauty" mentioned above. Apparently, the production trio of the film (Debra Martin Chase, Mario Iskovich, Whitney Houston) realized in time that this very structure of the narrative is an excellent way to attract the attention of most of the female audience. And is it not every other spectator who is sitting in the cinema hall who dreams of such a turn of events? Therefore, the film "How to Become a Princess" was initially doomed to overwhelming success and the production of the sequel.
Plot
The plot of the film "How to Become a Princess", the actors of which are listed above, tells the story of the main character Mia. The girl until a certain point was an ordinary 15-year-old teenager, quite insecure, with a bunch of complexes. She lived in San Francisco, went to school and secretly dreamed about the attention of the most popular and handsome guy in Josh’s school. Naturally, the boy who is not deprived of female attention does not notice the “gray mouse” sighing sneakily over it. But once her life changes radically, the grandmother of the main character arrives in the city and gives her stunning news - it turns out her father is the prince of one of the dwarf European countries of Genovia. And then came the moment when Princess Mia should return to her subjects and ascend the throne. But the problem is that the girl does not look presentable at all and is completely unfamiliar with the rules of palace etiquette. Grandma promises to rectify the situation in a short time, and Mie will eventually have to make a difficult choice. So, briefly, without special spoilers, you can tell the storyline of the picture "How to become a princess." Actors, cameramen, decorators - the entire crew noted the special favorable atmosphere that developed during the filming.
Advantages
The indisputable advantage of this romantic comedy is the participation in the filming of Julie Andrews. It was especially nice to see her on the screen. The viewer is familiar with the actress on the films “Victor / Victoria” (1982), “Beautiful Love” (1992), “Blue Blood” (2000), etc. However, she alone would hardly be able to draw a picture if it were not for the main performer female role. One of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood, a star of the highest rank, the most talented actress Anne Hathaway. She was able to add charisma and color to the main character with her acting skills. The development of her character went beyond the conventional cliche. The unforgettable Hector Elizondo (“Rent a Family”, “Beauty”) received the title of a true genius in the background, his character turned out to be memorable and giving endless positive. The image created by Heather Matarazzo (“The Blue Moon”, “Scream 3”) and Sandra O (“Last Night”) is remembered. Such an actor’s casting has the film “How to Become a Princess”, the actors proved their worth in the professional field as one.
A little sorry
The only complaint may arise from the audience after watching the name of the film to the translators. The original version - “Princess Diaries” - is much more soulful and correct, because cynical moviegoers can much more easily interpret the question that sounds in the title of the film: “How to become a princess?” - "Have a granny - a queen!" On the whole, the movie turned out to be somewhat naive, focused on a specific target audience (teenage girls, young girls, cute housewives secretly dreaming of finding perfect love, like in a movie, preferably a prince and making an “op” leg during the first kiss).