Susan Granger's review of "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" (Walt Disney Pictures)
Returning to the mythical European kingdom of Genovia after graduating from Princeton, Princess Mia (Anne Hathaway) - the onetime San Francisco teenager - is warmly greeted by her ready-to-retire grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews), and coldly received by Parliament. According to an old Genovian tradition, Mia cannot take her rightful place as Queen of Genovia unless she is married - and she has exactly 30 days to find a husband or forfeit the throne.
What a dilemma! Will Mia follow in her beatific grandmother's footsteps, dutifully entering an arranged marriage with an amiable titled Brit (John Rhys-Davies), or will she follow her heart and fall for the outrageously handsome Genovian pretender-to-the-throne (Chris Pine)? Guess.
Written by Shonda Rhimes from a story by Gina Wendkos and Shonda Rhimes, based on Meg Cabot's characters, you could cut the cloying blandness with a knife! Veteran director Garry Marshall moves his actors around like cardboard storybook dolls so they don't drown in the soggy, sappy romance that exhibits scant evidence of the charm and sparkle of its predecessor.
There's one peppy interlude when Mia summons all the other princesses in the world for a wedding-shower, mattress-surfing slumber party. Under that pretext, Disney Channel star Raven joins Julie Andrews in a lively duet, playing the nostalgia chord, reminding us of the days when elegant Julie starred in far better films. Anne Hathaway, Hector Elizondo and Heather Matarazzo are endearing, while the costumes and jewelry are served up as sumptuous eye-candy. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" is a stodgy, saccharine 5. When will Hollywood realize that G-rated does not have to stand for generic and predictable?
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