THE PRINCESS DIARIES
20th ANNIVERSARY
LAUGH / FAMILY
US 2001, 115 min Director Garry Marshall
A 15-year-old girl’s life upends overnight when she discovers she’s not only heir to a tiny European principality but must take the throne immediately. One day, Mia (Anne Hathaway) is a normal San Francisco high school sophomore whose biggest problem is a gaggle of bullying queen bees. The next, she is facing down paparazzi; taking lessons in comportment from her imperious grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews); and suddenly attracting the romantic interest of cool kid Josh (Erik von Detten). Future Oscar®-winner Hathaway’s big screen debut, Garry Marshall’s teen comedy is also the movie that made her a star as Mia transforms from a nerdy, awkward adolescent into a glamorous (if still awkward) royal. Hathaway is charming, while Héctor Elizondo as Clarisse’s security chief and Heather Matarazzo and Robert Schwartzman as Mia’s friends lend amiable support. But Andrews is the movie’s spark plug, blending effortless elegance with formidable comic timing. –Pam Grady
DIRECTOR
Garry Marshall (1934-2016) first made his name as the Emmy-nominated creator of The Odd Couple (1970-1975), Happy Days (1974-1984), Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983), Mork & Mindy (1978-1982), and other situation comedies before making his feature directing debut in 1982 with Young Doctors in Love. The Flamingo Kid (1984), Beaches (1988), Pretty Woman (1990), and Runaway Bride (1999) are among his other films.
FILM INFO
| COUNTRY: | US |
| YEAR: | 2001 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 115 min |
| DIRECTOR: | Garry Marshall |
| WRITERS: | Gina Wendkos (screenplay), Meg Cabot (novel) |
| PRODUCERS: | Debra Martin Chase, Whitney Houston, Mario Iscovich, Ellen H. Schwartz |
| CINEMATOGRAPHER: | Karl Walter Lindenlaub |
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