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Director:
Martha Coolidge

Starring:
Julia Stiles
Luke Mably
Ben Miller
James Fox
Miranda Richardson

Release: 2 Apr. 04
IMDb

Denmark has never quite seemed so much like Disneyland as it does in The Prince & Me, a slight romantic comedy that twists Notting Hill without including any of its charm. I quickly got the impression of what I was in for as the film started, covering the grounds of a Danish royal family who looks and sounds awfully like King Ralph’s version of the British royals. I’m fairly certain that Denmark was chosen by the producers because of its great anonymity to most of the teen girls the film wants to speak to -- I doubt most of them would know of any king or queen other than that evil King Charles who won’t let that cute Prince William become leader of England.

But I digress, much as the entire film does. Its story of a Wisconsin coed (Stiles) falling in love with the cad prince of Denmark (Mably) upon his enrollment at the University of Wisconsin after seeing a commercial for Girls Gone Wild. In a film where neither actor has a hint of chemistry (even if they are lab partners, natch), the subplots of farm labor suddenly capture the interest of the viewers in hopes of getting away from Stiles’ horrible acting (I swear that she’s wonderful in person, but in the absolute wrong profession) and Mably’s use of the camera as a glamour shot (he’s the British equivalent of James Franco). When the film turns into a lawnmower racing rally, one knows that it’s time to give up on the film -- not since George Lucas decided 20 minutes of pod racing was entertainment, everyone thinks he can be a filmmaker. The Prince & Me is proof positive, just ask this Dane.