The Princess Diaries 2

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement - **

Garry Marshall, expert at laying on the syrup thick, directs "The Princess Diaries 2", the sequel to the not really so surprising hit "The Princess Diaries" of 2001. This time around, Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is nearly set to take the throne of Genovia, but it is revealed that in order for a woman to take the throne, she must be married. What's worse, is that she is given 30 days to do so, and if she is unable to another person will be given the throne. That person is Nicholas Deveroux (Chris Pine), who she kind of likes and kind of hates. It's assembly line script writing that makes this film terrible. Other teen films are just predictable, but if you weren't able to see the end coming you might be suffering from some sort of mental disorder. It takes a long time to get going, and once it does get going, it really isn't that good. Julie Andrews is of course good as Queen Clarisse Renaldi, and even sings for the first time on film for decades, but even that is ruined when the song turns into a G-rated pop/hip hop tune. The real saving grace, and what keeps the movie out of the bottom of 2004's scrap heap, is Hathaway, who has made many-a-film redeemable through her accute performances. While seemably every other young actress has had her share of memorable trainwrecks, her films are made watchable by a charm unmatched in any of the current crop. If only she had Lindsay Lohan's taste in scripts. Thumbs down.