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The Prince & Me (2004) **1/2
It was fun & perhaps made a little fresher by the two leads not rehearsing their lines together before filming. A relative long slow
development in the romance helped to allow the development of the individual characters so that the true conflict could be better
understood. The kids, well girls really, for who this movie was meant were clapping at the romantic moments, and were the first to
laugh at the obviousness of the turkey slicing scene. I am once again disappointed by a movie preaching to girls that they can either
have a life or a career, but not both. Of course we have a media intent upon telling them to aspire to be objects. Anyway... The
writing is well balanced to cleanly entertain both children and adults. Paige throws the S word only once. There was a good
breakfast joke at the beginning, but none of the other 300 audience members seemed to get it. The way the Danish flags &
Wisconsin Badger banners were placed around made it obvious they weren't shooting in the real locations. Subtlety can be
golden.. On the other hand, how many Americans would have noticed it the wrong flag had been put in place for Denmark?
Overall, it is worth seeing.
Der Rathskeller is in the basement, but being on a slope, the one side opens up to the lakefront terrace. Scenes of Back to School'
were shot in the real Rathskeller. I just got back from there on the movies opening night, and clearly, the babes of UW are much
better than are represented in the movie.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Official Site
*** of ****
Rated: PG-13
Length: 117 minutes
Writers: Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal
Director: Mike Newell
Cast:
Julia Roberts .... Katherine Watson
Kirsten Dunst .... Betty Warren
Julia Stiles .... Joan Brandwyn
Maggie Gyllenhaal .... Giselle Levy
Ginnifer Goodwin .... Connie Baker
Dominic West .... Bill Dunbar
Juliet Stevenson .... Amanda Armstrong
John Slattery .... Paul Moore
Marcia Gay Harden .... Nancy Abbey
Topher Grace .... Tommy Donegal
Review:
An ensemble movie worth seeing with some unpredictable endings. A movie about the flat exaggerated expectations of women in the 1950's should itself
have more dimension to it. The heavy handed tone of discrimination restricted the development of our sympathies for those discriminated against. That is a
difficult task with a large cast however. The title is apt, and the title sequence is very well done and in a way the truest climax of the movie. The direction is
sound with the parallel stories developing into the whole of the story. Too many shots of the clock tower however. Julia Roberts does well with her
characters various states of mind. The supporting adult cast defines the various aspects of the traditionalist trap. Ginnifer Goodwin really steals the show as
the most empathetic character who is also probably the best representative of real girls. Kirsten Dunst seems to be flat for much of the movie, but it is for a
solid purpose that is equally as important as Maggie Gyllenhaal's reckless character is to the foundation of the film. Julia Stiles character serves as a
moderating connection between the characters and as a reality check for the audience. She was the only one that spoke with a dialect, and someone on the
set, such as the director, should have realized it was incongruous.