Rating: 
Summary: A Royal Coming of Age Tale
Review: 15-year-old Mia Thermopolis is just hoping to get through school. She mostly invisible and likes it that way. Then her grandmother comes to visit and reveals a secret. Mia is really a princess and next in line for the throne of Genovia. Now Mia must learn to act like a princess while dealing with her new found popularity and fame. Does she want the throne? Can she rule? Will she hurt her friends in the process?
This is a fun movie. Rewatching it recently, I was struck by how realistic it was. Mia goes through many emotions over the course of the movie, all of which exactly what a girl in her shoes would go through. And her growth is quite noticeable. Along the way, there's a great story that moves along nicely and keeps your interest. Newcomer Anne Hathaway is perfect as Mia, and Julie Andrews brings believability to her roll as Queen Clarisse. I can't imagine anyone else in her roll.
The DVD release is perfect for fans of the movie. The widescreen picture looks great and the full surround is perfect. There's a fun behind the scenes featurette, 8 deleted scenes with interesting if somewhat over done commentary by Gary Marshall, and two audio commentaries. The first features director Gary Marshall and the second features a tea party/commentary with Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway.
Pre-teens girls are the target audience of this movie, and they'll love it. But anyone in the family will enjoy this movie if they'll give it a chance.
Rating: 
Summary: Hathaway engaging, plot by the numbers
Review: A predictable teen fantasy in which a downtrodden San Francisco 15 year old discovers that she is actually a princess of Genovia. Some of the conflict and giddiness seem believable and real, as when Mia (Hathaway) takes advantage of her popularity to go on a date with the most popular (and jerky) boy at school, or when Mia is embarrassed that her mother is planning a date with a teacher. There are also some touching moments between Mia and her bodyguard-turned-chauffeur. But there is too much that seems phony; it's a given that the climactic ball will be a chance for Mia to save the day and get a romantic moment with her true-blue boyfriend-to-be, but the filmmakers shouldn't have made the mistake of making Mia blind to the benefits of being a princess; more importantly, they shouldn't have tried to play off Mia's newfound royalty as a cause for derision by her peers.
Rating:
Summary: Princess Diaries-An extremely funny, well-acted movie
Review: A wonderfully, delightful movie. It explores the theme of family relationships and bonding of generations. Through love and acceptance, the grandmother Queen helps the shy, clumsy, unpopular teenager to believe in herself. Anne Hathaway is perfectly cast as the teenage girl who lacked self-confidence and Julie Andrews is perfectly cast as the gracious Queen and stern grandmother who transforms into a very caring grandmother. I have already seen this movie 8 times because it is wholesome, has a great deal of humor, and is well-acted. I can relate to some of the problems of the teenage girl. It reminds me of My Fair Lady where the teenager transformed into a confident, mature beyond her years, young adult. She finds out what truly is important in life - family, her true friends (there is no need to win a popularity contest), and being your true self. There is magic in accepting and believing in yourself. I was pleased with the relationship that she had with her father but you will have to see the movie to realize how his love influence her when she needed his help the most.
Rating:
Summary: I lost my socks.
Review: Batton down the hatches! Fire on the poopdeck! It's time for That's my Carl!!!!!! I want to be a girlie just like my dear Papa! Wait a minute, I forgot, I am a girl! You will die in seven days, Woooooooooh! Aaaaaaahhhhh. This preperation H is way better than the OTHER brand.
Rating:
Summary: The Royal Princess
Review: Fifteen year old Mia Thermopolis is awkward, with glasses, frizzy hair that she can't control, and just wants to blend into the scenery. She is good at being "invisible" and cannot make a speech in front of her class without becoming sick to her stomach. Imagine her surprise when her grandmother, her father's mother whom she's never met, arrives in town and tells Mia that she is really a princess! Mia is hesitant about being put in the spotlight, but she starts taking "Princess lessons". Not only does she learn how to be a Princess, but she learns how to be true to herself and who her true friends really are.
This is a good clean, fun movie for women of all ages. Most teenage girls with identify with Mia as well as any woman who can remember what it was like to be a teenager (and who can't?). The movie doesn't break any new ground, movies like this never do, but who cares? It's great to see Julie Andrews in a starring role and she has a lot of fun with the part. The rest of the cast is excellent, especially Anne Hathaway (although she is far too pretty for the audience to believe she is ever an ugly duckling), Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, and Robert Schwartzman.
Rating:
Summary: Read the books first!
Review: Having just seen The Princess Diaries for the first time, I have several different thoughts on the movie, but first and foremost I am glad I read the books before seeing it.The movie is entertaining. It is also quite sweet and charming, but that tends in my opinion to be its downfall rather than a strength. The books are engaging and laugh-out-loud funny, whereas the story here is drastically altered and toned down, so most of the laughs are no longer there. Anne Hathaway is very pretty and appealing as leading lady Mia Thermopolis, but her performance is sort of bland. Julie Andrews is far sweeter as her grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi, than the deliciously evil character of "Grandmére" depicted in the Princess Diaries books. These weaknesses are somewhat compensated for by the addition of two great original characters: Joe (Hector Elizondo), who drives Princess Mia's royal limousine, and Mia's eccentric neighbor Mr. Robitussin. Also fun to watch is Paolo, Mia's royal hairdresser, who always refers to himself in the third person. I regret that I was unable to catch the names of these last two actors. All in all, The Princess Diaries is an enjoyable film that you will probably like seeing, but the books are better.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely love this movie
Review: I am not a teen and usually hate Disney movies because I find them cloying.But this one is different, anne hathaway is charming and ingenue, with Julie Andrews makes a great package.If want to just sit back and relax without too much analysis,this is the movie.Humour is light and easy and they don't kill you with the good things(love etc etc) like typical disney movies.
Rating:
Summary: Watch the Princess Diaries for a royally good time!
Review: I really didn't know what to expect when I bought this movie, other than Julie Andrews was one of it's stars. I bought it on that merit alone. Since watching it, I've found many other reasons why you should own "The Princess Diaries". The acting is superb. Hector Elizando give a wonderful performance as Mia's watchful protector (as well as a love interest for Julie Andrew's Queen). Anne Hathaway is simply wonderful as the shy, awkward Mia, who flips when she finds out that she is in actuality the Crown Princess of Genovia. Who wouldn't be a little surprised to find out that they're royalty after living as an average (if somewhat invisible) teenager?! Julie Andrews is...well, she's the perfect Queen. She shines regally as the ruler of Genovia. She also finds every bit of comedy in the role. She plays off her co-stars extremely well. All in all, this "Princess for a new era" is for everyone. It will appeal to adults and children alike. The themes of acceptance, love (familial and teenage), and finding oneself are ones that we all can relate to.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but Not as Funny as It's Credited For
Review: If you can call being a clutz funny, you will think this movie is hilarious. Instead of clever wit, situational comedy, this movie relies on the constant clutziness or maybe clumsiness of the main character Princess Mia to sustain the story. She's a nerd, yes, and a fish out of water at high school, but so what. Instead of celebrating her unique heritage and who she is, she is completely transformed into what her grandmother wants her to be - a princess like Cinderella. Yes, she likes to listen to music, and dances like a teenager, but she is a teenager. Even royal teenagers are known to dance and listen to music once in a while. Worse, when they mingle with the commoners, like attend public school, they have a hard time fitting in. In this film, they made it seem like you have to be born a Princess in order to find happiness, in order to fit into school. Not so.
Rating:
Summary: Geek to Princess in 2 seconds flat
Review: Mia Thermopolis lives with her mother in Los Angles. She does not know her grandmother so she thinks that it is a little weird when her grandmother asks her to come over for tea. What Mia's grandmother tells her changes her life forever.
Mia's grandmother tells her that she is not just Mia Thermopolis but Amelia Menuette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia. Mia freaks out as any 15 year old would and goes to yell at her mother for not telling her this.
The next day Mia's granmother comes to visit and they strike up a compromise, Mia has Princess lessons until the night of a ball and then she could figure out whither she still wants to be a Princess or to abdicate.
After this Mias hair goes from a curly mess to straigt and she looks alot better. After the transformation she tells her friend Lily, but then suddenly the whole world finds out that she is a Princess. Around this same time Josh Bryant who previously had nothing to do with her asks her to a beach dance where he and his girlfriend proceed to humiliate her.
After the humiliation at the dance Mia wants to not be a Princess, but the night of the ball finds a letter that her late father wrote to her that conviences her to give it a try.
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