Prince Charming

Rating:
Summary: A disappointingly "different" modern love story...
Review: A disappointment is the best way to describe this recent Hallmark film. The story begins in Medieval England in the time of kings and castles. Two neighboring kingdoms are seeking to end a long feud by marrying their son and daughter. The problem: Prince John of Anwyn (Sean Maguire) is known for his many extramarital indiscretions, and when he commits one right before his upcoming marriage to Princess Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate), Prince John and his squire Rodney (played by Martin Short) are turned into frogs (called a "frogging," by a famous wizard's curse); until the prince finds true love, (by convincing a maiden to kiss him, and then to marry him), they will remain frogs for all eternity. Fast forward to 21st century Manhattan, 500 years later: this is where the rest of the story takes place.

For those of you worried about content: Prince John is quite the ladies man, sleeping with maids and wenches alike: there are a few swear words, (...)a thief attempting to steal a woman's bike; a swordfight between two men; some spells, potions, curses, and witchcraft and wizardry (although fairly mild as movies go); and a woman who attempts to seduce a young man.

All in all, I was very disappointed in this newest Hallmark film. I was expecting a cute, possibly sweet romantic comedy about a man who is "Prince Charming" to all, and instead got stuck watching a villainous ladies' man who supposedly reforms. As Hallmark puts it, "a delightfully different love story," and while definitely different, well...

Rating:
Summary: WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!
Review: CHRISTINA APPLEGATE IS WONDERFUL IN THIS CAPTIVATING AND REFRESHING NEW TAKE ON A MAGICAL FAIRY TALE. I WATCHED THIS ON TNT THIS FIRST NIGHT IT AIRED, THINKING IT WOULD BE A MINDLESS MOVIE TO SLEEP THROUGH. WRONG!WRONG!WRONG! THE PRINCE IS A RAKE BUT EVENTUALLY HE LEARNS THAT LOVE IS WHAT LASTS. HE LEARNS THIS THROUGH CENTURY'S AS A FROG, HIS SQUIRE PLAYED BY TALENTED MARTIN SHORT, AND HIS HEART'S DESIRE, CHRISTINA APPLEGATE. IF YOU LIKE MODERNIZED FAIRY TALES, YOU WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE. ALSO, CHECK OUT JACK AND THE BEANSTOCK - THE TRUE STORY AND SNOW WHITE PRODUCED BY HALLMARK ENTERTAINMENT. THEY ARE AWESOME AS WELL.

Rating:
Summary: call me old-fashioned but . . .
Review: I bought this thinking that I would share it with my granddaughter who is 7. However, the swear words and the bell scene mean that this one goes directly out the door again. You can't trust Disney any more and now you can't even trust Hallmark. Someone said this movie was more for kids. Well, if you're going to make a movie for kids, the themes should all be ones that are appropriate for kids. If you're going to make a movie for adults then you have to decide whether you're doing a comedy or a romance. This movie tries for a middle road, and despite the lovely Christina Applegate and the wonderful Bernadette Peters, winds up trite and dull. Or perhaps this is a 'tongue-in-cheek'commentary on what Prince Charmings are really like??

Rating:
Summary: Prince Charming
Review: I have just seen this film for the forth time on TV and I love it! It was a great storyline and was very amusing to watch! I am planning to buy it on DVD in the future as it is the same people who made The Tenth Kingdom which I bought on DVD and the book of. The setting was perfect and I loved the script. My favourite scene is when John takes Kate to the museum to prove who he is and confesses some of his feelings for her. Well done Hallmark for a wonderful adventure film

Rating:
Summary: Fairy tale lovers- this is cute and that's all!
Review: I have long collected movies derived from fairy tales (Sigourney Weaver's "Snow White" is at the top of my list) and I was excited to add this to the lot. However, the movie is cute at best and it fails to entertain an adult viewer. I understand this movie is intended for young viewers, and so I'll go easy. And if you have kids, they might love it!

I should have known better. Middle age princes/ knights/ squires traveling through time somehow (or in this case, ending up there after sitting on a lily pad for 5 centuries) have become predictable and boring. You've seen it before, there's nothing new here, except how terribly quick the prince and squire deal with New York city yet still manage to deny the time and day till the end. There's even a part where Prince Charming delivers an opened beer bottle to his lady-love Kate- as casual as a frat boy at a tailgate party.

Martin Short is wonderful as Prince John's squire- a hopeful wizard who happened to be nearly at the end of his servitude to the crown when he was sadly pronounced cursed along with his master. He adds a lot of charm and laughs along the way as he attempts to steer his painfully silly prince in the right direction.

Christina Applegate is a brilliant talent that is almost always miscast in nearly every movie she is in. She was a pleasure to watch, though she wasn't given much to work with. We discover little about her character. ....

Bernadette Peters always brings sass and charm and age old elegance to any screen. ...I gave this movie 2 stars because I figured if you have to sit through it with your 9 year old daughter, it is sufferable. It has some smiles, laughs and cuteness. And because of Martin Short.

Rating:
Summary: Utterly Charming
Review: Prince John of Anwyn (Sean Maguire) and his squire Rodney (Martin Short) are sentenced to a frogging for offending Princess Gwendolyn of Lothian (Christina Applegate) on their wedding day when he goes after another woman. A Lothian wizard turns both men into frogs with the following conditions John must entice a maiden to kiss him upon the lips and then he must marry her before the noon bells of the next full moon and be faithful to her for the rest of his life.

The marriage of John and Gwendolyn was to end three centuries of war between the two kingdoms. Even though King Leo (Colin Fox) hands his son over for punishment, John's antics cause the war to continue with disastrous consequences for Anwyn.

This curse was laid upon them in the 15th Century but 500 years later the two men are still frogs until an American boy steals them and brings them back to New York City. They meet Kate (Christina Applegate), a Central Park carriage driver who agrees to help them find Margo Stockard (Bernadette Peters) an actress who kissed him while trying to prove her love to her unfaithful director boyfriend. The problem is John loves Kate.

This was movie was both comedic and romantic. A wonderful tale to be watched again and again!

Rating:
Summary: Charming in the old fashioned way!
Review: There was a time when fairy stories could only be told in Disney cartoons. There was Snow White, and Cinderella, and they had their requisite combination of magic and "lived happily ever after". "Real" people portrayed in movies could not, somehow, be presented that way -- it just didn't "work".

Then somewhere along the road a film called Pretty Woman figured out one way to do it with a PG13 rating, and Rob Reiner kicked it up (and down) a notch with The Princess Bride where the fairy story element became more as we remember as little children. Andre the Giant was a real giant, and who can forget Billy Crystal as the crone?

So Disney took another whack at it, and the Princess Diaries came along, and the fairy story worked some more. And we loved them, and they were family fare, and we watched them with our kids!

I saw Prince Charming at an unearthly early hour in Phoenix Arizona when my body was still on South Carolina time, and immediately fell in love with it. It has that same true fairy story quality about it -- a bit of cinematic froth with just enough believability to keep you drawn in to the characters.

Martin Short holds the entire package together, and is utterly in his element with the opportunity to take his Canadian origins out for a run with a flawless English accent and delivery throughout. Christina Appleton may have been a bit of an also-ran ditz in Married with Children, but here she shows some delicious emotional depth that carries us beyond the fundamental froth of the plot. Bernadette Peters uses every ounce of her Broadway chops to play a jaded diva just to the edge of over playing without quite tipping over -- mastery of her craft. The young man who plays the prince is new to me, but fits the role perfectly, an expert swordsman, and clearly the director decided to take every opportunity to show that off -- smart move.

Now I note that one reviewer decries some implied sexuality in the plot and presentation. May I assure one and all that no 7 year old would ever "get" what was "going on" because of the extremely (and delightfully) clever way in which this was handled. The "bell" scene mentioned is at once hilarious, and essential to the understanding of the character of the prince, and to the core of the plot. How I would dearly wish that Hollywood would understand that "sex scenes" do not require the depiction of either nudity nor sex to get the point across to adults without corrupting the minds of children.

I intend to buy this DVD and keep it on hand to play for my grandchildren when they visit. It will also be available for my Bishop's children to see (I am LDS), and others who share my rather conservative feelings about film content.

I consider this to be one of the most delightful and charming films I have seen in years.

Rating:
Summary: Utterly charming!
Review: What a great find! I have to give credit to Hallmark... They make some of the most brilliant movies I have ever seen (check out The Tenth Kingdom, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cleopatra). Funny, witty, and just plain awesome! Oh, supporting characters Martin Short, Christina Applegate, and Bernadettte Peters did an especially good job.