El príncipe y yo

How many romantic films exist where the principal couple has not experienced their first kiss until one hour into the story? "The Prince & Me" is one rare example of such a film, and I admired the careful development of the main relationship, as performed by the likable Julia Stiles and Luke Mably.

Above all, I admired the focus on courtship, a concept that is arguably a dying breed in our culture today. In fact, I cannot recall a film where there was so little emphasis on sex and so many carefully developed scenes where we see emotional chemistry building between the main characters, Paige Morgan, a young pre-med student in Wisconsin, and the Danish prince Edward who calls himself Eddie.

"The Prince & Me" brings back the old-style Hollywood romances. In fact, I kept thinking of the wonderful picture "The Swan" featuring the luminous Grace Kelly, the dour Alec Guinness, and the dashing Louis Jourdan. Although "The Prince & Me" may not merit the status of a classic romance like "The Swan," it was nonetheless a breath of film-going fresh air among so many cynical films dealing with contemporary relationships. There was a nice touch with the pacing of the film and the close-ups provided by director Martha Coolidge. The scenes shot in Denmark were splendid and added an aura of magic to the main love relationship.

According to her IMDb biography, Julia Stiles has been an English major at Columbia in addition to juggling an impressive acting career. The scenes in "The Prince & Me" set at the University of Wisconsin, Manitowac provided a convincing portrayal of academic life, especially the coaching session in Shakespeare. The realism in the routine activities at college helped to make the story as a whole convincing and evoked the feeling that a relationship like that of Paige and Eddie might really exist.

As transparent as it is absurd, "The Prince and Me" is nothing more than a regurgitation of the classic royalty-or-famous-person-meets--unsuspecting-commoner-and-they-fall-in-love- and-live-happily-ever-after fairytale that has been passed down from generation to generation. But thanks to the charms of the established young actress, Julia Stiles, and the new up and coming Brit, Luke Mably, mixed with the somehow amusing screenplay by the writers of the soon to come Kate Hudson picture "Raising Helen", "The Prince and Me," succeeds in its genre.

Set in Wisconsin, Paige Morgan (Julia Stiles) is a driven pre-med student who is determined not to be weighed down by a careless romance, and Prince Edward (Luke Mably) of Denmark is the restless king to be who is avoiding royal responsibility to be a rebellious college kid in the States. Despite his odd, self absorbed manner, and trailing assistant, nobody seems to guess his true identity, and Paige believes he is a foreign exchange student. The magnetism between Stiles and Mably cannot be denied, and when their two opposite characters attract, there are definitely fireworks. The cat and mouse chase exposition is much more interesting than the over the top finale, but it helps develop the story so you are still paying attention at the end.

And of course, Paige teaches Eddie about love and work ethic, while Eddie teaches Paige about poetry and the pains and pleasures of wealth and privilege. This dull, predictable, and recycled premise has been used many a time because with the right stars and right lighting, it easily reminds the audience of the innocence, joy, and surprises that are found in love. And that is truly the greatest story ever told, so why not tell it over and over and over and over again? Thus, an enjoyable cinema experience is practically guaranteed if you put the idea in capable hands.

Modest humor and sincere characters bring the story to life. The glimpse into Denmark royalty is intriguing and believable, and the film's characters are impossible to dislike. Stiles and Mably give equally thorough performances and I wouldn't mind seeing them pair up again for a more thought-provoking project.

Since the dialogue was satisfying, it is surprising the script at large wasn't a bit more realistic or original. But I assume that wasn't the aim, and am in a forgiving mood today.

In fact, I am glad that "The Prince and Me" didn't attempt to venture into more dramatic territory, for that would be unnecessary, and merely pretentious. Director Martha Coolige knows what "The Prince and Me" is and she doesn't try to make it anything more, so it stays on track with an obvious and clear goal in mind.

"The Prince and Me" won't change or challenge you, but it just may uplift you for the movie's duration plus two or three, maybe even five, minutes afterward, so why not pay the five to eight bucks? But if you seek more than temporary well wrapped candy, hunker in on the two leads or just avoid the picture completely.

You may look at the preview and think, "Great, they just basically ruined the ending for me." which is what I though when I saw it. However, I took a chance renting it, because I figured it would be an entertaining way to pass the time. I was right. I not only found it entertaining, but by the end, as corny is it may sound for a film like this, it did leave me guessing a little as to what would happen.

Although I don't usually care for Julia Stiles, I found her to be delightful in this piece, and the right person to play the part. The role of the handsome Scandanavian Prince, was also correctly casted, and was a heartthrob a minute. The two actors worked very well together, and I very much enjoyed the film, finding it sweet, romantic and just enough of light and heavy to balance it out nicely.

Ovearll it's a film that certainly wouldn't have been nominated for any big awards, but it's cute, and in the end a pretty predictable film. I recommend it to the ones out there who like the Cinderella-ish stories. It's kind of like that.

The prince and me was a pretty typical film, with a worn out plot. Not to mention an annoying view on Danes. Some of the things that bothered me on what I mentioned above, was the names in particular. Edward, Rosalind, Arabella...they could at the least have tried giving the names a Danish feel. And there is the fact that Denmark does NOT have a king, we have a queen! The Queens husband is not called a king, but a prince, because he married into the royal family, and a king will always range higher then a queen. Sorry, that was besides the point......Anyway this movie does have some quite funny moments that makes it worth watching, and I kinda liked the scene at the table with Edward telling Paige's brothers a few things about Denmark. Another thing that made me smile, was that they hadn't abandoned the Danish language completely, but had inserted some speech with it. 4.5/10 stars.

I've been reading the comments from everyone on the movie. I just wanted to say a couple of things. First off, if one turns off their analytical side and simply watch the movie, they might be surprised.

Every female, regardless of age, secretly wants to be loved like the classic 'princess' stories. It's not so much about a princess as it is about the real love between two people.

These kinds of stories still exist simply because we yearn for them, even if it is buried deep inside us.

The most important part of the movie is not location, government or royalty, it is the journey these two 'people' take after meeting. The setting for each before meeting sets up the movie and introduces them, flaws and all to us.

this is simply a love story that transcends time and age. Watch it with emotion instead of analyzing it.