(rated G).
It’s not easy being queen especially when you have to find a husband before taking the throne. Lovely, fabulous Anne Hathaway returns as Princess Mia (since the original installment three years back). Just out of college, Mia is not so anxious to fill the seat of her grandmother the Queen (the perfectly cast Julie Andrews) since she can’t understand Parliaments’ laws insisting that a woman must be wed. With morals and values that would rival any fairy tale we grew up with, this one takes a modern twist in portraying a career woman whose log line isn’t “Someday my prince will come”. Sappy (thank goodness) and charming (thank goodness too) the story is a feel-gooder until the last scene. Andrews brings all things eloquent, exquisite and elegant (and all those ‘e’ words) to her role. She even sings. (No, not “The Hills Are Alive”). But her grace and presence make her role of queen a natural art. Hector Elizondo returns as Joe, the Queens aide and advisor and perhaps a little more in this sequel, while newcomer Chris Pine plays love interest to Princess Mia with a stanoff-ish yet ambivalent closeness, that is quite possibly what we’d imagine Prince Harry to be like in real life. A must see for all little girls. And big girls too. The perfect parent daughter date.
