The Prince & Me

In this insultingly trite, insipidly twinkly, romantically suspect, and aggressively unoriginal fairytale, a shallow Danish prince (newcomer Luke Mably) grows into a responsible heir to his father's throne when he unexpectedly falls in love with a down-to-earth Midwestern med student (Julia Stiles) while traveling incognito in the U.S. to sow some wild oats. Bursting with every girlish storybook fantasy you could imagine (countered by obligatory modern-feminist self-doubt, of course), The Prince & Me is so feebly executed that it can't even get the weather, let alone the accents, right: trees are green and sleeves are short, even during Thanksgiving in Wisconsin (where the prince meets the girl's farm family and learns the honor of hard work) and February in Denmark (where she must decide between being queen and her altruistic career dreams). But more significantly, the film lacks any chemistry between its romantic leads, doesn't stick to its feminist guns (the crowd-pleaser ending is a pathetic, contrary copout), and doesn't have a scrap of common sense. If the prince is trying get laid, why be incognito? Bona fide royalty would obviously attract more girls than aristocratic looks and stiff charm. Not recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Martha Coolidge, the 13-minute “Inside the Fairy Tale” making-of featurette, a 14-minute “The Look” production design featurette, the six-minute featurette “The Lawnmower Race,” eight deleted/extended scenes--including an alternate ending (12 min.), a two-minute gag reel, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (R. Blackwelder)