The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

All-American Princess Mia of Genovia (Anne Hathaway) must marry within 30 days or forfeit the crown to a conniving viscount (John Rhys-Davies) and his handsome nephew (Chris Pine). The sequel to the 2001 hit reunites Hathaway with Julie Andrews as her grandmother the queen, and that’s the best thing about it: The two have wonderful presence and bring real warmth to their scenes together. Otherwise, the film is ho-hum, so complacently sure of its audience that it doesn’t even bother to hide the threadbare formula of Gina Wendkos’ story and Shonda Rhimes’ script. Garry Marshall’s direction stumbles back and forth between its two target audiences—preteen girls and their parents—by alternating girlish high jinks with a sedately mature romance between the queen and her faithful servant (Hector Elizondo).