《公主日记》电影海报

　　And first of all let us get a general idea of the Princess Diaries. "The Princess Diaries I” focuses on a fifteen-year-old high school outcast named Mia who is content with her ability to remain invisible to the world. Her life, however, takes an unexpected turn when her grandmother arrives with some shocking news; her father's recent death has left Mia as the sole heir to the throne of Genovia. Now, against her will, Mia is being rushed from classes at school to princess lessons with her grandma, trying to figure out who exactly she is. And finally as expected this shy San Francisco teenager, who can't even confront her long-time crush, actually lives up to her family name and accept the responsibilities that come with being a princess. And in the sequel Queen Clarisse will step down at the end of year and Mia is supposed to be the new queen. But our college graduate / princess Mia is facing another problem that she has to marry someone within 30 days to assume the Throne of Genovia according to the Law. But as we can imagine this won’t be easy especially when there is an evil Viscount who wants to stop Mia’s arranged wedding so that his handsome and mysterious nephew can take over the throne of Genovia.

　　米亚是如何适应自己的新的公主角色，又是如何找到自己的如意郎君顺利继位的？Ok, 赶快找一张舒适的大床，快快躺好，放映机马上就要开始放电影了，the projector is ready! 今晚为你送上公主日记，the princess diaries I and II, let's go!

　　《公主的日记》

　　喜剧

　　1小时50分

　　上映日期: 2001年8月3日

　　演员：安妮-海瑟薇 茱莉-安德鲁斯 哈克特-埃利桑多 海瑟-马托拉佐

　　导演：盖瑞-马歇尔

　　制作: Whitney Houston, Debra Martin Chase, Mario Iscovich

　　编剧: Gina Wendkos

　　发行公司：沃尔特-迪斯尼影业公司

　　The Princess Diaries

　　Comedy

　　1 hr. 50 min.

　　Release Date: August 3, 2001

　　Starring: Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo

　　Directed by: Garry Marshall

　　Produced by: Whitney Houston, Debra Martin Chase, Mario Iscovich

　　Written by: Gina Wendkos

　　Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

　　剧情梗概

　　15岁的米娅得知自己的父亲原来是吉尼维亚的王子,而自己竟成为了该国唯一的王位继承人。在16岁生日之际，她必须面临抉择:是搬到吉尼维亚去当公主呢，还是继续留在曼哈顿和艺术家的母亲生活在一起。同时,米娅也不得不接受严厉的祖母给她上的难以忍受的公主礼仪课……

　　Synopsis

　　Fifteen-year-old Mia discovers that her father is the Prince of Genovia and she is the sole heir to the throne. She must decide, by her sixteenth birthday, whether she will live as a princess and move to Genovia or remain in Manhattan where she lives with her artist mom. She must suffer through the indignity of princess lessons at the hands of her stern grandmother...

评论

　　Julie Andrews不是第一次出演这类题材的电影.早在50年代,在经典音乐片《窈窕淑女》中,她扮演的百老汇底层少女,经过Henry Higgins教授的调教,成为了一个举止幽雅得体的贵族式小姐.

　　几十年之后的今天，《公主日记》却令Andrews扮演一个当年Higgins式的角色.在戏中,她扮演了吉尼维亚的女王,宣布下一人继承人将是外孙女米娅.而十几岁的旧金山女孩米娅却从未想到长期离散的父亲竟有皇家血统.

　　米娅对欧洲一无所知,更不要说如何治理国家了,但女王却十分乐于指正她的举止和言语措辞,以及如何衣着得体……以便把她调教成一个真正的传统意义上的公主.公主这差事固然有许多好处——正如对于只有一辆爬坡都费力的老爷车的女孩子来说,豪华轿车实在是不可抗拒的诱惑;然而,米娅生性腼腆害怕皇室高位带来的聚光灯.那么,善意的祖母是否能使米娅顺利成为君主呢?亦或是在加里福尼亚形成的价值观如此根深蒂固,以至于连Henry Higgins自己也不能改变米娅呢?

　　《公主日记》以米娅的视角展开故事情节,迎合了十多岁的观众群,因为他们有着和米娅相似的的个性冲突和青少年特有的生活细节——与母亲拌嘴,叛逆,以及学校里的恋爱故事——这些都在电影里一一展现.此外,角色的成功选择使整部电影充满了生气: Andrews扮演的女王: Anne Hathaway扮演的外孙女; Caroline Goodall扮演的米娅的母亲;还有Hector Elizondo扮演的皇室助理;以及成功扮演米娅密友的Heather Matarazzo.而剧中米娅生活中的男孩就显得十分普通了。

　　从容的节奏加上并不花哨的制作,<<公主日记>>倒更像是迪斯尼拍的传统老片。当众多电影为了吸引年轻人而不断发起视觉冲击波和流行浪潮时,导演Garry Marshall却向我们讲述了一个连端庄的吉尼维亚女王也鼓掌认可的故事。

　　值得一提的是,这部影片就观念上来说,并不落伍。二三十年前,米娅会因为典型的美国价值观如民主独立而最终放弃王位.但与之相反,2001年的米娅则抓住了这个机会。一个中产阶级的女孩能有机会获得如此大的权利和影响,甚至能让世界都听她的,还有比这更妙的事情吗?

　　Comments

　　Julie Andrews has been here before. Back in the '50s, she played Eliza Doolittle in the classic musical "My Fair Lady," making Broadway history as the lower-class lass who passes as an aristocrat after Professor Henry Higgins teaches her to talk and walk like a lady.

　　Decades later, "The Princess Diaries" lets Andrews (see interview) try the Higgins role herself. Here, she plays the queen of Genovia, who has decided Genovia's next ruler should be her granddaughter, Mia, a San Francisco teenager who's never been told that her long-estranged father had royal blood.

　　Mia knows little about Europe, and nothing about the tricks of running a country, but the queen is willing to mold her manners, coach her diction, dictate her wardrobe, and do anything needed to make her a proper Old World princess. The job carries plenty of perks - a limo is mighty tempting to a girl whose Mustang can barely make it up a hill - but Mia's a shy type who dreads the spotlight a royal perch would bring. Can her well-meaning grandma put her on the road to monarchy? Or do her Californian ＆#118alues run so deep that Henry Higgins himself couldn't change them?

　　"The Princess Diaries" unfolds its story from Mia's point of view, aiming at teen viewers who'll identify with her identity crisis and with the everyday details of adolescent life - quarrels with mom , rivalries, and romances at school - that the movie convincingly paints. A well-chosen cast helps the picture come alive: Andrews as the queen; Anne Hathaway as her undecided granddaughter; Caroline Goodall as Mia's mom; Hector Elizondo as a royal assistant; and Heather Matarazzo in a perfect performance as Mia's closest pal. Only the boys in Mia's life tend to look like generic teenpic characters.

　　With its leisurely pace and unfancy filmmaking, "The Princess Diaries" is a likable throwback to an old tradition of pictures from the Disney studio. While most of today's youth-targeted movies unleash bombardments of visual effects and pop-culture distractions, director Garry Marshall spins this yarn with a quiet dignity that Genovia's staid queen would applaud.

　　The film isn't backward-looking in its attitudes toward modern society, though. Two or three decades ago, Mia would surely have ended the story by refusing her royal opportunity in the name of American ＆#118alues like democracy and individualism. By contrast, the Mia of 2001 decides to grab the job. How else could a middle-class girl get enough influence and power to make the world listen to her ideas?

　　相关词汇表

　　heir n. 继承人

　　stern adj. 严厉的

　　indignity n. 侮辱,无礼

　　Broadway n. 百老汇

　　lass n. 少女

　　aristocrat n. 艺术家

　　estrange v. 使……隔离

　　mold v. 对……产生影响

　　limo n. 豪华轿车

　　perch n. 高位

　　monarchy n. 君主国

　　adolescent adj. 青少年的

　　throwback n. 倒退

　　unleash v. 发动

　　spin v. 编造

　　yarn n. 故事