When there is a popular film, or franchise, that I have yet to address for The Legionnaire, I try to keep it in mind while searching for what next to watch.  There is one big one that has gone entirely ignored by yours truly, and that is the Twilight series.  Cameron and I talk about it occasionally, but you will just have to wait and see.  Today reminded me of a set of movies that might not be as famous, but still has a strong following: The Princess Diaries.  There are only two, but the first (2001) launched Anne Hathaway’s career, and there are currently rumors of a third.  Now that I have seen the initial entry, I can say that it was everything I expected it to be.  What surprised me, though, was hearing that her character’s uncle (not pictured) entered the religious life.  There is also a scene with two nuns.  In other words, it is not a total loss for this Catholic, but still pretty standard for stories about people who find out they are royalty.

The last person you would expect to be royalty is Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway), our main character in The Princess Diaries.  Somebody with such a title typically wants to be visible, but this fifteen-year-old San Francisco high schooler professes to wanting to remain invisible.  This way she can avoid the bullying she frequently receives at the private school she attends.  She is by no means well off, her posh education being provided by her estranged father who had recently passed away.  “Estranged” is perhaps too strong of a word.  Mia’s mother, Helen Thermopolis (Caroline Goodall), has found memories of the man with whom she birthed a daughter, and he sends something special on Mia’s birthday every year.  Still, Helen has not been completely honest with Mia.  Coming to San Francisco to stay at the Genovian embassy in the northern California city is the queen of the fictional country, Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews).  She is Mia’s grandmother, but the teenager only knows of her, and that being simply grandma.  Nonetheless, Helen convinces Mia to accept Queen Renaldi’s invitation to tea.  It is at this first encounter that Mia is told of her real heritage.  Her first reaction is to run, and to express her anger to her mother for not being forthright with her lineage.  Helen responds by talking about her wish to protect Mia from the glitz and glamour of royalty.  This explanation does little to calm Mia’s anger, nor does a visit from Queen Renaldi.  There are pressing matters prompting the appointment.  If Mia does not accept her position, then Genovia will cease to exist since she is the last in line.  Actually, this is not true as there is a Genovian nobleman set to take over if she abdicates, but they spend barely any time on this subplot.  Instead of diving directly into the life of red carpets and tiaras, Mia agrees to a training period until the time of a state dinner and ball, after which they will either be announcing her ascendency or refusal of her title.  There is a catch, though, and that is that she must not tell anyone.  This includes her best friend, Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo), or her older brother, Michael Moscovitz (Robert Schwartzman).  The brother is one of a couple guys on whom Mia has a crush, though she is too shy to admit to her feelings.  She is about to get a little more mysterious when, instead of hanging out with Lilly, she has to keep going to the embassy for what is termed “princess training.”  This is where most of the humor is supposed to originate as she bumbles her way through the etiquette.  When Mia shows up with styled hair instead of her usual curly frizz, Lilly knows something is going on and threatens to end their friendship.  Not wanting to lose Lilly, Mia admits to being a princess but swears secrecy.  The hush-hush nature of Mia’s position becomes a moot point when the press shows up at her school wanting to know about the next in line to the throne of Genovia.  The culprit had been Paolo Puttanesca (Larry Miller), the hairdresser responsible for Mia’s new look, who could not help but brag about his latest work.  As per the usual for these kinds of stories, upon learning of Mia’s new identity, her classmates briefly treat her differently.  All Mia wants is to have a normal life, and Lilly provides that stability.  Indeed, Mia agrees to go on Lilly’s environmentally conscious cable television program.  Yet, Mia’s new popularity attracts Josh Bryant (Erik Von Detten), one of her other crushes, who asks her to a school party.  Attending the soiree means missing Lilly’s show, but it also proves a setup by her classmates to make Mia look bad.  Mia is caught in a couple compromising positions that do not reflect well on Genovia.  Queen Renaldi rebukes Mia, too harshly in Joe’s (Héctor Elizondo).  He is the monarch’s bodyguard, driver, and personal confidant, who has also befriended Mia.  He believes the young lady is ready for her role, and Queen Renaldi agrees after she spends a day with her granddaughter touring San Francisco.  While Mia is back in grandma’s good graces, she still does not perform well at the long-awaited dinner, inadvertently catching her neighbor’s sleave on fire and tripping a server who spills food everywhere.  Because of all this, Mia plans to renounce the throne, but still has attend the ball to do so.  To make amends to Lilly and Michael, Mia invites them to the party, but is a bit flustered by Michael’s noncommittal response.  Between that and her fear of public speaking, she is about to run away instead of facing the pressure.  However, a note from her father that she finds as she is packing convinces her otherwise.  With some help from Joe, she makes it in time to tell everyone that she will instead be accepting her birthright.

The Princess Diaries ends with Helen and Mia being flown to Genovia.  This was my first time seeing the film, but my presumption had always been that it took place in the made-up country.  It makes it equally fantastical that it takes place in San Francisco because one gets the impression that Queen Renaldi spends as much time in the American city as her own country.  That is me being mean-spirited about a movie that is clearly not aimed at me.  That would also mean that the moments when we are told that Mia’s uncle had entered religious life, or seeing two nuns, are also not specifically meant for this Catholic.  That is okay.  From a Faith perspective, I appreciated the discussion throughout the proceedings on the question of identity.  Though the matter of royalty, of the Earthly variety at any rate, is not a Christian issue, the idea that we are all created to be something resonated with me.  Specifically, I felt some affinity with her when she talked about just wanting to be invisible.  There is some parallel with this and Catholicism.  To be content with being in the background and fulfilling whatever purpose to which you are called is one way of describing what female and male religious have done for centuries.  What must be taken issue with is the fact that she feels compelled to do so by her peers.  To this end, there is a beautiful line that Joe gives her when he says that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.  Put differently, God did not create you to be bullied into doing anything.  He has something incredible in store for you that will be different from everyone else, but no less amazing.  If somebody tells you otherwise, they are going against God, and that usually does not end well for those people.  In Mia’s case, it leads to something amazing indeed because she does not allow herself to be beaten down by her peers.

There have been a few of my peers that have enjoyed The Princess Diaries.  Even if it is not my favorite movie ever, the fact that I have now seen it gives me something to talk about the next time the subject is mentioned.  This is all a long way of saying that there is nothing too objectionable in this silliness.