The Prince and Me

The Prince and Me

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Martha Coolidge
Produced by Mark Amin
Screenplay by Jack Amiel
Michael Begler
Katherine Fugate
Story by Mark Amin
Katherine Fugate
Starring Julia Stiles
Luke Mably
Ben Miller
Miranda Richardson
James Fox
Music by Jennie Muskett
Cinematography Alex Nepomniaschy
Edited by Steven Cohen
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • April 2, 2004 (2004-04-02)
Running time
 106 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $22 million[1]
Box office $37,666,766[1]

The Prince and Me is a 2004 romantic comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge, and starring Julia Stiles, Luke Mably, and Ben Miller, with Miranda Richardson, James Fox, and Alberta Watson. The film focuses on Paige Morgan, a pre-med college student in Wisconsin, who is pursued by a prince posing as a normal college student.

The film spawned three direct-to-video sequels created under a different writers and director, with Kam Heskin replacing Julia Stiles in the role of Paige Morgan: The Prince and Me 2: The Royal Wedding (2006), The Prince and Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon (2008) and The Prince and Me 4: The Elephant Adventure (2010).

Plot

Paige Morgan (Julia Stiles) is a pre-medical student at University of Wisconsin–Madison. Across the Atlantic, Denmark's Crown Prince Edvard (Luke Mably), prefers to live the life of a playboy by drag racing with friends, and when with his family, often ignores or marginalizes his royal responsibilities.

While watching international television, Edvard sees a commercial called College Girls Gone Wild, featuring drunken co-eds flashing their breasts set in Wisconsin. After meeting with his parents, King Haraald (James Fox), and Queen Rosalind (Miranda Richardson), Edvard announces his intentions to attend college in America—specifically, Wisconsin. His parents are curious about this, and Edvard insists he wants no help from them. The Queen then dispatches Edvard's assistant, Søren (Ben Miller), to chaperone the trip to America.

When Edvard arrives at the university, he orders Søren keep his identity a secret, and to call him "Eddie." Later at a bar Eddie sees Paige, where he flirts with her. Eddie then asks Paige to take off her shirt, like the girls in the College Girls Gone Wild advertisement did. Paige angrily drenches Eddie with the drink hose, and bouncers escort Eddie (and Søren, who came to his rescue) from the bar. To Paige's annoyance, she and Eddie are also assigned as lab partners for an organic chemistry class. Since the class is important for Paige's medical school ambitions, she warns Eddie to not get in her way, and reprimands him after he sleeps through one of their lab experiments. After running out of money, Eddie gets a job in the deli section of the bar. Paige reluctantly helps him during his first day, and the two start to mend fences. Although she does well in science, Paige struggles in an English literature class. Eddie uses his earlier classical education to help Paige gain a better understanding of Shakespeare, and Paige shows Edvard common household chores like laundry. Believing Eddie to be away from his family and unfamiliar with American holidays, she invites him to her parent's dairy farm for Thanksgiving. Paige's father explains how he struggles to keep the small farm afloat, and Eddie uses his drag racing skills to fine-tune a riding mower for a race, to which he wins. However, when a rival racer proves a sore loser and punches Eddie, Paige treats the wound, then the two kiss.

Back at school, Eddie and Paige sneak off to the library stacks to pursue a romantic encounter of unspecified nature. While there, members of the Danish tabloid press ambush the stunned couple. Once away from the mayhem, Paige learns of his real identity. Feeling betrayed and accusing him of lying, she leaves.

At the end of the day, Eddie is notified by his mother that his father is very ill, prompting him to return. While Paige faces a panel of professors questioning her about Shakespeare and love, she realizes that she loves Edvard and runs to find him, only to discover that he has already left for Denmark. She goes after him, and upon arriving in Copenhagen her trip is delayed, as a parade honoring the royal family is blocking traffic. Paige is recognized by the crowd, and Edvard finds her and takes her to the castle on horseback.

The queen objects to Edvard's choice to marry Paige, but the king tells him that if he loves Paige, he should marry her. Edvard proposes and Paige accepts.

Paige struggles with conforming to the lifestyle of royalty, however, the queen warms to her. Then, she takes Paige to a little room with jewelry to get ready for the coronation ball, which follows King Haraald's abdication. During the coronation ball, Edvard and Paige share their first dance and then sneak off together. After being left alone, Paige remembers her dream for Doctors Without Borders. When Edvard returns, she tells him that she does not want to sacrifice her dreams, and that she cannot be queen. She then returns to Wisconsin and graduates from college, where she has been accepted to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

King Edvard arrives after the graduation, where he expresses that he wants to marry her and he is willing to wait until she completes medical school and achieves her dreams. She confesses that Denmark may not be ready for a queen like her, but he says that he is, leading them to kiss passionately.

Cast

Soundtrack

The Prince and Me: Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the movie The Prince and Me released on March 30, 2004 in the United States by Hollywood Records.[2]

Track listing

  1. "Everybody Wants You" - Josh Kelley
  2. "Just a Ride" - Jem
  3. "Fire Escape" - Fastball
  4. "Man of the World" - Marc Cohn
  5. "Calling" - Leona Naess
  6. "Good Intentions" - Jennifer Stills
  7. "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" - Marc Cohn
  8. "Symphony" - Jessica Riddle
  9. "It Doesn’t Get Better Than This" - Katy Fitzgerald
  10. "Freeway" - Scapegoat Wax
  11. "Presidente" - Kinky
  12. "Drift" - Forty Foot Echo
  13. "Party" - The D4
  14. "Bloodsweet" - Scapegoat Wax
  15. "Separate Worlds" - Jennie Muskett[3]

Reception

Critics gave the film mostly negative reviews and Rotten Tomatoes rated it 27% based on 116 reviews giving it an overall "rotten" rating. They describe the film as "bland, fluffy, and predictable bit of wish fulfillment".[4] Metacritic reported the movie had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.[5] The Christian Science Monitor's David Sterritt gave the film a good review, stating that the movie was "quite appealing, thanks to good-humored acting and to Martha Coolidge's quiet directing style." Meanwhile, Manohla Dargis of the Los Angeles Times criticised the movie, calling it "a blandly diverting, chastely conceived and grammatically challenged fairy tale"[6] USA Today commented that The Prince and Me was overall "well-meaning, cute, sweet" but that the film could have been improved with "a bit more quirkiness and a little less formula."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "The Prince and Me (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  2. ↑ 'The Prince & Me' Official Website
  3. ↑ CD Universe- The Prince and Me Soundtrack
  4. ↑ The Prince and Me at Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  5. ↑ "Reviews". Metacritic.. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  6. ↑ 'The Prince & Me' - MOVIE REVIEW - Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com
  7. ↑ Puig, Claudia (2004-04-02). "'Prince' predictable". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
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