Prince Charming

Before watching this movie I hadn't had too high an opinion of Christina Applegate's acting talent. However I thought she was terrific here....especially in the scene where she and the Prince are in the museum and they see his portrait. To me her acting in that scene was truly magical -- it ranks as one of my favorite movie moments. This movie is severely underrated -- perhaps because it was a made-for-TV production. The first 20 minutes or so admittedly are a bit uneven, but then it really takes off. For the fullest enjoyment one must remember that it is a fairy tale, after all, and hence requires the requisite suspension of belief. The acting overall is absolutely superb: Bernadette Peters is at her best; Billy Connolly plays his role to perfection; the actor who plays the prince (whose name escapes me!) should be more famous than he is, as he was spot-on; Martin Short was typically wonderful and just right; and nearly all of the other actors were tailor-made for their roles.

In the Fifteenth Century, the Kingdom of Anwyn has been in war against the Lothian Kingdom for three hundred years. Now the womanizer Prince John of Anwyn (Sean Maguire) will marry the Lothian Princess Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) to bring peace to the kingdoms. He rides with his clumsy wizard squire Rodney of Tudor (Martin Short) and his father King Leo (Colin Fox) to the Lothian Castle for the wedding. However, on the day of the wedding, Prince John is caught shagging a peasant woman and Lothian King Pius (David Fox) and Queen Isabel (Marcia Bennett) curse Prince John and Rodney and they are doomed to "frogging" by the wizard Whackthazar for all eternity. The spell will only be broken if a maiden kisses John and marries him.

Five hundred years later, John and Rodney are still frogs. One day, a boy catches and brings them to New York City and they escape to the Central Park. When the actress Margo (Bernadette Peters) kisses John in the park, Rodney and he become men again. John and Rodney seek Margo out to marry her and end the curse, and they meet the gorgeous Kate (Christina Applegate) that helps them. John knows that he must marry Margo but he falls in love with Kate.

"Prince Charming" is a delightful and pleasant fantasy with a sweet story of true love made for television. The cast is fantastic and Christina Applegate is very beautiful and has a great chemistry with Sean Maguire. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Príncipe Sapo" ("The Prince Frog")

I love this movie and so does my daughter. We have watched it many times and never get tired of it. It always makes me feel happy, even when I've had a bad day. It doesn't hurt that Sean Maguire is so good-looking, but all the stars are really good in it. Martin Short is also very funny. I would recommend this movie to anyone with a sense of humor and also anyone who just needs to have their spirits lifted. It will make you believe that true love still does exist. This will always remain one of my favorite movies, and I will always make sure to have it in my video library. It may be a little bit of a "Chick Flick", but that's fine with me. I still urge anyone who needs a lift to watch this movie!

We've seen this plot a thousand times, but this take on it is sweet and very entertaining. I was particularly surprised at how well the frogs were computer-generated. They move like people and are fun to watch. The acting is great and the movie moves along at a nice pace. Watch this on a rainy Saturday afternoon with some ice cream. I rented it at a small local video store that doesn't have many movies, so it's probably available, although they did only have one copy.

A fornicating prince from the 15th century and his servant are punished by being turned into frogs for all eternity, unless he can get a maiden to kiss him and marry.

Although made for TV (2001), "Prince Charming" is easily just as good as 2007's theatrically-released "Enchanted," which has a similar plot. I'm sure "Enchanted" was inspired by it.

Christina Applegate plays the New York City "maiden" who befriends the frogmen. Bernadette Peters, in a smaller role, is her usual charismatic, beautiful self.

Everything clicks for a fun, entertaining movie.

The film runs a short-but-sweet 87 minutes and was shot in Brampton, Ontario, and New York City.

GRADE: B+