Princesse

Underacheiving William Humphries (Kip Pardue) is near the end of his trust fund after his many failed careers. His successful friends take him in. They are invited to an endangered animals benefit hosted by a strange princess. Princess Ithaca (Nora Zehetner) is holed up in her castle with mostly old ladies. There are some strange creatures swimming in the pond and giant footprint in the garden. She auctions herself off to raise the needed money and William wins with his last $50k only if she has the dinner out in the city. After half of his cheesy line, she cuts him off and mistakenly believes that he is her long-awaited savior, the searcher. For her, she is running out of time.

The male lead Kip has limited charisma. His looks is passable and only good in comparison to the sloppy best friend character who is also a terrible jerk. Kip has little to no screen presence. His character is an idiot. He should probably dress up a bit also. Next to the princess, he is horribly under dressed. Nora Zehetner is certainly pretty and she has more charm than her male lead. Their chemistry is awkward at best. The production is cheaper than usual TV movie. There are some pretty princess gowns. The creatures are either older style CGI or costumes. The directing from Mark Rosman is weak even for him. This is mostly boring and not for most audience.

There is a change in tone for the last third of the movie. It turns darker and more intense. It's like somebody turned on a switch in the movie. It would have been better to start the movie in that direction. It's like watching a double bill. The first part is a princess movie for little girls. The second part is more action thriller and not for the little kiddies.

This film is refreshing, original, intriguing, romantic, and fun for all ages. What initially seem to be familiar "princess and castle" scenarios soon reveal the most unusual and original writing. The viewer cannot look away for a moment, so entertaining and intriguing is every scene. And the film proves a production can be clean and decent and still fascinate. There is also a positive, altruistic cause being worked toward, reflecting the good in us all.

William (Kip Pardue) arrives at the home of a west coast friend to couch surf for awhile. His last four jobs have not worked out and, luckily for him, his married pal and his very pregnant wife are more than happy to have him as their guest. Almost immediately, William is invited to attend a special fund raising ball at a nearby castle's grounds. Living at the castle is eccentric Princess Ithaca (Nora Zehetner) who, almost 25, has never had a date and spends most days at home, taking care of the gardens and animals that live on her property. Nevertheless, when the Princess appears, William notes her beauty. It seems the fund raising effort includes an auction for the "last dance" with Ithaca and a lunch date soon after. As the bidding goes higher, William calls out 50 grand! Its his inheritance and his only money. Joy of joy, he wins! Soon, the two are having their dance and making lunch plans. But, there is quite a mystery afoot as something Will said was a code for Ithaca to proclaim him her "searcher". What is that? Glimpses of mythical beings, from mermaids to werewolves to elves, also appear on the grounds of the castle, scaring and confusing Will. Is Ithaca truly interested in him romantically or is William about to be entangled in something more dangerous? This is quite a lovely film for young girls and ladies of all ages. Fantasy fans will enjoy it as well. Pardue and Zehetner make an attractive duo while the secondary cast supports them nicely. Naturally, the sets, costumes, and effects are quite good, as is the direction. As for the script, is has some hard-to-believe moments and far-fetched elements but, well, it is a fantasy, no? Thus, pick out Princess for the crew in the weeks ahead.

2 February 2012. This new version of Cinderella takes Anne Hathaway resemblance of The Princess Dairies (2001) and and the more mystical Enchanted (2007) along with a clever plot device to make a decently acted and delivered romantic fantasy. While the CGI special effects by today's standards transparent, this made for television movie is just that, a lower-budgeted version of full length featured films. With three apparent weaknesses including an inexplicable date setting, a brotherly hug which under the circumstances seems overly kind, and one of the cleanest homeless set that looks more like a theatrical set design, the overall movie is enjoyable and even clever in its first half of the movie as the plot twist is revealed, But, later part of the movie seems a little ragged, rushed, and the pacing somewhat uneven. Overall, this is one of those above average entertainment experiences worth catching if it becomes available.

Classical princess fairy tales never go out of fashion: this time the story is set in present day America, where a reclusive girl named Ithaca (Nora Zehetner) lives in a luxurious castle with many servants and is seen as an eccentric princess of sorts by the locals. When a handsome but not very wealthy young man named Will Humphries (Kip Pardue) gets to meet her at a charity ball, it seems to be love at first sight for both of them. But she is not an ordinary princess, and there are many obstacles hindering their romance – both regular and more otherworldly ones.

At first the movie seems terribly clichéd in its overflowing romanticism: the laughably emotional music, the idyllic castle setting, the richly coloured cinematography and even some sweeping camera movements aggressively rub the style in the face of the audience. However, considering its background as a modern day princess tale, all this can be accepted as awareness of the conventions of the fairytale genre. The actual romance between the two leads is very hackneyed boy-meets-girl stuff, but the fantasy elements help to move the attention away from the by-the-numbers nature of the romantic plot line. In any case, the beautiful Nora Zehetner suits her role well, vastly overshadowing the rather bland Kip Pardue.

The adventure story regarding the search for the next princess is fairly entertaining for what it is, even though the CGI effects are anything but good-looking. There are also run-of-the-mill comedic scenes that may amuse undemanding audiences, mainly based on Matthew Edison's character as Louis, Will's loudmouthed friend frustrated with his pregnant wife Sophie (Mayko Nguyen). In summary, Princess achieves what it was going for fairly well. The movie's goals may not have been very ambitious, but the different elements of the story manage to support each other and keep the whole from feeling overly trite. I think friends of princess fairy tales can easily enjoy the light little movie regardless of age (even though certain scenes may feel a bit too exciting for the very youngest viewers).