“Prince and Me”

B-

Every girl dreams of the day when Prince Charming will come and sweep her off her feet, but what if the man of her dreams is a real bonafide prince? Oh come on, hasn’t this been done before?

We’ve seen it before. Average girl meets rich and famous boy and they find some way to work it out. So how could “Prince and Me” be any different? The girl, Paige Morgan (Julia Stiles), is not a low class servant who is fickle about love, waiting around for a man. She is a pre-med University of Wisconsin student and doesn’t want to come even remotely close to love as she watches her friends become engaged and married. Perhaps this is a modern day scenario of a fairy tale involving newer dreams of a successful career and changing the world, before getting married.

The prince is a not-so-typical character as well. He is the racy Prince Edvard of Denmark (Luke Mably) who would rather be out racing the king and queen’s luxurious cars and kissing beautiful women instead of playing his part in Denmark’s politics. He wants a change of scenery and instantly sees a promotion on television for a video of flashing coeds from the University of Wisconsin. Of course, he and his valet (Ben Miller) are now off to Wisconsin to see what they shall see.

Prince Edvard, now Eddie, ditching his princely persona, enrolls in the University and becomes involved in the splendor of dorm life. He eventually meets up with the studious and work-driven Paige at the bar she works at. She definitely doesn’t completely fulfill the workaholic stereotype if she can work at the bar until late at night. When does she have the time to study? Eddie really wants to know if a girl will flash him so he casually asks her to lift her shirt. So, Paige thinks Eddie is a creep; and he, most decidedly, will not give up. Surprise, surprise.

He clumsily tries to fit into everyday life and complete everyday tasks while his valet makes him eggs benedict for breakfast. It’s a good laugh to see him learn how to work alongside Paige in the bar, cleaning restaurant mats while his valet offers to take over. Then he has to wrestle steer on Paige’s family farm during Thanksgiving break. They amazingly come closer together with each thing he does, but Paige keeps her distance and stays focused on her goals.

She has a weakness in her studies, however: Shakespeare. Of course Eddie is brilliant when it comes to Shakespeare and he begins to tutor her on the subject. Again, another surprise.

She finally drops her defenses, and they get caught up in a whirlwind romance. She hates him and then she loves him in a very short amount of time. Right when she officially recognizes she is in love with him, she discovers his secret.

A quick forgive and forget moment happens with Paige and she tries to find her beloved prince, only to discover that he is back in Denmark because of the king’s failing health.

Eddie and Paige go through all the pain and frustration of love as they are forced to try to reconcile their class differences and Paige is finally forced to decide between becoming a queen to a country she has barely seen or becoming a doctor and delivering vaccines to developing countries.

This film really isn’t all that bad. In fact, there are many laughs and possibly a few tears. Maybe all the clich