The Prince & Me

The Prince and Me
Directed by	Martha Coolidge
Written by	Mark Amin Katherine Fugate
Produced by	Mark Amin
Starring	Julia Stiles Luke Mably Ben Miller Miranda Richardson James Fox Alberta Watson John Bourgeois Zachary Knighton
Cinematography	Alex Nepomniaschy
Edited by	Steven Cohen
Music by	Jennie Muskett
Distributed by	Lions Gate Films
Release date	2004
Running time	106 min.
Country	United States / Czech Republic
Language	English

The Prince and Me is a 2004 motion picture, directed by Martha Coolidge, and starring Julia Stiles, Luke Mably, and Ben Miller, with Miranda Richardson, James Fox, and Alberta Watson. The film features a cameo by Eddie Irvine, a retired Formula 1 driver.

The film was followed by a straight-to-DVD sequel, The Prince and Me 2: The Royal Wedding (2006), starring Mably and Kam Heskin and 2008 sequel The Prince and Me 3: Royal Honeymoon

In the plot, a Wisconsin student meets a Danish prince, who persuades his Royal family to accept a commoner bride.

The film marks the return of Martha Coolidge to the big screen after a 7 year absence, and her service as the first female president of the Directors Guild of America.

Plot

The movie chronicles the story of Paige Morgan and Eddie (Mably), who happens to be the prince of Denmark. They have a romance with predictable ups and downs that end happily. Paige graduates and goes on to medical school, while Prince Edvard declares that he will wait until she is able to marry him.

Cast

• Julia Stiles — Paige Morgan
• Luke Mably — Eddie/Prince Edvard
• Ben Miller — Soren
• Miranda Richardson — Queen Rosalind
• James Fox — King Haraald
• Alberta Watson — Amy Morgan
• John Bourgeois — Ben Morgan
• Zachary Knighton — John Morgan
• Stephen O'Reilly — Mike Morgan
• Elisabeth Waterston — Beth Curtis
• Eliza Bennett — Princess Arabella
• Devin Ratray — Scotty
• Clare Preuss — Stacey
• Yaani King — Amanda
• Eddie Irvine — Himself
• Angelo Tsarouchas — Stu
• Jacques Tourangeau — Professor Amiel
• Stephen Singer — Professor Begler

• Joanne Baron — Marguerite
• Sarah Manninen — Krista
• Tony Munch — Keith Kopetsky
• John Nelles — Race Announcer (as John E. Nelles)
• Claus Bue — Lutheran Archbishop
• James McGowan — Photographer
• Jean Pearson — Photographer
• Dagmar Blahova — Lady in Waiting (as Dasha Blahova)
• Henrik Jandorf — Prime Minister
• Niels Anders Thorn — Thomas Anderson
• Jesper Asholt — Cab Driver
• Andrea Veresova — Eddie's Girlfriend
• Winter Ave Zoli — Eddie's Girlfriend
• Jennifer Roberts Smith — John's Wife
• Zdenek Maryska — Corporation Negotiator
• Vladimir Kulhavy — Union Negotiator
• Garth Hewitt — Desperate Dan
• Patricia Netzer — Royal Palace Maid (Brigget)

Reception

Critics gave the film mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes rated it 27% (rotten). Metacritic reported the movie had an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 31 reviews. 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" 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."

Filming Locations

• The opening Copenhagen scene was in fact made in the Jewish Quarter of Prague with tower of Jewish Town Hall clearly visible in the background.

• The University of Toronto was where the actual filming was done rather than the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The library the where the "stacks kissing scene" was filmed is named E.J. Pratt Library; other area's include St. Micheals College residence

• York University was where the bar scene was filmed. The bar at York University is named The Underground.

Discrepancies between the movie and reality

• Though the plot revolves around the Danish royal family, very little information provided in the film seems to be factual, and places such as Folketinget and Amalienborg look nothing like they do in reality.
• Denmark does not currently have a king. Denmark is ruled by Queen Margrethe II, and her husband is the French-born Prince Consort of Denmark.
• The name, King Haraald, is not a real name. Harald V is the name of the king of neighbouring Norway. Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England in the 11th century. Harold is the name of the fictional king in Shrek 2.
• The names of Danish crown princes, and hence kings, have by tradition alternated between Frederik and Christian ever since the 15th century.
• As opposed to what the plot claims, Denmark did not have a parliament in the 13th century.
• The film depicts the Royal Family as having a substantial political influence. In reality, Denmark is a constitutional monarchy where the Queen and the Royal Family are above party politics. Instead, the role of the monarchy is mainly to represent Denmark abroad while serving as a unifying institution at home. However, the Queen does have a constitutional role in appointing the Prime Minister of Denmark and members of the Cabinet, as well as giving royal assent to bills passed by Parliament.
• The movie was released one month before the real life marriage of Crown Prince of Denmark. Prince Frederik married Mary Donaldson, an Australian commoner. Mary did not know that Frederik was a prince when they first met, which was in a bar during the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

External links

• The Prince and Me at IMDb
• The Prince & Me at the TCM Movie Database
• The Prince & Me at AllMovie
• The Prince and Me - official website
• Official site of Danish Crown Prince