http://www.moviefreak.com/reviews/pq/princessdiaries.htmSafe, snoozy chick-flicks and fam-coms are what New York director Garry Marshall has carved a very successful career out of. Ever seen ‘Overboard’? That’s one of his. Or ‘Pretty Woman’? That’s his too. How about ‘Beaches’, ‘Runaway Bride’ or Raising Helen? His, his and his. Getting an idea now of the sort of stuff he makes? Well, ‘The Princess Diaries’ is another one.It stars a frumped-up Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis, an awkward, bushy-haired schoolgirl with a major confidence problem and an almost-as-large set of eyebrows. She’s fairly content with her life of hanging around with similarly-geeky pal Lilly (Heather Matarazzo) and being ignored by pretty much everyone else, until Granny Clarisse (Julie Andrews) turns up to share a secret that’s guaranteed to change her life forever. You see, it turns out that our Mia is actually the long-lost Princess of Genovia, a makey-uppy European nation supposedly famous for its pears and located somewhere between France and Spain (Andorra then, surely?).The Genovians need someone to reign supreme once Granny snuffs it, and Mia fits the bill – or at least she will do once she’s discovered make-up, a dress-sense and a set of garden shears for those brows.The whole thing’s about as formulaic as it gets, with our newbie-to-nobility being taught the ways of Royaldom, whilst at the same time trying to keep up with her classmates (among them teen pop pixie Mandy Moore) in the popularity and puberty stakes. Oh, and there are a couple of predictably handsome love interests for her to choose from as well, natch.In short, it’s a dull-fest, which means that bags of credit are due to Hathaway whose sparky comic performance in the lead role is all that makes the string of cut-and-paste clichés bearable. In this, her first big screen role, she shows herself to be a likable and talented actress whose presence alone is enough to drag a poor, forgettable film up to a level where it’s developed an impressive fanbase and has even been deemed worthy of a 2004 sequel. Hopefully though, once that one’s out of the way, she’ll concentrate on doing considerably bigger and better things.A lot of us wonder what it's like to be royalty. Well, for San Franciscan schoolgirl Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway), it's something of a shock.Mia is the class geek and outsider, with bushy eyebrows and frizzy hair. Her only ally against the taunting of bitchy Lana (Mandy Moore) is her equally bizarre-looking friend, Lilly (Matarazzo). Then one day, she gets a surprise visit from her granny (Julie Andrews), who announces that Mia's dead dad was actually a European Prince and that Mia is the Crown Princess of a little-known country called Genovia. The time has come for her to fulfil her birthright.So, you've got makeovers, deportment lessons, and new-found fame. More importantly, you've got a young girl trying to learn about her family, while wrestling with the dilemma of giving up her life for a selfless, foreign existence. Of course, this being a Disney flick, you can imagine how it ends...But it's getting there that's the fun part, as newcomer Hathaway shines in the title role, and generates great chemistry with her legendary British mentor. There is something so indescribably nice about Andrews that never gets tiring, and in this film she also gets to flex her "cool" muscle.Sure, it's lightweight and overly-fond of slapstick - this is a family film after all - but director Marshall knows how to put together a gag. Add to that colourful scenery and equally charming personalities in front of the camera and you have yourself a very watchable, very warm little Disney comedy. Perfect for Christmas