Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		1.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding Blu-ray Movie Review

A direct-to-video sequel to a halfway popular RomCom makes for a resoundingly unimpressive Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 14, 2010

Girl got nothing on you, yo.

And so the journey begins yet again. What was once a singular midline big studio Romantic Comedy has morphed into a franchise thanks to the wonders of the direct-to-video marketplace, and the results are expectedly mixed for this, the first of three sequels to follow the semi-popular Julia Styles vehicle The Prince & Me. The first two films, developing the happy couple's relationship from courtship to the royal court of Denmark, yield mixed but generally favorable results, both pictures innocent, lighthearted, feel-good sorts that offer zero mystery and contrived drama but deliver the obligatory happily-ever-after ending that's probably the first thing scripted in just about all of these sorts of films. The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding follows formula so precisely that once the gist of the plot is revealed, there's simply no doubt as to how every scene will play out and no question as to how the film will end, but as with any Romantic Comedy, it's how the characters get there that's more important than the ever-constant destination. While there's nothing new here to report in terms of plot, structure, or characterization, there's just enough charm and wit to ensure a worthwhile trip through the zany world of regal love, even if the movie's as predictable as they come.

'Love is like a cheap CGI butterfly...'

Danish King Edvard (Luke Mably) and his Wisconsin sweetheart Paige Morgan (Kam Heskin) are only weeks away from marriage. Edvard is ironing out last-minute details of the ceremony and carrying out his regal duties while Paige is still working hard on her medical degree and taking lessons in the Danish language from Edvard's assistant, Soren (Jonathan Firth). Trouble arises when a Norwegian Prince, Albert (Jim Holt), arrives in Denmark with evidence of an ancient law that forbids Edvard from marrying a girl not of noble blood, lest he forego his royal title and stature. Enter Albert's daughter, Kirsten (Clemency Burton-Hill), Edvard's friend since childhood and now a striking young woman of royal descent and eager to replace Paige at Edvard's side, marry him, and allow him to maintain his royal stature. Kirsten does all she can to humiliate Paige and strain the happy couple's relationship. Can true love conquer all, and can Edvard save a floundering relationship with Paige and at the same time maintain his place as King of Denmark?

The Prince & Me 2 might be a generic movie, but it's also completely harmless and even a bit endearing if taken at face value and watched in the context of a picture that most everyone would agree is of minimal artistic value and at its core a throwaway moneymaker meant to attract a few scattered fans of the original and, in a broader and probably more certain and lucrative demographic, Romantic Comedy genre fans-at-large. Everything about the picture -- from the box art to the straight formula plot and everything else in between -- screams out, "run away," but spending some time with the happy couple yields an appreciation for formula and the pleasures of simply relaxing to a movie that's the Romantic Comedy equivalent of some two-bit Cannon Group Action movie like Delta Force III or American Ninja 4: viewers know what they're going to get, expect nothing more, and walk away satisfied for having fulfilled a need for mindless entertainment. Indeed, movies like The Prince & Me 2 are like comfort food; nothing exquisite, usually cheap, not very nutritious, but ever-reliable and guaranteed to satisfy the need for something familiar and fulfilling, and in that respect, all of the movie's flaws -- and there are many if dissected and compared to even the better films of the Romantic Comedy genre, let alone all of cinema -- disappear into the ethers of a contrived but fairly tidy Romantic Comedy experience.

So the film's problems don't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but they're still worth noting nevertheless in the interest of fairness but also to demonstrate that a movie can overcome a plethora of problems if it sticks to its guns and delivers on its most basic of premises and promises. The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding is surprisingly short on outright funny humor; most of the jokes play as stale or suffer from poor delivery, the latter thanks in large part to a cast that's been completely revamped for this go-round, save for the film's leading man, Luke Mably, who reprises his role from the first picture. Mably turns in a somewhat stiff but acceptable performance as the Prince caught between true love on one side and tradition, law, and power on the other. Leading lady Kam Heskin, who replaces Julia Styles in the second headlining role, delivers a dry and boring but passably effective effort as the medical student juggling textbooks in one hand and Danish common law tomes in the other while struggling with a competing love interest and all the while in the harsh spotlight of a hounding press. Heskin's performance satisfies the basic requirements of the part, but she doesn't do anything with the role of note, though in all fairness she's given no truly unique angle to work with in a script that's seems assembled by Romantic Comedy computer algorithms rather than human ingenuity and originality. Likewise, every other major and minor part sees performances that are technically proficient but in no way memorable, each and every actor easily replaceable with any competent performer of the appropriate age and look. Also turning in a wholly generic score and tiresome direction, The Prince & Me 2 nevertheless works on the aforementioned base level as a film that's fairly representative of the absolute midline Romantic Comedy that's neither an original success or a dullard of a failure.

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding weds with Blu-ray and yields a troublesome and unattractive 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. The image is consistently flat and textureless, drab and lacking in definition. It fares little better than an unconverted DVD and is abuzz in unattractive and excess noise, with white and pink backgrounds in particular falling victim in every single shot. Colors are underwhelming, even in scenes featuring varied and bright shades of clothing and the well-appointed palatial interiors. Background details -- for instance foliage in outdoor shots and books on shelves in various interiors -- aren't particularly crisp but are surprisingly not smeared or obscured, either. Faces consistently appear pasty and undefined, while flesh tones take on an excessively pink, red, or orange shade, often giving every character the appearance of a bad sunburn or a botched tanning cream application. Additionally, blacks are too powerful, drowning out the image during nighttime scenes and in several darkened interiors. The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding's transfer is in some way problematic in most every scene; videophiles will want to watch while blindfolded.

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding features a fledgling Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's unimpressive to say the least but passable in presentation. Dialogue presentation is uneven, fluctuates in volume, and is a bit difficult to make out, not because of some thick Danish accents but because of an uneven tone and the occasional competition with surrounding atmospherics and music. The track's musical presentations are wholly generic and uninviting; even the pop and rock beats of several songs, while delivering a hint of low-end support, offer little in the way of superior clarity or a rich, room-filling presence. Background ambience never strays very far from the front half of the soundstage; chirping birds and slight blowing winds provide a hint of atmospherics to several exterior scenes but listeners will never feel as part of the environment or convinced of any semblance of realism. The track does deliver a few discrete surround effects, but nothing to raise the track form the doldrums of mediocrity. This is one of those halfhearted tracks that gets the job done but never go above and beyond the call of duty, but considering that the film is a direct-to-video Romantic Comedy, listeners should reasonably expect little more than a basic presentation.

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding features only the film's trailer (480p, 2:01) and additional 480p trailers for Christmas Caper, The Apostles of Comedy, Frank, and Finding Rin Tin Tin.

The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If nothing else, The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding is just good enough to engender a desire to discover what the filmmakers have in store as the central conflict in the next sequel, The Prince & Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon. Chances are that picture will be just as cheaply made and forgettable as this one, but at least Prince & Me 2 delivers as predictable but comforting drivel, the movie little more than filler for the video shelf and fodder for unsuspecting viewers. Still, the movie charmingly hangs its hat on every cliché in the book and delivers a middling but satisfactory paint-by-numbers experience that generally puts the right color on the right digit. First Look's Blu-ray release delivers as-expected of a Direct-to-Video Romantic Comedy, offering a poor 1080p transfer and a stale lossless soundtrack, the disc rounded out by a virtually nonexistent collection of extras. The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding is worth a rental for the Romantic Comedy-inclined, but the poor technical presentation makes this one not worth the money for an outright purchase.