Is it possible to become a movie star by sheer force of will? It seems like that's what Julia Stiles is trying to do, positioning herself as the next Julia Roberts or Cameron Diaz by starring in a parade of by-the-numbers, feel-good Hollywood movies in the last few years, aping the moves of real stars while not quite yet on the A-list herself. The problem is that her entire career feels like a carbon copy of someone else's, and it's too bad because Stiles is a talented actress who could really shine if she just allowed herself to stretch occasionally.
Her latest bid for superstardom is the been-there-done-that romantic comedy The Prince & Me. Stiles plays college senior Paige Morgan, a dedicated premed student in Wisconsin who frowns on her friends getting married and settling down. Naturally in a Hollywood movie, any independent woman with no interest in marriage has to be in love and engaged by the end of the film, so it's not hard to guess where Paige will wind up. Her inevitable Prince Charming is an actual prince: Prince Edvard of Denmark (Luke Mably), a spoiled, little rich boy who's tired of the paparazzi and pressures of his impending ascension to king. On a whim, he enrolls in the same Wisconsin university, bringing along his droll manservant Soren (Ben Miller) and his attitude of royal entitlement.
As in any romantic comedy, Paige and Edvard can't stand each other at first, but opposites attract and love blossoms and blah, blah, blah. Eddie visits Paige's family on their dairy farm (because where else would people in Wisconsin live?) and Paige ends up getting the royal treatment in Denmark, which is apparently populated entirely by British people. At least Miranda Richardson as Eddie's mother, the Queen, makes an attempt to sound Danish.
The problem with The Prince & Me is that after it goes through all of the predictable rom-com motions and appears about to end, it then tacks on another movie altogether as Paige goes to Denmark and engages in wacky fish-out-of-water antics. This makes the film simultaneously too long and too rushed, as the plot has to be quickly wrapped up after the long detour to Europe. Stiles is charming and believable as a smart, independent young woman, but at the age of 22, she's already coasting through this kind of role. The Prince & Me may end up a box-office hit, but Stiles isn't going to become a true movie star until she does something with a little more weight.