Movie Day: January 14, 2010
Theater: AMC Loews Village 7
East Village, Manhattan, NYC
Movie Goers: DW & AA
Final Grade: B-
DW's Review
Our first movie of 2010, this was not quite what I expected. Perhaps because we (royal we) loved the movie Elizabeth so much we thought that this queen would also serve up lots of delicious drama. Not quite the case. Turns out the movie is pretty much a teenage love story set in a really pretty palace. Young Vikki is about to assume her role as Queen of Great Britain and is being pulled in a bunch of directions. Surrounded by powerful men (and a mess of a mother), she struggles to make her own decisions and decide who (or is it "whom," damn the Queen's English) she can trust. Pressured to marry she is worried about taking and being controlled by a husband (I kept thinking about Oprah). Enter handsome Prince Albert (played by Rupert Friend, the best performance in the movie). He understands Vikki and is really into her, despite himself being a political pawn. Now if only she will choose him. Of course she does and the rest, as they say, is history. A pretty good love story, supports the idea of equal partnerships, and has a bit of a fairytale charm to it. I wouldn't rush out to see this one but if someone were paying for you to go, fine. Vikki girl, we give you a C+
AA's Review
I won't say I've never met a period piece I didn't like, but I admit I have a soft spot for well-dressed royalty moaning about the problems one faces living in a castle. When it comes to set decoration and costume this movie is on point - it's obvious they spent money. As for plot and excitement... well, maybe that's where they skimped. Still, this is the story of a British queen so it's not like we should expect her to pull a knife out of her bloomers and start battling the evil Prussian ninjas. It's a story about love and politics, and if you keep that in mind you won't be too disappointed (assuming that's enough to make you see it in the first place). Finally, without giving anything away I was disappointed to learn that in the one scene in the movie where someone does get bloodied history tells us no one was actually hurt. We are not amused but we'll still give it a B.
