RELEASED TO TV IN 2008 and directed by Mark Rosman, "Princess: A Modern Fairytale" is a family flick about an amicable down-on-his-luck Princeton graduate (Kip Pardue) who impulsively bids his last capital on a date with a reclusive "princess" of an odd local chateau (Nora Zehetner). As he falls for her innocent charms he discerns that something decidedly peculiar is going on. The protagonist has the agreeable appeal of Richard Thomas (aka John Boy in The Waltons), albeit taller. But I found it odd how he just rolled with the weird lingo and other things while dating the princess, like the perpetual talk of some mysterious "searcher." If you can get past that, this is a mildly enjoyable TV fantasy flick with some magic. The noble manner in which William (Pardue) courts the princess is beautiful and heartwarming - the express opposite of picking up a dubious chick at some sleaze joint. Zehetner is certainly winsome, but doesn't do much for me personally, but there are worthy females on the periphery. The film's decent, but limited by its TV budget and inferior to "Prince Charming" (2001). THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hours & 28 minutes and was shot in Toronto. WRITERS: Heidi Ferrer. GRADE: C+

While not as polished as some recent big-screen releases on the same concept, Princess has its own brand of accessible fairy-tale charm for kids and tweens of today.The modern characters are recognizable types and the princess appears as almost a human version of the best old-school Disney princesses, from her dark curls and dainty tiaras to the succession of gowns that will make any young princess-wannabee's heart beat faster.A couple of things dragged my score for this flick down a couple of points: 1. The mystery behind the princess takes a long time to come to the fore, and 2. too much screen time is given to the not-very-interesting travails of our hapless hero, most likely to spare the limited CG budget.Still, the scenery is gorgeous, the princess adorable and determined, and the story touches lightly on the motif that any girl, anywhere, might find her life-mission and her happiness.

Underacheiving William Humphries (Kip Pardue) is near the end of his trust fund after his many failed careers. His successful friends take him in. They are invited to an endangered animals benefit hosted by a strange princess. Princess Ithaca (Nora Zehetner) is holed up in her castle with mostly old ladies. There are some strange creatures swimming in the pond and giant footprint in the garden. She auctions herself off to raise the needed money and William wins with his last $50k only if she has the dinner out in the city. After half of his cheesy line, she cuts him off and mistakenly believes that he is her long-awaited savior, the searcher. For her, she is running out of time.The male lead Kip has limited charisma. His looks is passable and only good in comparison to the sloppy best friend character who is also a terrible jerk. Kip has little to no screen presence. His character is an idiot. He should probably dress up a bit also. Next to the princess, he is horribly under dressed. Nora Zehetner is certainly pretty and she has more charm than her male lead. Their chemistry is awkward at best. The production is cheaper than usual TV movie. There are some pretty princess gowns. The creatures are either older style CGI or costumes. The directing from Mark Rosman is weak even for him. This is mostly boring and not for most audience. There is a change in tone for the last third of the movie. It turns darker and more intense. It's like somebody turned on a switch in the movie. It would have been better to start the movie in that direction. It's like watching a double bill. The first part is a princess movie for little girls. The second part is more action thriller and not for the little kiddies.

Classical princess fairy tales never go out of fashion: this time the story is set in present day America, where a reclusive girl named Ithaca (Nora Zehetner) lives in a luxurious castle with many servants and is seen as an eccentric princess of sorts by the locals. When a handsome but not very wealthy young man named Will Humphries (Kip Pardue) gets to meet her at a charity ball, it seems to be love at first sight for both of them. But she is not an ordinary princess, and there are many obstacles hindering their romance – both regular and more otherworldly ones.At first the movie seems terribly clichéd in its overflowing romanticism: the laughably emotional music, the idyllic castle setting, the richly coloured cinematography and even some sweeping camera movements aggressively rub the style in the face of the audience. However, considering its background as a modern day princess tale, all this can be accepted as awareness of the conventions of the fairytale genre. The actual romance between the two leads is very hackneyed boy-meets-girl stuff, but the fantasy elements help to move the attention away from the by-the-numbers nature of the romantic plot line. In any case, the beautiful Nora Zehetner suits her role well, vastly overshadowing the rather bland Kip Pardue.The adventure story regarding the search for the next princess is fairly entertaining for what it is, even though the CGI effects are anything but good-looking. There are also run-of-the-mill comedic scenes that may amuse undemanding audiences, mainly based on Matthew Edison's character as Louis, Will's loudmouthed friend frustrated with his pregnant wife Sophie (Mayko Nguyen). In summary, Princess achieves what it was going for fairly well. The movie's goals may not have been very ambitious, but the different elements of the story manage to support each other and keep the whole from feeling overly trite. I think friends of princess fairy tales can easily enjoy the light little movie regardless of age (even though certain scenes may feel a bit too exciting for the very youngest viewers).