Customer Reviews

Prince Charming [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE IS WONDERFUL IN THIS CAPTIVATING AND REFRESHING NEW TAKE ON A MAGICAL FAIRY TALE. I WATCHED THIS ON TNT THIS FIRST NIGHT IT AIRED, THINKING IT WOULD BE A MINDLESS MOVIE TO SLEEP THROUGH. WRONG!WRONG!WRONG! THE PRINCE IS A RAKE BUT EVENTUALLY HE LEARNS THAT LOVE IS WHAT LASTS. HE LEARNS THIS THROUGH CENTURY'S AS A FROG, HIS SQUIRE PLAYED BY TALENTED MARTIN SHORT, AND HIS HEART'S DESIRE, CHRISTINA APPLEGATE. IF YOU LIKE MODERNIZED FAIRY TALES, YOU WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE. ALSO, CHECK OUT JACK AND THE BEANSTOCK - THE TRUE STORY AND SNOW WHITE PRODUCED BY HALLMARK ENTERTAINMENT. THEY ARE AWESOME AS WELL.

In this movie we see Prince Charming and his sidekick played by Martin Short who are sentenced to a "frogging" in Medieval England. One soon learns that they should have chosen a flogging instead. As an aside I have heard that some guys are "into" that sort of thing. Prince Charming and his friend end up in Modern Day New York where they get a horse and carriage ride with Christina Applegate who is a delight to watch as always. Christina thinks that these two are a couple of eccentric losers because of their continual reference to Central Park as being "Cental Forest" which is a funny joke in itself. However she soon changes her mind when the Prince pays her with a very valuable Antique coin. This movie is a gem for young and old and I believe I have too much class to attack another reviewer's opinion of this movie.

There was a time when fairy stories could only be told in Disney cartoons. There was Snow White, and Cinderella, and they had their requisite combination of magic and "lived happily ever after". "Real" people portrayed in movies could not, somehow, be presented that way -- it just didn't "work".

Then somewhere along the road a film called Pretty Woman figured out one way to do it with a PG13 rating, and Rob Reiner kicked it up (and down) a notch with The Princess Bride where the fairy story element became more as we remember as little children. Andre the Giant was a real giant, and who can forget Billy Crystal as the crone?

So Disney took another whack at it, and the Princess Diaries came along, and the fairy story worked some more. And we loved them, and they were family fare, and we watched them with our kids!

I saw Prince Charming at an unearthly early hour in Phoenix Arizona when my body was still on South Carolina time, and immediately fell in love with it. It has that same true fairy story quality about it -- a bit of cinematic froth with just enough believability to keep you drawn in to the characters.

Martin Short holds the entire package together, and is utterly in his element with the opportunity to take his Canadian origins out for a run with a flawless English accent and delivery throughout. Christina Appleton may have been a bit of an also-ran ditz in Married with Children, but here she shows some delicious emotional depth that carries us beyond the fundamental froth of the plot. Bernadette Peters uses every ounce of her Broadway chops to play a jaded diva just to the edge of over playing without quite tipping over -- mastery of her craft. The young man who plays the prince is new to me, but fits the role perfectly, an expert swordsman, and clearly the director decided to take every opportunity to show that off -- smart move.

Now I note that one reviewer decries some implied sexuality in the plot and presentation. May I assure one and all that no 7 year old would ever "get" what was "going on" because of the extremely (and delightfully) clever way in which this was handled. The "bell" scene mentioned is at once hilarious, and essential to the understanding of the character of the prince, and to the core of the plot. How I would dearly wish that Hollywood would understand that "sex scenes" do not require the depiction of either nudity nor sex to get the point across to adults without corrupting the minds of children.

I intend to buy this DVD and keep it on hand to play for my grandchildren when they visit. It will also be available for my Bishop's children to see (I am LDS), and others who share my rather conservative feelings about film content.

I consider this to be one of the most delightful and charming films I have seen in years.

Within the first 10 minutes, Prince Charming had gone to bed with one young girl he had just met the night before, then was having sex with another he had just met mere SECONDS before! Reviewer David Birley clearly has no clue what he's talking about when he says "no 7 year old would ever "get" what was "going on" because of the extremely (and delightfully) clever way in which this was handled." I watched it with my 7-year-old and was very uncomfortable. What's so clever about a woman practically bursting out of her top, then dropping her skirts to the floor to show her completely bare legs as the "Prince" hoists her up against the bell? Maybe my daughter is just smarter than his, but I think ANYONE could figure out that scene. And it's a shame because this was otherwise a good movie with great period costumes and overall pretty good acting. My advice to parents is to watch it yourself first, then decide. I guess that's what we have to do with everything nowadays.

The reviews I read on Amazon led me to purchase this item, but I must say it was extremely disappointing to actually watch the DVD. The movie wasn't rated--I don't remember seeing that anywhere before I bought it for my daughter. We started to watch it on Christmas afternoon and had to turn it off because the content was so mature and just nasty. The characters are completely unlikeable and I wish I hadn't spent the money on such a waste of a DVD.

I bought this thinking that I would share it with my granddaughter who is 7. However, the swear words and the bell scene mean that this one goes directly out the door again. You can't trust Disney any more and now you can't even trust Hallmark. Someone said this movie was more for kids. Well, if you're going to make a movie for kids, the themes should all be ones that are appropriate for kids. If you're going to make a movie for adults then you have to decide whether you're doing a comedy or a romance. This movie tries for a middle road, and despite the lovely Christina Applegate and the wonderful Bernadette Peters, winds up trite and dull. Or perhaps this is a 'tongue-in-cheek'commentary on what Prince Charmings are really like??

It was a slightly better then average movie but since it's obviously made for TV, judging it on that basis would have earned it 4 stars. I know I shouldn't like this movie. It was corny, we're talking silos here, but it was still enjoyable. I know Prince Charming started off as a cad (that was the point) but it did show his reformation thru true love. Martin Short did his usual schtick and it was amusing in parts. The frog years were hilarious and made the movie. Due to his inappropriate behavior, Prince Charming and his Squire (Martin Short) were sentenced to a "frogging." They were turned into frogs until Prince Charming could get a lady to kiss him. He would then return to being a man but had to get the lady, his one true love, to marry him before the next full moon or they would be condemned to being frogs forever and ever. Prince Charming's return to manhood was the result of a kiss by Bernadette Peters, playing an aging starlit named Margo who refused to admit her age. Her love interest (Hamish/Billy Connelly) was a stereotypical cad so this should be easy. But he meets Christina Applegate and things get tricky. The whole heroine must believe the hero is from another time period has been done better (and by Applegate herself in The Visitors) but it works. Prince Charming must marry Bernadette Peters to remain a man but he falls in love with Christina Applegate. We see the Prince mature and become a real man as he comes to terms with the real meaning of love. It's a fairy tale so of course you know how it will ultimately end but getting there was fun.

The movie made me laugh (those frog years were pretty funny) and although the script was not great, it was watchable. It's a movie to watch on a rainy day or if you need a fairy tale to take you away for a moment.

I have just seen this film for the forth time on TV and I love it! It was a great storyline and was very amusing to watch! I am planning to buy it on DVD in the future as it is the same people who made The Tenth Kingdom which I bought on DVD and the book of. The setting was perfect and I loved the script. My favourite scene is when John takes Kate to the museum to prove who he is and confesses some of his feelings for her. Well done Hallmark for a wonderful adventure film

I saw this as a Hallmark Special when it came on t.v. and I was excited to see it. I loved Christina Applegate and it was great to see her in a different role. I haven't bought this on DVD and never will. They say it's meant for children and families, but there's no way I'm about to show this to any group of kids. Not even a teenager - something tells me I'd get arrested for doing that. Yeah, it's a fairy tale, but the least the writers could have done was figure out a more clever child friendly/adult saavy way to to address how the prince became a frog rather than the raunchy oversexed, overly indulged, overly entitled prince thing. And there was a way to do that!!! It's as if the writers couldn't decide who their target audience is supposed to be. So we end up with characters who insult their audience's intelligence with a plot that loses itself so it leaves the audience with a copped out ending. The actors were great, but I wish the writing had been far better than what we see here.

I brought this DVD over for a Christmas family sleep-over party. We ranged in age from 9 to 80+! Without a doubt, everyone was delighted by this movie and several people planned on purchasing their own copies later on. The entire cast was wonderful, and the costumes were great! Highly recommended!