In my mind, director Gary Marshall has only made one really good movie. The Tom Hanks, Jackie Gleason dramady Nothing in Common. While Pretty Woman did have moments, it's hardly the masterpiece everyone claims it is. Outside of these pictures, the only thing remotely amazing about Marshall's film career, is that he continues to get work. With his new film Princess Diaries we get yet another tired take on the whole My Fair Lady scenario.

Cute Anne Hathaway plays a shy, geeky San Francisco teen who's life is turned upside down when she finds that she is actually royalty. She gets the distressing news from her visiting grandmother (classy Julie Andrews), who tries to change our ugly duckling heroine into a princess.

There's nothing particularly offensive about this plodding comedy, however I find it odd that the film features scenes involving alcohol and it still managed to get a G rating while Disney's other summer entry, the animated Atlantis, got a PG. Go figure.

Hathaway is likable, but it's all too obvious that her homely look will be stripped away from the moment she enters the screen. And while I enjoyed her physical performance, she never really breathes life into this dull character. Andrews (who hasn't made a movie in years) oozes class as a loving grandmother trying to juggle the hardships of royalty with the daily grind of re-aquainting herself with her estranged grand daughter. Not surprisingly, the film's strongest performance comes courtesy of Gary Marshall regular Hector Elizondo Although he seemingly plays the same character in every Marshall film, his charm elevates him above the norm.

What's most disheartening about Princess Diaries is how absolutely dull it is. It has a running time of under two hours but feels twice as long as The Postman. There is so much excess in this picture that easily could have been edited out. There is far too much stuff involving Hathaway and her best friend. And what's with the screenwriting neighbor. Although he provides the film with much needed comic relief, he's completely irrelevant to the plot. And that's to say nothing of the annoying character played by pop star Mandy Moore. Her sole purpose is to hang around and goof on Hathaway's appearance. For a young lady with so many lovely curves her character is completely one dimensional. What a shopworn screenplay this is.

While this is hardly Marshall's worst film (that dubious honor would have to go to Exit to Eden), I wouldn't necessarily say it changes my opinion of his body of work. Nothing in Common is a terrific film. I also loved the majority of his television stuff (Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley). Sadly, The Princess Diaries does not show any indication that Marshall is headed for further greatness.