Prince Charming

Description

On the day of his marriage to Princess Gwendolyn, Prince John finds himself in a compromising situation with a damsel in distress. As punishment, he and his squire, Rodney (Martin Short), are subjected to a "frogging," transforming them into frogs for all eternity, or until the prince can convince a maiden not only to kiss him but also marry him. After centuries on the pond, John and Rodney are accidentally transported to New York's Central Park and an amazing new world full of taxis, skyscrapers, graffiti and-of course-damsels. In no time at all, the prince gets his kiss and he and Rodney return to human form. But staying that way won't be easy. It's streetwise Kate (Christina Applegate) who has captured John's heart, but, unfortunately, she's not the woman he kissed. In order to break the curse forever, he must convince Margo (Bernadette Peters), a Broadway diva, to marry him.

Customer Reviews:

Some of you 5 stars are kidding, right?.......2006-12-09

I saw this as a Hallmark Special and haven't bought this on DVD and never will. They say it's meant for children, but there's no way I'm about to show this to any group of kids. 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 prince thing. And boy was he oversexed. Well, at least that question got answered by this movie. 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 it had been written much better than it was.

So much fun!.......2005-12-28

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!

This Is A Delightful Movie For Young And Old!!!.......2005-07-29

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.

Bad taste spoils a good movie.......2005-06-21

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.

Charming in the old fashioned way!.......2004-10-31

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.

Average customer rating:

CAN SHE BAKE A CHERRY PIE?
Excellent Independent Film
Emotionally driven, with a heart stopping reality punch

Charming Billy
Starring: Cynthia Baker , Oksana Fedunyszyn , Nancy Haggerty , Nancy Hansen (II) , and Michael Hayden
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

A haunting portrait of the quiet, desperate angst tht lurks beneath a deceptively smooth surface, Charmimg Billy tells the story of Billy Starkman, a seemingly ordinary man who wakes up one day, clinbs a water tower, and opens fire on the world below. Threading the terribly tragic with the frighteningly mundane, the film weaves an intense emotional tapestry evoking what might make someone commit the unimaginable.

Customer Reviews:

CAN SHE BAKE A CHERRY PIE?.......2005-02-26

CHARMING BILLY is certainly a dark movie, but then again it's story is dark. We meet a handsome young man named Billy Starkman, who as we know from the start is going to end up on a water tower shooting innocent people. The why is etched out in scenarios showing the probable cause for Billy's breakdown. Early in his life, he seriously felt he scared a neighborly laundry lady to death; his father told him about his own suicide thoughts. As a man, he is faced with working two nowhere jobs in order to support his wife, who tells him she is pregnant. His parents are distant, self-centered people; only his grandfather brings Billy any sense of joy. The problem with the film is that even though we can understand and sympathize with Billy's plight, there's never a moment when we see anything so devastating that would make him crack (aside from a strange scene at the family's Easter dinner where we see Billy continuously banging his head on the table while the rest of the family blabbers on around him). Sure, Billy has problems but what is it about him that makes him take such a desperate act to rectify them? The script doesn't point us in that direction at all. Michael Hayden as Billy does a wonderful job in his role, parlaying his natural charm and descending madness into a tour de force performance. This independent film may have had more impact had we been shown a clearer path to Billy's fall.

Excellent Independent Film.......2001-08-05

This independent, art-house film saw limited release in 1999-2000, but is not to be missed. It contains a powerful mix of tension, pathos, and social despair, as the lead character, Billy - a good person with too much stress from too many everyday problems, slowly succumbs to the difficulties of life. While not an easy film to watch, which is certainly why it missed the big theatres, it is an excellent film that achieves all it strives for, and is recommended to all fans of the independent genre.

Emotionally driven, with a heart stopping reality punch.......2001-05-08

This movie is excellent. It shows a true to life portrayal of what can happen to a man that is pushed to the edge. I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys independent films and that wishes to see a film that doesn't hold anything back when it comes to showing a how the stress of life can push a man to commit the unthinkable.

Charlie Rose with Ronald Brownstein; Natan Sharansky; Alice McDermott (December 7, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Ronald Brownstein; Natan Sharansky; Alice McDermott (December 7, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

First, Ronald Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times discusses the possibility that the House Judiciary Committee will put the vote of Clinton's impeachment to the full House of Representatives. He discusses the partisan politics of the issue, especially the power struggle of Republicans. Then, Natan Sharansky, Israel's Minister of Industry and Trade, discusses his internment in Soviet prison camps, his founding of the Immigrant Party in Israel, his involvement with Bibi Netanyahu, the struggle with Palestine, and the peace process. Finally, Alice McDermott, winner of the National Book Award, discusses her new novel Charming Billy, her surprise victory over authors Tom Wolfe and Robert Stone, and the characters and writing process behind her new book.

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