Release Date:  April2, 2004
Rating:  PG (for sex-related material and language)
Genre:  Comedy/Romance
Run Time: 1 hr. 51
Director:  Martha Coolidge
Actors: Julia Stiles, Luke Mably, Ben Miller, James Fox and Miranda Richardson

Okay, so it’s Cinderella – again. But we all love a good fairy tale. They echo the great myths (unlike Joseph Campbell, I do not include the Bible in that category), with their portrayals of truth, hope, love and the triumph of good over evil. No wonder they’re so successful, again and again. This film is no exception.

A pre-med student at the University of Wisconsin, Paige Morgan (Julia Stiles) is well on her way to becoming a doctor with “Doctors Without Borders.” Paige wants not to become rich, but to travel the world, helping those in need. Edvard Valdemar (Luke Mably), the Crown Prince of Denmark, is the opposite. Known for his indulgences of fast cars and women, Edvard can’t seem to settle down, despite his parents’ reminders that he will one day be king.

Watching satellite television one day, he is mesmerized by a commercial for a pornographic video called, “The Girls of Wisconsin.” In it, beautiful farm girls lift their shirts, Mardi Gras style. The lascivious Edvard announces that he is going to Wisconsin for a semester abroad – even after his parents refuse to pay for his trip (which they do). His butler, Soren (Ben Miller) is instructed to go with him.

Edvard becomes the anonymous Dane “Eddie,” then proceeds to make a fool of himself by asking Paige to lift her shirt. The two end up as lab partners, then Eddie runs out of money and lies to get a job in the bar where Julia works, so she is forced to spend time with him. Opposites attract, although in this case, Paige isn’t interested until she sees Eddie change, over the course of the semester. He learns to work hard at menial tasks and seems so smitten that other girls are not of interest.