Princess (2008 film)

Infobox Film
name = Princess


caption =
director = Mark Rosman
writer = Heidi Ferrer
starring = Nora Zehetner
Kip Pardue
Mallory Margel
Nicole Anderson
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = ABC Family
released = April 20, 2008
runtime = 120 min.
country = USA
language = English
followed_by =
website = http://abcfamily.go.com/princess
imdb_id = 1052352

"Princess" is a 2008 TV movie, shown first on ABC Family.

ynopsis

The story follows the life William (Kip Pardue), a former golden boy now rudderless, unemployed, and in the midst of a quarter-life crisis. While staying with an old college friend he attends a charity ball to save endangered animals that is thrown annually by a princess.

The princess is the subject of rumors and gossip in the town and William learns that the mysterious Princess Ithaca (Nora Zehetner) is an eccentric who is only seen out in public once a year in sparkling tiara and fairy princess gown. She is rumored to never leave the castle and the only people seen coming in and out are old ladies.

In a desperate move to raise additional funds, an auction is held for the right to dance the final dance of the evening with Ithaca as well as dinner with her at the castle. William bids the only money he has left -- $50,000 -- with the stipulation that dinner would take place outside the castle. Ithaca agrees to the terms.

During their dance, William begins to use a line on Ithaca that his friend suggested but before he can finish (he tells her "I know who you are looking for and I know you haven't found her yet") Ithaca gasps and tells him that she knew he would come. She asks him to come see her at the castle the next day and dashes off.

Each time William meets Ithaca (first at the castle and then at their dinner out) she asks him how the search is going. William doesn't understand but is so smitten with her that he goes along with her questions.

They go to a charity dinner party on their date outside the castle. The guests are very excited that Princess Ithaca has joined them. One guest asks Ithaca where the money from the ball goes and also how Ithaca and William met. She is unsure of how to answer and William covers for her even though he does not know the answers either.

After the dinner party they meet a mysterious homeless man who is scared off after the couple are hounded by photographers. William hurries her home and asks her to go to the waterfront with him the next day to aid him in his search. This surprises her (searchers work alone) but she agrees.

When they meet the next day, Ithaca explains she has always dressed like a fairy tale princess. She also tells him about searchers, that her mother died 5 years before, that she's been at the castle since she was 5, and that now that she's almost 25 time is almost up. He still doesn't understand but still plays along because he is falling for her. They have fun in the park until the paparazzi show up (William's friend called them) and William has to chase them off. They agree to have dinner at the castle the next day.

Ithaca's Nana, meanwhile, does not trust William and disapproves of their time together, making this known to him.

At dinner in the castle, William notices strange things. A young woman seems to have fins. When he goes to look for Ithaca later in the evening, he sees that she has claw marks on her arm. He races back to the dinner table but runs into the homeless man, who looks like a werewolf ready to attack. William backs away and is grabbed by a giant squid. Ithaca arrives and tells the squid to let him go. Terrified, William runs out.

Ithaca seeks William out at his friend's house and apologizes for his being attacked. She explains that those creatures are what she's trying to save and that is the reason they are looking for the other girl. William doesn't want to believe her but he goes back to the castle with her. There he meets a fairy who has just had a baby. Ithaca reveals that she is a healer of mythical creatures. Like all healers before her she is an orphan and she needs to find the next healer before her 25th birthday when she will lose her power to communicate with the animals and heal them. If she does not find that person in the next two days, all of the creatures will die because no one will be able to heal them.

William tells Ithaca he is not the man she thinks he is. He went along with what she said because he was falling in love with her. Angry, she sends him away. William returns to his friend's house to pack. His friend's wife encourages him not to run away and tells him to leave some things to destiny. In the meantime, Ithaca has gone in search for the girl herself, believing her to be a woman she has seen in her dreams.

William realizes being a searcher is his destiny and returns to the castle to apologize and offer his help. Nana tells him that Ithaca has gone to find the girl and explains that the new girl must be in the castle by sunrise the next day or her powers will never develop. The girl in Ithaca's dream has braids and a beetle tattoo on her neck. He runs off in search of both Ithaca and the new girl. When he spots the new girl and tries to talk to her but she runs away.

He goes to a tattoo shop to get information on the girl. There he runs into Ithaca and they learn they are looking for a homeless girl nicknamed Jitterbug (as she is jittery) and that the beetle is not a tattoo but a birth mark.

Jitterbug's bad dreams wake up her fellow homeless people. They make her go into the other room to sleep. She is terrified and her screams wake those in the next room again. This time a monster roars as well, scaring everyone.

As William and Ithaca continue to look for Jitterbug, Ithaca explains how terrifying it could be to realize the monsters in your closet were real. Because the time to transfer powers is so near, the creatures are confused as to which girl to go to. They happen upon a building where strange things appear to be happening and Ithaca recognizes it from her dream.

The couple races inside to save Jitterbug. Both women are too powerless to help the angry three headed monster and it refuses to listen to either of them. One head has grabbed William and refused to let go. Ithaca realizes the beast has a pole stuck in its foot. She pulls it out and the pain is so immense that the monster drops William but hurls Ithaca against a wall. William carries her out of the building with Jitterbug and they hurry back to the castle.

They get to the castle just as the sun is about to rise and enter to find chaos as there had been no one powerful enough to control them. Her powers activated, Jitterbug is able to get things under control and orders everyone back to their rooms. She will introduce herself properly to them later.

Nana and William bring Ithaca into another room where the now former princess is unconscious. Jitterbug joins them in the room to find out they are too late. William, devastated at the thought of losing her, gives her a kiss which in fairy tale fashion revives her. The two kiss again and the film speeds ahead to the ceremony where Jitterbug is crowned the new princess in a fancy gown. Ithaca is wearing a plain spring dress and William’s friends are there with their new baby. Calla, the mermaid, waves at them from the castle pond and says that she will spread word of the new Princess Calliope.

External links

*imdb title|1052352