Anachronisms, however, cannot help but creep in from time to time, especially since that California chick Drew Barrymore is asked to play Danielle, a French country girl of the 16th century. After her father's death, Danielle has been relegated to a servant's role by the Baronness (Anjelica Huston), who is angling her snooty daughter for marriage to Prince Henry (Dougray Scott). But the prince gets an eyeful of Danielle, in disguise as a courtier, and an earful of her liberal theories on noblesse oblige. With the help of Leonardo da Vinci, improbably at court as a visiting genius, Danielle seeks to overcome royal prejudice and the schemes of her stepmother.

It's hard to get beyond Barrymore's game but misguided attempt at an accent not a French accent, of course, but the English accent that passes for generic European in American movies. She seems to be doing an Emma Thompson impression punctuated by violent head bobs and shakes to help her concentration. If this distraction can be ignored for a moment, lots of truly talented actors are doing great work in Ever After. Scott is more than just a princely, pretty face; he has a regal manner and a nicely self-deprecating sense of humor. Melanie Lynskey, as the dowdy stepsister Jacqueline, parries the insults of the Baronness with a sly wit. And Huston plays off the evil stepmother cliché with wicked glee, although the comeuppance awaiting her at movie's end is a bit strong, given that the script encourages us to feel some sympathy for her.