MARIE ANTOINETTE

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity, and innuendo
Released in Theaters: Oct. 20, 2006

Poofy dresses, big hair, the French Revolution, and…a pair of blue Converse sneakers? That’s what director Sophia Coppola gives us in this odd recreation of one of history’s most told stories.

Fourteen-year-old Austrian princess Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) is sent to France to marry the 15-year-old King Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman). The naïve queen struggles to fit in and rebels against the isolated atmosphere at his palace in Versailles. She quickly becomes France’s most misunderstood monarch, eventually fleeing the estate during the French Revolution.

But the history books never said anything about the queen dancing to Siouxsie and the Banshees or sporting pink hair. Guess she was a punked-out Queen — in this version anyway. We see her attending balls, going to the theater, and romping (allegedly) with a Swedish count. There are few references to the good stuff — the King and Queen’s imprisonment and eventual execution.

In short, you won’t find much in this movie to help you ace those history tests. But her costumes are beautiful and, oh, that hair. It’s like a giant cream puff!