Her Majesty (2001)

Cast: Sally Andrews, Vicky Haughton, Liddy Holloway, Mark Clare, Craig Elliott

Rating: PG

Running Time: 105 min.

Synopsis: Which is more important -- loyalty to your friends, or making your dreams come true? A young girl is forced to make that difficult choice in this comedy-drama set in the early '50s. Elizabeth Wakefield (Sally Andrews) is a 12-year-old girl growing up in the small New Zealand town of Middleton. Elizabeth is fascinated by her namesake, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II, and when word gets out that The Queen may be visiting New Zealand, the schoolgirl sparks a letter-writing campaign to invite The Queen to Middleton, with the help of her best friend, Annabel (Anna Sheridan). The good news is that Elizabeth's plan works, and The Queen will indeed visit Middleton, but the bad news is it's not certain if Elizabeth will get to meet her. Elizabeth's father, John (Mark Clare), runs the town's biggest business, a cheese factory, and it looks like The Queen may pay the factory a visit, but Mrs. Hobson (Liddy Holloway), a pretentious sort who heads the ladies' gardening club, believes the local Rhododendron Trust might be a destination more befitting the Royal Family (it doesn't help that Mrs. Hobson has been having an affair with the mayor). Amidst all this confusion, a local eccentric makes her opinions known in a series of public rants -- Hira Mata (Vicky Haughton), a elderly woman of Maori descent who still holds a grudge against the British for the death of her grandfather at the hands of English colonials almost a century ago. Elizabeth gets to know Hira, and comes to the conclusion she's not as crazy as most folks have led her to believe, and she decides to stand by her new friend when Hira Mata is accused of vandalism, even if it might prevent the visit of her beloved Queen. Her Majesty was the first feature film for director Mark J. Gordon.