Material Girls

High time we had a hangin'. You know, I actually like Hilary Duff. She isn't so bad, compared to most of her contemporaries. Then she had to go and crap out a "movie" like this. I'm appalled that Anjelica Huston has fallen so far. Say it ain't so, Morticia. I heard this was written for the Olsen Twins, and they turned it down. I've seen New York Minute. If the Olsens turned it down, you have to be dumb or desperate to sign up, cuz it's gonna be bad. Hilary and Haley oughta get strung up for this. What a waste of talent. Maybe they'll do a horror flick and it'll happen, and then we can forgive them for swinging so low (no pun intended.) Let us pray to the movie gods for something good, soon. Please.

But for now...somebody go get a rope.

First let me say that I like the Duff sisters, so I was not looking to hate this movie. In fact, we own Hilary's previous movies on DVD and I figured we'd eventually own this one too. Now that I've seen ("wasted money on" is another way to say it) this movie, I can tell you I will not ever buy this and will never watch this again.

The only reason I gave this a one instead of a two is that I genuinely like the Duff sisters. I was looking forward to a movie that my daughter would like and I would enjoy, if not just tolerate. I think the sisters should fire their agents, advisers, producers, or whoever put them up to this. It did nothing to enhance their careers. And I'm still not sure who they thought their audience is. Certainly no adults would (or should) choose to see this movie if they weren't going for their daughters, but neither was this movie properly aimed at young girls (the Duffs' main fan base.) As far as the PG rating, I am not a prude - I actually own Mean Girls, and I am fairly liberal about what my children watch (e.g., we love Friends, even though others think the material is not always appropriate for kids) but I squirmed in my seat for the moms that had younger children in the audience, as well as for my 11 year old daughter. Without going into detail - no spoilers - there were blatant references to adultery, gang banging, and sex that I did not think appropriate at all. There was some foul language. There was outright prejudice against all sorts of people. Referencing an earlier review, yes the comment was about "I Love Lucy" and not a Hispanic nanny, but nonetheless, annoying anyway.

Most importantly, the movie was mindless, and it didn't have to be. The Duff sisters aside, there were some genuinely talented people in the cast (Anjelica Huston, Maria Conchita Alonso) but the script was so bad that there was no saving this movie. There was a shot at redemption near the end, but the screenwriters blew that too. (How do these things even become movies?) It's almost as if the creators know that this movie won't last but a nano-second in history, as evidenced by the constant mainstream references and advertising plugs. Technically, there was bad continuity (Check out Hilary's hairstyles - in the beginning there is one scene where her french braid magically disappears with a camera angle change; or the lips moving out of sequence with the dialogue)and the jarring special effects editing were distracting and juvenile.

Like the characters themselves, this movie is all form with no substance.

OK I know it's not the best film ever made, God knows it would only compete in Razzie nominations! However I think we all love a chick flick every now and again, pretty, rich and kinda dumb girls, cute guys and a cosmetics empire! PERFECT for a boring Sunday afternoon. I gave the film 5 out of 10 because I don't really think its worth more than that, but I don't think it's as bad as the IMDb user rating, or to be placed #1 in the bottom 100 there are far worse movies out there you could see. The Duff sisters aren't going to be acting legends, nor Oscar winners so don't expect the best when it comes to the acting. The plot is a tad superficial but you will get a few cheap giggles and it will brighten your mood.

I took my 10 year old daughter and her friend to see this movie, and only after few minutes I panicked thinking I made a mistake about the rating of the movie. This movie was NOT PG material! I like Hillary Duff, but I have to say that she is far from a good actress, and her sister Hailey can not act at all. They need to seriously take some acting classes. The movie had many racist comments, like when they pretend to be Mexican janitors, or when they run away from the black guy... and also some offensive comments like the comments about the people in the public buss. It was more like they are playing them real selves on the big screen. Spoiled celebrities who love to waist money and give their left overs to the "needy" and name it charity work. I do not recommend this movie and regret taking my daughter to it.

If you are a fan of trendy clothes, superficiality, and emptiness, "Material Girls" is the film for you. But, if on the contrary, you have a mind of your own, and couldn't care less for designer labels, and all the trendiness of a certain group of people, then this is a movie you might not enjoy. Even as the Marchetta girls keep getting poorer by the minute, they seem to have a knack for pulling the right outfits to go with their new impoverished state!

One was curious as to what attracted Martha Coolidge, its director, to such paper thin material. She has done better with other movies, so we were surprised to see her at the helm of this project which will not add anything to her resume. As far as the acting goes, this movie will not win any awards, that's for sure. Even Angelica Huston, an actress of excellent taste seems to be asking to herself, "What am I doing in this piece of $#%%^%"!