Ce dont rêvent les filles

I saw this film on a plane, which perhaps gives some indication of its overall quality. However, it has its moments of clarity from time to time.

The main problem with the film, though, is the horrible casting decision of selecting Amanda Bynes to portray a "free spirit." This presents a huge stumbling blook to the audience -- how are we supposed to believe that such a doe-eyed girl is a street-savvy New Yorker? Her hair is too straight, her wardrobe too designer to be a really down-to-earth girl. (Also, she's got bank! How else could she have skipped town, on Virgin no less [I wonder how much they paid for that snippet], without getting any money from her mother?) Hearing lines 'you were born to stand out' describing Bynes' character provokes laughter... As if any girl who wears a Kangol hat now and again is cosmopolitan!

Apart from that minor (I jest) flaw, the movie isn't terrible. A few of the characters are mildly interesting, enough to keep me somewhat attentive. The film could certainly stand to do without the cheesy "I yam who I yam" moralizing, but, in the end, the film was entertaining, I stayed awake, and I guess that just about says enough.

I went into the theater today expecting a good movie. I was wrong. Why was I wrong? Because this was a GREAT movie!!!

The trailers made this film look INSANELY cheesy. Since I know from experience that trailers are highly inaccurate, I was expecting a PARTIALLY cheesy flick. But what I saw had almost no cheese to it at all. What A Girl Wants, despite its unfortunate title, is what a LOT of people want, combining drama, comedy, romance, and self-discovery in an hour and 45 minutes of enjoyment.

I didn't say insight, mind you, I said self-discovery. This is purely a narrative, not a deep thought movie, and it wouldn't have worked any other way. Kudos to Dennie Gordon for not trying to accent a theme that we're already familiar with, rather, she just throws it into the story, almost casually, so that we see the message of individuality but aren't repulsed by an overly blatant moral.

Many of this film's detractors say that it's a rip of The Princess Diaries. Not true. Yes, it's an adaptation, but it's based on "The Reluctant Debutante", which was around for DECADES before Diaries was even conceived. Besides, while it is a little formulaic, there are a few twists.

Many say it portrays inaccurate American/British stereotypes. Not true. Daphne and her mother are CLEARLY presented to be NOTHING like the average American, and Lord Dashwood only behaves so properly because of his political position.

Amanda Bynes as Daphne Reynolds finally gets a chance to show of her incredible dramatic skills. (Moody's Point had too much of a satirical tone to properly show this.) Bynes has her glory moments of comedy alongside her touching moments as the girl who wants to understand who she is.

Colin Firth as Henry Dashwood. Come on, who didn't already know Firth kicks butt? He is the center of every scene Bynes isn't in, and he carries that weight well.

Eileen Atkins as Lady Dashwood does a tremendous job with her supporting role, who is far more crucial to the plot than anyone expected.

Oliver James handles his theatrical debut well, showing much more emotion than the previews indicated. Libby Reynolds isn't a fully round character, but that's the script's fault, not Kelly Preston's. Both are capable singers, and considering that Bynes's one major performance flaw is lack of musical ability, I'm glad these two sang instead of her.

In fact, basically the entire cast here was superb.

See it, you'll be glad you did. Fine entertainment for almost everybody.

I have noticed a genre that might be termed 'late-ish teens princess story' and until now I could not really like the ones that I have on disk.

So, if the genre was widened a bit to include Trachtenberg's Ice Princess then yes, and there will be many okay stories in such a wider genre. I consider the wider genre to be too relevant, best not maimed in this way. The traditional princess story is a very ancient genre and I prefer to link this sub genre to that.

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Then I obtained the two disk set of Mandy Moore's Chasing Liberty (2004) and Amanda Bynes' What A Girl Wants (2003) and this genre was suddenly different. Both of these stories stand tall. True, technically the word Princess does not fit here, but it is close enough, even though Amanda's character is only 39th in line to the throne and Mandy is only a USA style temporary princess?

That is all that I need to know about either story. These are stuff that I can really like.

More. What A Girl Wants breaks with tradition. Amanda is 16 playing a 17. Not a 20 playing an 18 or 15. Not an 18 playing a 15. So unusual.

Director commentary: Real princesses were used as extras at the Henley scene.

Detail to hope to ignore: The last of the scenes set in London. What sort of UK political party would display the flag in this way at a political meeting? This is made for an audience with USA type understandings, not UK? Unless this is a comment re UK politics? In England this is equivalent to Amanda's dad, Lord Dashwood, having been working to be elected to parliament as a member for a UK type K.K.K.? I personally consider UK politics to be askew but that does not feel like the right parallel, though it does hint at too far to the right.

With the possible exception of Hairspray, all the Amanda that I have, so far, end in disaster if I interpret them literally from the cues that I notice. That is likely just me, a private language sort of thing. For me, the most subtle is the ending of She's The Man and that is only a box of Gouda that has me wondering if that magnificent story really ends in disaster. I get that by considering a 1980's horror story called ET. For me, the ultimate Amanda scary ending is Love Wrecked.

I was expecting a really bad, boring teen film like the Lizzie Mcguire movie, but this movie was entertaining. It's about a girl in America, Daphne, who goes to England to see her dad for the first time. He's a Lord, who is running for political elections, so of course, his handlers don't want any bad publicity. He takes a liking to her, but his finance and snooty soon-to-be stepdaughter don't like her. Daphne turns out to be a hit with the poparazi and has a lot of fun. After going to so many fancy parties, she starts to forget who she really is, but her new guy makes her realize where her true values lie. Along the way Lord Dashwood sees he's missing out on adventure and his true love, Daphne's mom. Will he give up the political dream to become an adventurer again? Watch to find out, but since this is a light-hearted film, you probably know the answer. There are some funny scenes throughout. And I liked the music.

FINAL VERDICT: An entertaining clean, fun film that all ages can enjoy.

Dennie Gordon has directed this comedy with sure hand. The play by William Douglas-Home was a hit in the London stage and it was filmed before as The Reluctant Debutante with Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, Sandra Dee, John Saxon and Angela Lansbury in the cast. This new take on the same story is fun basically because of the cast that was assembled to play the main characters.

Amanda Bynes has the right amount of charm to make her Daphne an endearing teen who is in search for a father she never knew. Colin Firth is a very good as the father. Kelly Preston has very little to do and it's a shame. Eileen Atkins, as the would be grandmother doesn't fare better, as it's the case with Jonathan Pryce.

I recently caught up with it on DVD format and all that can be said is that it was mildly amusing as a typical comedy of this genre.