Il sogno di Holly

All of the realism of an old Popeye cartoon. Actually, BRAVE NEW GIRL makes a Popeye cartoon seem like a James Cameron or Steven Spielberg or Mel Gibson history epic!

The super shiny perkiness of the mother and daughter interacting with each other makes the BRADY BUNCH seem like "24" in comparison. Nearly every character is in cheerleader-personality mode during their first 2 minutes of screen time.

In total, BRAVE NEW GIRL makes GILLIGAN'S ISLAND seem like a sober House Finance Committee hearing on C-SPAN.

This movie is entertaining enough due to an excellent performance by Virginia Madsen and the fact that Lindsey Haun is lovely. However the reason the movie is so predictable is that we've seen it all before. I've haven't read the book A Mother's Gift but I hope for Britney and Lynne Spears sake it is completely different than this movie. Unless you consider ending a movie with what is essentially a music video an original idea, the entire movie brings to mind the word plagiarized.

Holly Lovell (Lindsey Haun) lives in a small Texas town with her mother Wanda (Virginia Madsen). Her father is long absent. She is desperate to go to the Haverty music school in Philadelphia. Her mother secretly films her singing for the school application. Her boyfriend Tyler (Aaron Ashmore) proposes but she holds off. She is surprised by the school's midterm acceptance. Unbeknownst to her, the family home has been foreclosed. Ditz is her new rich troubled roommate friend. Her competition Angela pines for Grant who takes a liking to Holly. She struggles with the unfamiliar classical music. With the car breaking down, Wanda takes a nearby waitress job working for Dee (Jayne Eastwood). She keeps all of it a secret while staying with her embarrassed daughter Holly.

This is loosely based on a book written by Britney Spears and her mother which is loosely based on her life. Any resemblance to reality is strictly an accident. They do get producer credit and a lot of references in the movie. The story is basically not terrible. Haun and Madsen are perfectly good actresses. Holly is a little self-obsessed and petty. Her enemies are cartoonish but that's alright. She has a few too many supporters which detracts from her underdog status. I also would get rid of her hometown boyfriend whom she leaves behind way too easily. There are a few too many miscalculations from the standard formula. This should be easily likable but it doesn't completely work.

ok, I thought "not ANOTHER britney spears film" when I saw the preveiws. But, as a matter of fact, I really enjoyed it! The actress who plays the main character (Holly Luvel) was Lindsey Haun, who I happen to be a big fan of. She has a better voice than Britney, and does a really good job with the texan accent and 'twang' even though she comes from L.A. The songs are all so good! The last and final number goes from a song in Carmen, to a dance and hip-hop sort of song. The film really prooves that anything is possible even if everything goes wrong, and that even if your at an all time low, you can turn things around. I recommend this to everyone, and if you don't watch it just because it was from britney. Afterall, I happen to think that is why america is soo messed up, but the film is still really good!

Regarding the movie "BRAVE NEW GIRL", though it has its faults, it was still an ENJOYABLE MOVIE.

I was especially impressed with the fact that VIRGINIA MADSEN was part of the cast, and that she turned in such a winning performance as WANDA LOVELL.

While the spotlight will certainly be on her co-star, LINDSAY HAUN, it is still wonderful to see Virginia in a good role that she will be very proud of.

Knowing her responsibilities,it is unfortunate that she is not seen more often, and still being young and VERY ATTRACTIVE, one can only hope that she will continue to pick such likable roles in the future.

Perhaps Virginia will, unlike her piers, go gracefully into middle-age playing such roles, unlike THE STEREOTYPICAL BITCHY ROLES that would otherwise await her, and which she had already played earlier in her career.

Of course, this was a Brittany Spears production, so this was really a showcase for her work, and while there are indeed some good production values here, you really have to be one of brittany's fans to properly appreciate this movie.

As a fan of Virginia Madsen, I wish her continued success, and my very best.