"What a Girl Wants" is a re-tooling/re-telling of William Douglas Home's "The Reluctant Debutante" with the devastatingly charming Amanda Bynes in the title role; in fact 'charming' is the operative word here -everything about the movie is charming, and charmed.
The casting: impeccably superb. Amanda never hits a false note throughout the proceedings, creating a character who is genuinely believable, lovable and worth cheering for (there was a LOT of clapping in the theatre at various points in the film - I clapped AND whistled, myself); Kelly Preston is radiant as Daphne's mother Libby, a musician who still deeply loves Henry, Daphne's father, but has gone on with her life, and Colin Firth (as Daphne's father, Henry Dashwood) is a revelation here, in that he literally becomes more and more attractive as the tale unfolds - as he becomes more and more who he really is underneath his repressed exterior (the scene where he dons his black leather pants and prances in front of the mirror to the horror of his prim prude of a fiancee is priceless),and Oliver James as musician Ian, Daphne's love interest, makes a memorable splash here as well. Everyone else is perfect in their roles too (even the dog rocks).
The screenplay and direction: completely on the mark. Never gets heavy-handed, contrived, mean-spirited, cloying or tedious, believe it or not. The charm is sustained throughout in a dazzling balance of comedy, heartfelt emotion, conflict and growth, culminating in one of the most satisfying resolutions I've experienced in a movie in a long time.
Occasionally, a movie can have predictable elements without that being a bad thing; sometimes predictable elements can be pleasurable -- you realize what's going to happen but you also realize you're in such capable hands that you actually anticipate the playing-out of the scenes you know will occur. Sometimes it's not WHAT is done in a movie but HOW it's achieved, and WHO is doing the achieving.
What a Girl Wants
2003
Comedy / Drama / Family / Romance
What a Girl Wants
2003
Comedy / Drama / Family / Romance
36% - Critics
62% - Audience
5.8Keywords: woman directorparent child relationshiplondon, englanddaughterengland
Plot summary
Loosely based on The Reluctant Debutante (1958) starring Sandra Dee, this family-friendly comedy features popular Nickelodeon teen star Amanda Bynes in her first feature-starring performance after her debut in Big Fat Liar (2002). She plays teenager Daphne Reynolds, who lives in New York City with her musician mother, Libby Reynolds (Kelly Preston). After she turns seventeen, Daphne is undecided about her future, so she takes off by herself to London in search of her father. She immediately meets cute musician Ian Wallace (Oliver James) before sneaking in to her father's estate to surprise him. He turns out to be Lord Henry Dashwood (Colin Firth),a fabulously wealthy aristocrat who doesn't even know that she exists. He had met her mother in Morocco and the two were married in a tribal ceremony. Upon their return to England, she left him and went back to the U.S. without ever revealing that she was pregnant. The uptight Henry is already flustered by his campaign for election, advised by doting aide Alistair Payne (Jonathan Pryce). His no-nonsense fiancée, Glynnis Payne (Anna Chancellor),and her bratty daughter, Clarissa Payne (Christina Cole),are threatened by Daphne's presence, thinking that she will hurt Henry's political aspirations by causing a scandal. However, family matriarch, Jocelyn Dashwood (Dame Eileen Atkins),takes a liking to her and she soon finds herself trying to liven things up at several stuffy aristocratic parties. Meanwhile, the evil Glynnis and Clarissa conspire against her by trying to sabotage her appearance, leading up to the conclusion at Daphne's coming-out party.
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Charming and charmed
Wow, like lighten up
The folks banging this movie have to get real. It's about an average girl (Bynes) who gets to meet her dad, who's in the process of running for major political office in England. It's not about Yankee superiority over the Brits (sheesh!),it's a simple fantasy about the effect a teenage girl has on her once-stuffy dad in stuffy society. If you're politically offended by this movie, imagine Amanda as a carefree Portugese girl visiting her long-lost dad, a member of U.S. Congress from Massachusetts, and chill out. That being said, Amanda Bynes is a cool and attractive leading lady/girl and plays very well with the other characters in this film. It's all been done millions of times before, and it's not Oscar material, but it was a pleasant diversion for me.
Teenage Rom-Com delight
If you expect this to be an amazing movie then you'll be disappointed. If you expect this to be a teenage rom-com, then you'll be delighted. The perfect escape from reality into the world of a teenager trying to connect with her father only to find that being herself is more important. Amanda Bynes is the perfect leading lady for such a movie, delivery on laughs and sincerity, and a tid bit of bad assness. My only fault is the canoe scene - how did her neck not kill her after that?!