Movie Review Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew (2007) 

Directed by Andrew Fleming 

Written by Tiffany Paulsen 

Starring Emma Roberts, Josh Fitter, Max Thieriot, Rachel Leigh Cook, Laura Herring, Bruce Willis

Release Date June 15th, 2007 

Published June 16th, 2007 

In 1930 a prolific author by the name of Carolyn Keene launched a new character, a young female detective named Nancy Drew. What's interesting about that is that Carolyn Keene was just as fictional as her now famous creation. The mysterious Ms. Keene was the moniker created by the Stratemeyer syndicate, a low budget bookseller responsible for dozens of young adult titles of the 1930's all under the same fictional authors name.

Regardless of her creation by committee origins, the character of Nancy Drew resonated with young girls and has maintained a unique place in popular culture for more than 75 years. Now as she gets her big budget Hollywood treatment Nancy suffers from a lack of any particular vision, let alone one by committee.

Emma Roberts takes on the legend of the teenage trouble seeking sleuth Nancy Drew. Dressed in fifties finest, plaid dress, knee socks and penny loafers, Nancy is the picture of nerdy sweetness. Underneath that nerdy exterior is an endless curiosity that has led her on numerous adventures. The latest had her smack dab in the middle of a hostage situation that she manages to diffuse with her charm and good humor.

Though her latest adventure is a success, her dad Carter (Tate Donovan) is none too happy about the dangerous situation. Thus why he has imposed a no sleuthing rule for their upcoming, temporary move to California. This puts Nancy in a tough spot, she has a new mystery waiting for her at their new California mansion, a home once owned by a movie star who may have been murdered.

Can Nancy sleuth behind dad's back and figure out who killed the dead starlet, played in flashback by Laura Elena Herring, or will she find herself in even more trouble. Meanwhile Nancy must also adjust to a new school and new friends including a lecherous 13 year old named Corky (Josh Flitter) whose crush on Nancy leads him to becoming her sidekick. Then there is Nancy's hometown crush Ned (Max Thierot) who makes an appearance in California just in time to help solve the case.

Nancy Drew is a quaint throwback with modern ambitions. The film has the feel of a live action Disney flick from the sixties, a lighthearted, kid safe sort of goofiness that pervades those films is featured all throughout Nancy Drew with just a touch of Scooby Doo thrown in for good measure. The problems come when director Andrew Fleming, who co-wrote the script with Tiffany Paulsen, tries to hip up the story for modern audiences.

Nancy Drew kind of works when they are working the old school charms of the sleuthing teen. When the movie tries to be modern however, we get painful examples of how out of touch director Fleming is. Examples like the performance of Daniella Monet. Saddled with the role of Nancy's bully, Monet is a painful to watch caricature of a modern teenage girl.

Seemingly cobbled together from episodes of MTV's prurient My Super Sweet 16, Monet's Inga puts the brakes on the film's charm with unnecessary nastiness and unfunny attempts at what I assume is a parody of the kind of teen who would adopt Paris Hilton as a role model. Nothing against Ms. Monet who is a lovely young actress, I'm sure no one could pull off a role this ill-conceived.

When the film isn't failing with its modernisms it gets simply sloppy. A scene where Nancy takes her visiting boyfriend to a Chinese restaurant is an insulting embarrassment to Asian Americans and the midwesterner for whom the boyfriend is a stand in.

Other scenes where Nancy attempts to show her resourcefulness are bizarrely illogical. Two scenes where characters are choking to death feature Nancy first attempting mouth to mouth on the victim and then performing an emergency tracheotomy. Has she never learned the heimlich maneuver?

Despite the bizarre and the illogical elements of Nancy Drew, star Emma Roberts flies above the problem, nearly overcoming them, with easy charm and boundless energy. The offspring of Eric Roberts and niece of Julia, Emma has inherited her aunt's gift of a winning smile and the ability to win over an audience on spunk alone.

If only the rest of the film could match her delightfulness. Unfortunately, the film surrounding her is simply a mess. Predictable to an irritating point, Nancy Drew unfolds with a quick pace but unravels even quicker as the central mystery is solved about half way through the film's 90 minute runtime. Poor Emma Roberts then must pretend that Nancy doesn't know what we in the audience have long figured out.

Nancy Drew is not a great movie but for the target audience it's inoffensive and cheery with a good heart. Emma Roberts isn't exactly a revelation but there are many indications that she will have a very bright future. With her bright smile and seemingly boundless energy you can see the leading lady qualities that won her this role and why her presence was so reassuring to producers that they were planning sequels well in advance of this film's release.

Those sequels are unlikely after the film failed to open well, but that should not prevent young Ms Roberts from becoming a very big star in the future.

Movie Review John Q

John Q (2002) 

Directed by Nick Cassavetes 

Written by James Kearns 

Starring Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, James Woods, Anne Heche, Kimberly Elise, Laura Harring 

Release Date February 15th, 2002 

Published February 14th, 2002 

Is it me? Do I not watch the news enough? I'm asking because I've only seen one hostage situation in my life.

This guy barricaded himself in his parent's house and held his mom hostage after his step-dad tried to kick him out. It ended in one hour after the guy accidentally shot himself in the leg. Yet Hollywood would have us believe these things happen all the time. Either its some good guy wronged by the "system" or it's a showcase for some slick talking hostage negotiator who makes his own rules despite always being suspended for his out of control behavior.

The new Denzel movie, John Q., falls into the first category. And though it's everything you've seen before it's saved to a point by Denzel's dignified professional performance.

John Q is the story of John Archibald, a factory worker who's struggling to provide for his family after his hours are cut. The story really begins when, during a little league game, John's son falls ill and is rushed to the hospital where we're informed he has a heart problem and needs a heart transplant. Well, needless to say, hearts don't grow on trees. 

There are forms to fill out and once you find a heart, the surgery itself is prohibitively expensive. Cost means nothing to John who will do anything to save his son including taking the hospital emergency room hostage with all it's patients, including colorful characters played by comedian Eddie Griffin and Shawn Hatosy. It is from here that John Q. dissolves from a moving family crisis film to a stock cliched hostage movie.

The hostage scene setups are strong because of Denzel Washington. As an audience member I automatically cheer for him to succeed. But once in the hostage situation director Nick Cassevetes begins piling on the cliches. Robert Duvall stars as the calm and understanding negotiator trying not to hurt anyone and Ray Liotta is the pigheaded lout who gets to yell the classic hostage movie line, "Take the shot" as the sniper slips precariously close to our hero. 

,Considering we're only one hour in and Denzel is the lead, I seriously doubt he will be killed at this point. And of course, John bonds with his captives, he even let's a couple go, and punishes the standard jerk of the captive crowd (there is always one jerk). It's like an episode of Fear Factor, there is an element of suspense but it's network TV so no one is in any real danger.

The actors involved do all they can with their roles with Denzel doing most of the heavy lifting and James Woods helping a good deal. As the big-time heart surgeon, Anne Heche has the thankless villain role for most of the film as the head of the hospital that denies John's son's treatment. Hospital-HMO bureaucracy is supposed to be the film's main story arc but it's so overdone that by the end, the director and screenwriter are beating you over the head with the "HMO is evil" message. Who already doesn't know HMO's are evil?

Despite Denzel's best effort, John Q. is a lame parable about the evils of hospital politics buried in cliches and stock been-there-done-that situations.