Cutesy Fluff...
It's
very hard for me to review a film like this
because I am almost the antithesis of the
desired demographic that this film targets.
'What a Girl Wants' is aimed squarely (pun
intended) at 8-16 year old girls who tend to
enjoy fairy tale adventures. This film is
similar in tone and content to 2001's 'The
Princess Diaries'. Luckily though, this version
of the oft told 'becoming a princess' story is
actually more energetic and enjoyable than Anne
Hathaway's version. And that is due primarily to
the star quality of Amanda Bynes who is hip and
fun as the all-American girl on a search to find
her father, only to discover that she descends
from European royalty.
The film is about as PG as you can get. The
goody-goody nature and sickly sweet sentiment
will make many adults gag... maybe even some
teenagers will find it hard to stomach. I am
never going to want to see this film again but I
am going to give the movie a mild recommendation
because I think it succeeds in regards to it's
target audience. I thought many of the scenes
were sweet and mildly amusing. I think Amanda
Bynes' performance was good and I appreciate
that the character she plays is more wholesome
and fun-loving than most on-screen teenagers.
She is the kind of daughter that most parents
wish they had... and that is a rarity in
Hollywood!!!
It's not a great film, but there is nothing
really wrong with it either. The best thing I
can say about 'What a Girl Wants' is that it is
a film with a good heart. So, if you are
generally entertained by this type of fluff...
this fairytale will stand out as one of the
better entries in it's genre.
©
Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
Amanda
Bynes nearly rescues the film herself with a
likeable, energetic performance as Daphne. In
supporting roles, Kelly Preston (the queen of
average films), Colin Firth (who seems to make
an appearance in every film), Jonathon Pryce (on
the downward slide) and the rest of the cast do
the best they can with very "kid" material.
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
