What a Girl Wants (2003)
I don't know what a girl may want,
but what the girl here, Amanda Bynes, NEEDS is a better
script, a better director and a much better cinematographer.
"What a Girl Wants" is nothing more
than a direct rip-off of "The
Princess Diaries." Big deal. That was obvious
from the trailers. What was also obvious from the
trailers was that Amanda, the precious little imp
who has her own show on TV's Nickelodeon, was charming,
sweet and cute enough to handle her own film. And
it was also obvious that she had two of the cutest
males to play opposite her including Colin Firth as
her estranged father and some teenage British cutie
with an adorable face and an irresistible accent that
made you swoon.
What wasn't obvious from the trailer
was that this film is actually purported to be based
on a 1950's play by Williams Douglas Home called "The
Reluctant Debutante" (and turned into a script for
Sandra Dee a film by him in 1958). No wonder this
story seems horribly dated. It's not just a copy of
"the Princess Diaries," it's a copy of the film that
"The Princess Diaries" copied from.
Still, it's hard to resist the charm
of Bynes, Firth and cute newcomer Oliver James. As
cute as a bug's ear, James gets to deliver the most
charming and romantic line EVER. "Why are you trying
to fit in when your born to stand out?" he asks Bynes.
WHAM! (That's the sound of me and a million teenage
girls falling in love at the exact same time).
"What a Girl Wants" was directed
by Dennie Gordon, a TV vet who also directed "Joe
Dirt." She should not be allowed to lens anything
else for the big screen EVER. She's had two chances
and this was the best she could do. I'm going to go
ahead and say, "You're cut off." It's obvious she
should stick to the small screen. Look at the scene
where Bynes and James walk together across a bridge
early in the film. It's simply the most ugly scene
I've seen in a studio film this year. While we're
at it, let's put a kibosh on Andrew Dunn's career
behind the camera as well. Although he has lensed
some amazing looking films, he obviously is either
too old, too high or too lazy to be allowed back on
the job. Maybe after some rehab he can make a comeback.
I don't know what a girl may want,
but what the girl here, Amanda Bynes, NEEDS is a better
script, a better director and a much better cinematographer.
(I know I said that at the beginning of the review
but it was so funny I had to do it again. After all,
in Hollywood, repetition is the sincerest form of
flattery - not to mention laziness).
Note:
Also with Kelly Preston and Jonathan
Pryce. Some impersonators play the Queen and Princes
Charles, William and Henry.
Viewed in Austin in April 2003 with
my roommates and my friend Xian.
