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What A Girl Wants [DVD] [2003]
![What A Girl Wants [DVD] [2003]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CSVJ6T6HL._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £13.99
Our Price: £2.99 (subject to change)
I have no business reviewing this,
Review date: 2010-04-11 Rating: 4 out of 10
but I feel quite proud that I lasted about half an hour before my stomach ordered my brain to order my finger to press OFF on the remote. Still, ten minutes longer than Love, Actually, so it must be a better film than that vomit-bag.
I tuned in for the masochistic pleasure of another ghastly Anglo-US hey-ain't-they-weird-huh movie where the Brits are presented as uptight and the Americans as cool and happy-go-lucky. (And what do you know!) Embarrasing drivel that had me chortling from the get-go, teenage girl seeks her lordly English dad because she doesn't want to not have a dad around to dance with on her future wedding day.
Trot out the usual Brit actors who'll do anything for money, no matter how nationally demeaning. Colin Firth, Jonathan Pryce, Duckface, Sylvia Syms (Sylvia Syms!! Can you believe it? This can't be right and proper). Of course, I've never been a teenage girl, but I fancy I would be insulted if offered this cringe-fest as a representation of my secret dreams.
Anyway, in a word: yuck. Not even for masochists. A lot of tired cliches and mirthless emotional blackmail. If your child asks to see this, say no, and if they insist, have them adopted...
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Reviews
3 and a half stars really
Review date: 2009-10-07 Rating: 8 out of 10
This is entertaining fun but slightly misses the mark. I found Amanda Bynes a bit irritating at times. Would have liked to see a bit more of her mother who seemed an interesting character. Colin Firth is good, but doesn't get his portrayal of his feelings for his daughter quite right - there are a couple of occasions when it feels more like a romantic relationship, which was a bit uncomfortable for me.
What a girl wants review
Review date: 2009-04-20 Rating: 10 out of 10
An excellent DVD for my girlfriend who loved this chick flick. I would advise any guy to get this for their special girl. Also, great to see Colin Firth on good form.
What a girl wants
Review date: 2009-04-05 Rating: 10 out of 10
Great, easy to watch film. Can watch it over and over again. Good feelgood film.
American teenage wish fulfilment film
Review date: 2008-12-31 Rating: 6 out of 10
Enjoyed The Princess Diaries ? What a Girl Wants may be right up your street. Unless you're British, of course, in which case the general cringe-worthiness of this 'Brits are all right deep down but they need to be made cool by Americans' picture may be more than you can stomach.
The premise is sound enough: a Tory peer has a wild youth and almost marries an American singer. When she discovers what this might do to his career, she goes back to the States, and is surprised when she bears his daughter a few months later. When she's 17, the daughter, Daphne (Amanda Byrnes, of Nickelodeon fame), decides to go to England, where she discovers her father is about to marry a society divorcee. Various antics ensue, as Daphne falls for singer Ian, who, slightly implausibly, grew up and was educated in England in 'all the right schools', but has a strong Australian accent (despite the fact that the actor, Oliver James is, in fact, English). In the mean time, father Lord Dashwood (Colin Firth, yes, that Colin Firth) is standing for parliament, in what we assume must be a byelection.
A little research might have gone a long way. Unlike the fictional country of Genovia, the customs of London society can't simply be made up, and neither can the British electoral process. So, the collapse of a chandelier is front-page news on national newspapers, the Queen turns up for an election party, there appears to be only one band in the whole of London, and society is full of people trying very hard to be posh, when they quite obviously aren't. Lord Dashwood intends to be prime minister, but he's actually bossed around by virtually everyone he meets, and can only be counted on to overreact to every situation.
If you're happy for London to be represented by a couple of black cabs, a red double-decker bus or so, and a smattering of actors who really do look like British royalty, then you'll probably overlook this. For the rest, the acting is ok, and the plot, if a tad predictable, is fine for an undemanding evening's viewing. However, you might prefer the 1958 original, The Reluctant Debutante, if you can find it on DVD, of which this is a remake, or you might just prefer to watch the Princess Diaries again. And, if you're American, and want to find out what posh British girls are like, you would probably be better off watching St Trinian's [2007], which is better researched, more accurate, and a whole load more fun.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Colin Firth
Eileen Atkins
Kelly Preston
Amanda Bynes
Anna Chancellor
Creators:
Amanda Bynes (Primary Contributor)
Colin Firth (Primary Contributor)
Alison Greenspan (Producer)
Bill Gerber (Producer)
Casey La Scala (Producer)
Denise Di Novi (Producer)
Elizabeth Chandler (Writer)
Jenny Bicks (Writer)
William Douglas-Home (Writer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900246668
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2004-02-23
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003-04-04
Language: English (Original Language)