Once again, the brilliant marketing executives at Warner
Brothers Pictures have rehashed and remade a great, classic film
into a formulaic box office money-maker.
Once again, the brilliant marketing executives at Warner Brothers Pictures have rehashed and remade a great, classic film into a formulaic box office money-maker.
“The Reluctant Debutante,” with Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall and Sandra Dee, is a wonderful comedy by Vincente Minelli and also one of the most overlooked historically.
The new version is the Hollywood safe version, cleaned up for pre-teens and the romantic PG crowd. They’ve changed the title to “What a Girl Wants,” so they could build it around a pop song of the same name, which will help them to sell the movie.
The film is a total dud, one that may lull its target market to sleep with its slow pace.
Amanda Bynes plays a modern-day Cinderella named Daphne Reynolds, a girl who is so inspired when she hears a story by her mom Libby (Kelly Preston)about her long-lost, aristocratic English father that she immediately arranges a trip to go see him. Apparently, according to mom, Daphne’s father hit the road shortly before she was born, without explanation, which fuels Daphne’s curiosity.
She departs the plane in London, and, instead of trying communicate with her dad formally goes to his estate and climbs over the walls, hoping to shock him into the fact that he has a daughter he’s never seen.
When she finally finds her father, the dashing Henry Dashwood (Colin Firth) is indeed shocked, but impressed by his “new” daughter’s spunk and charm.
He immediately takes a liking to her, but the scenes have an uncomfortable feel to them, because Henry’s fiancee and his other daughter conspire against the family’s new addition by not accepting her.
Eventually, a rift is present, with Daphne pulling her dad toward her and the other women of the house pulling him toward them.
Daphne wants her dad to move back to a more simple life with the core values of family, love and friendship.
The comedy is based upon the idea that Henry is this brilliant thinker, communicator and politician, yet when presented with his 17-year-old daughter suddenly becomes uncomfortably silent, unable to convey his thoughts eloquently, while Daphne is presented as the logical thinker. It does provide some laughs, but the presentation is too direct, losing all the subtlety that makes the original film so excellent.
Amanda Bynes (from “The Amanda Show”) is a charming and likeable actress, and her character rises above the insincere material. The film, it also should be said, should provide a pleasant enough time-filler for those inundated with the current state of the world, but it could have been, so much more.
The lessons Daphne learns from her new family are predictable and standard. Wanting to fit in, Daphne has a need to feel similar to, therefore feeling a certain kinship with, her new family. But she is fed the message that she shouldn’t want to fit in – she should instead develop her unique traits so she can stand out in a crowd. She should be a mover instead of a shaker, so to speak.
“What a Girl Wants” should please the 9- to 15-year-old crowd it is intended for, but everyone else might want to stay away from the formulaic, TV-quality movie. Drop the giggling girls off and head to the mall instead.
WHAT A GIRL WANTS. Directed by Dennie Gordon. Written by William Douglas Home. Based upon the play and film “The Reluctant Debutante.” With Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston, Anna Chancellor, Tom Harper, Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins. Rated PG (mature themes, nothing objectionable), 105 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
