What a Girl Wants

PREMIERE.COM REVIEW (posted 4/4/03)

1/2

Relax, people. This film has nothing to do with that Christina Aguilera song. It does, however, have everything to do with a plucky American teenager named Daphne (Bynes, of the WB's What I Like About You). Raised by her free-spirited Manhattan mother (Preston) with lots of love, Daphne has never met her British father (Colin Firth), and he doesn't even know that she exists. Daphne decides it's time to hop across the pond to London to meet her dad, who turns out to be a rather formal nobleman (a far cry from the bohemian soul he was when he met Daphne's mom in the '70s). What ensues is of course a typical fish-out-of-water story as the vibrant, zany girl makes a splash in the stiff world her father shares with his bitchy socialite fiancée (Chancellor) and her mean teenage daughter.

Bynes achieves something quite rare for a squeaky-clean teenage actress: She isn't irritating. Not in the slightest. In fact, she's charming and quirky and a pleasure to watch. You can understand why she wins over her father, and how her joie de vivre changes his outlook on life. As for Firth, he picks up where his splendid portrayal in Bridget Jones's Diary left off. Once again, he expertly presents a dry exterior that hides a tender, searching heart.

Watch for a great montage of the city set to the defiant strains of the Clash's "London Calling." Here, you'll view London as it's seen through the eyes of an inspired teenager: alive with the crisp red of double-decker buses and the electricity of those gray skies. Just don't listen too hard to the song lyrics, though.

—Susannah Gora

PREVIEW (posted 3/12/03)

An American teenager (Amanda Bynes) raised in New York by her bohemian mom (Kelly Preston) travels to England to find her father (Colin Firth), a British nobleman who doesn't know she exists. Across the pond, she spars with her dad's evil fiancée and finds a Brit beau while getting to know her father.
The Bottom Line: A girl-power fairy tale with the charm of The Princess Diaries. (Warner Bros.)