First of all, I must be biased and say that this is the first movie I've ever seriously considered walking out of. And I shelled out $10 for the ticket to this one; I am very conservative with my money and do my best to buy as little as possible. But about 10 minutes into this, my friend and I were looking at each other and going, "So when does 1408 start?"
Okay. Now that I'm done with that, a plot summary is in order: Essentially, Nancy Drew is herself, but living in current times. This is a bit odd-looking, especially when the town she is living in seems not to have changed since the early 1960s at latest. Nancy and her father are moving to California (Hollywood, to be more precise) for a few months so that he can do something or other with his job. He keeps pointing out that they are pressed for money, but for some reason Nancy gets to pick out a mansion in which to live. Oh, and Mr. Drew insists that Nancy stop sleuthing and try to be a normal teenager. So, Nancy and her father move into an old mansion that, surprise! has a mystery behind it. This one is about a starlet who died some 20 years back after returning from a mysterious absence. Nancy is very prim and proper, and speaks of her love for "old-fashioned things". This shocks and, frankly, amuses her fellow classmates. There are two in particular who terrorize her at first, then somehow decide that she is worthy of their attention and to give her a makeover (you can imagine for yourself whether or not that "sticks"). She has new friends and old ones (i.e., (boy)friend Ned) in this movie, and apparently is accomplished in the art of stunt driving.
The mystery itself was rather predictable, but perhaps it would be more intriguing for younger children, I don't know. I feel compelled to add that parents should mention to kids that, if someone is choking, don't do CPR on them; and if you do CPR on someone, don't do it on their stomach.
If you want to see this movie, go ahead. Some people really liked it and said that it stayed very true to the books; I don't know about that, having never read the original series. But there were some cute moments. Go into it expecting nothing and you may get more out of it than you think.
Okay. Now that I'm done with that, a plot summary is in order: Essentially, Nancy Drew is herself, but living in current times. This is a bit odd-looking, especially when the town she is living in seems not to have changed since the early 1960s at latest. Nancy and her father are moving to California (Hollywood, to be more precise) for a few months so that he can do something or other with his job. He keeps pointing out that they are pressed for money, but for some reason Nancy gets to pick out a mansion in which to live. Oh, and Mr. Drew insists that Nancy stop sleuthing and try to be a normal teenager. So, Nancy and her father move into an old mansion that, surprise! has a mystery behind it. This one is about a starlet who died some 20 years back after returning from a mysterious absence. Nancy is very prim and proper, and speaks of her love for "old-fashioned things". This shocks and, frankly, amuses her fellow classmates. There are two in particular who terrorize her at first, then somehow decide that she is worthy of their attention and to give her a makeover (you can imagine for yourself whether or not that "sticks"). She has new friends and old ones (i.e., (boy)friend Ned) in this movie, and apparently is accomplished in the art of stunt driving.
The mystery itself was rather predictable, but perhaps it would be more intriguing for younger children, I don't know. I feel compelled to add that parents should mention to kids that, if someone is choking, don't do CPR on them; and if you do CPR on someone, don't do it on their stomach.
If you want to see this movie, go ahead. Some people really liked it and said that it stayed very true to the books; I don't know about that, having never read the original series. But there were some cute moments. Go into it expecting nothing and you may get more out of it than you think.