Reviews

Taking the film for what it was, I found it to be pleasant, diverting entertainment. The Cinderella aspects were self evident; the lead character, Daphne Reynolds, even makes comments to this effect. This film is a remake, so, alas, I cannot comment on the similarities and differences between remake and predecessor. Nevertheless, the new version seems to owe a debt to Henry James.

For most of the audience, the film's debt to Henry James is not evident. Henry James, an American novelist living in Europe, portrayed expatriate Americans interacting with Europeans. James often contrasted the innocence of Americans with the more worldly Europeans. For example, in James' book, "The American," the wealthy American businessman, Christopher Newman, cannot discern how an amateur Parisian artist's copy of a painting is inferior to the original in the Louvre.

Daphne is not as naive as Newman, however the young American teenager learns much about her father and her life during the course of the film. Most of the films' jokes center around the contrasting outlooks of the vivacious (but socially inexperienced) Daphne and her British upperclass father. As usual, Colin Firth is very good at playing these overly reserved British stereotypes. Amanda Bynes exudes the liveliness one expects of a young woman of this age group.

As with most films aimed at teenagers, there are numerous rock and pop tunes. The present film contains a perfectly acceptable instrumental score by Rupert Gregson-Williams, but his original score is relegated to accompanying scenes which portray the stilted behavior of the British. Except in the most capable director's hands, the use of pop songs with vocals in movies tend to detract from rather than to enhance the action on screen. The popular music placement in "What a Girl Wants" is less obnoxious than in other movies, so one cannot consider this movie to be an "illustrated soundtrack."

I happened to catch this movie on "Court TV," and the strength of the acting and the script came as a pleasant surprise for me. Often made for television movies leave much to be desired, but this was not the case here.

Although not a big budget picture, the screenwriter and director make good use of flashbacks to build tension for the audience. The scriptwriter and director develop the four lead characters well, and this degree of characterization is another of the assets of the film.

Four college fraternity brothers are involved in an accidental and unintentional killing of a young woman. To cover up the incident, the four bury the woman's body in an isolated area. Years later, one of the friends, Schroder, contacts the others about a proposed land development in the area where the body is buried. By this time, the three of four have gone onto other lives and other careers, hoping that this past incident remains a part of their respective past experiences. One becomes a dentist, while another becomes an assistant district attorney. Schroder's character is an ex-convict, however. The four travel to the isolated area to remove the evidence of the killing. Given the tensions and anxieties of the men, the plotline does not go in a simple, linear fashion.

Since I am faithful viewer of "NYPD Blue," I knew that Rick Schroder would put in an excellent performance. Schroder's character, a menacing villain, is both manipulative and charming.

While watching the film, I kept thinking of Rob Reiner's "Stand by Me," in which a group of boys journey to an isolated, wooded area, to see a dead body of a missing teenager. Both films use the respective journeys and flashbacks to reveal aspects of the main characters (their fears, ambitions, etc.).

Although "What We Did That Night" is a modest film, it is nevertheless very good and deserving of more attention and distribution.