Nancy Drew

I disagree with previous comment about this movie. I think it was cute and fun and it carried a good message for young girls like my daughter. You don't have to dress like a cheap hooker to be cool. You can be smart and pretty and classy all at once.

I think the cast was good and the story was fine for the target audience. All-in-all my wife, daughter (10) and I each thought it was a good movie. I certainly recommend it. It also has encouraged my daughter to start reading the original Nancy Drew mysteries which I am sure she will love much as I loved the Hardy Boys.

It was a struggle to get her to sleep tonight because she wanted to start reading right away. I can't think of a better outcome for that movie than rekindling interest in that classic series.

I'm a 16 year old teenager who took my 10 year old sister to Nancy Drew this morning. She's been bored sitting around the house all summer, so my mom suggested I go with her to see the first showing. I took her, not expecting much, thinking I could just sit back and not care what was going on. I've never read the Nancy Drew books, but my younger sister has and plays the computer games. She absolutely LOVED it, and I was surprised with myself when I found that I was paying attention, enjoying the movie.

The plot is a bit weak, but functional. The characters are fun to watch, especially the Californians. I thought some of her methods were a bit far-fetched (I found myself thinking-- What teenage girl carries that around with her 24/7?), but then again, it is a creation of Hollywood. It's not Oscar quality at all, but it's a fun one just to kick back and enjoy.

As a grownup in my mid-40s, I am not even close to any of "Nancy Drew"'s key demographics, but I was pleasantly surprised by the film this afternoon; so, I could tell, were the pair of sixtyish silver-haired ladies down the row from me. The older man who left the theater just ahead of me specifically praised the film to the 20-ish female usher (who said she'd seen the film the previous evening and quite liked it).

More to the point, however: In the row just ahead of me, there were nine -- count them, nine -- ten-year-old girls lined up next to each other, passing popcorn and hot dogs and candy back and forth and giggling through the previews.

Once the film began, they promptly settled down to watch....

....and didn't so much as peep till the closing credits began to roll.

This is not a perfect film; it doesn't quite pay off its high school subplots, it's not quite confident enough of its own tone, and its thugs are just a hair too far over toward critically inept at times. But the adaptation of the source material is essentially respectful, the plot hangs together fairly well, and it treads deftly between the sins of excessive cheesiness and excessive modernization. Last but not least, Emma Roberts carries the movie with startling grace -- Josh Flitter's superb timing notwithstanding, this is Roberts' movie, and she pulls it off beautifully. Her Nancy Drew is very much the direct ancestor of Kristen Bell's Veronica Mars, and the film is also a lineal descendant of Jodie Foster's early and underrated "Candleshoe".

In today's marketplace, it's a rarity: a family movie that respects its viewers' intelligence. As such, it won't be to everyone's taste -- but for what it is, it is the best movie of its kind in decades.

I'm nearly 16 years old and I went to watch this movie with my mother and a group of girls between the ages of seven and fifteen. I frankly didn't think this movie was all that bad (nor did the group I saw it with), sure there were some cheesy parts and scenes where the acting lacked but overall I think that the movie was good wholesome fun; it's a good family film.

I do suggest seeing this movie with an open mind though; especially if you have read the books. Nancy isn't portrayed EXACTLY as she is in the books and part of the idea of the movie was to take the girl from the 60's and plop her down in California in the worlds current state.

The lot I went with laughed the entire movie (with exception of my mother whom cried near the very end). If you give this movie a chance and don't set your expectations too high you might find that you actually enjoy this movie.

In order to compose these words of wit to inform, entertain and advise all of my loyal readers, I have to see almost every movie that comes out. This means I have to sniff a lot of crap, but the payoff comes when I find a gem that I would have surely missed, otherwise. This is such a movie. This is a fast-paced clever and amusing little family film with neat characters; some good understated humor, and an acceptable story.

Andrew Fleming wastes no time here, rocketing out of the gate with a fast-paced opening. Emma Roberts shines in the title role, who is an 'everyone loves her' kinda girl with a sixties wardrobe to go with her fifties mindset. This makes this a Pleasantville reversed movie when she moves to LA with her dad (allowing for yet another Bruce Willis cameo). She also has to promise her dad that she will give up sleuthing, but when they move into the haunted house of a murdered movie star, she doesn't keep this promise for long.

Nancy Drew is a surprisingly amusing comedy that should be a good choice for family entertainment. The ending gets a little silly, but this is pretty standard for comedies. Its worth seeing if you were already interested, have some bored munchkins, or if there is nothing else of interest to choose.

(this work first appeared on realmoviereview.com)