| What with the war, and the
ubiquitous sounds and sights of embedded reporters standing behind tanks
or jeeps, or green tinted blurry images with flashes of bright light, we
wanted to see something light, that would make us laugh. This film fit
the bill. A totally different story compared to our last flick, The
Quiet American, we had a great time, with a lot of laughs and heart
warming moments.
It's a classic Cinderella-type story of a girl who's never had
contact with her father, a fabulously wealthy Earl, in England. Every
time she works as a waitress at a wedding, she cries when the father
does the dance with the father.
At seventeen she runs off to meet her father. She sneaks onto his
estate, meets him, and his snooty fiance. The story moves on to portray
her being a silly, playful, open American teen let loose in a stiff,
upper class world of royalty, while her father is running for a position
in the house of commons.
There are no big surprises here, no deep human insights, observations
or explorations. It's just a simple, happy story with plenty of sweet
moments that touch the heart. Amanda Bynes, a regular on Nickleodeon for
11 years, since she was five, did a great job playing an older woman of
seventeen.
The casting was superb, with the nasty stepmother and stepsister
to-be doing a great job of getting you to hate them.
The music is excellent, particularly the singing of Oliver James, who
plays Ian, the rocker boyfriend.
This is not a movie you go to if you are seeking mental stimulation,
but for light, happy entertainment that repeatedly lifts and touches
your heart and makes you laugh and smile, it's a winner.
By the way, I must confess, at 51, I was one of the oldest in the
theatre.
Other
writings of Rob Kall |
