Bubbly Emma delivers
spunk to ‘Nancy Drew’

At the Movies
By Senitra Horbrook

With the same superstar smile as her Aunt Julia, 16-year-old Emma Roberts (daughter of Eric Roberts and Kelly Cunningham) lights up the screen. Her bubbly personality is also a good fit for her newest starring role, the title character in the movie Nancy Drew.
Even though Nancy has been a mystery-solving sleuth for 77 years (the popular book series was first published in 1930), writer/director Andrew Fleming and co-writer Tiffany Paulsen manage to update her a little. She’s still old-fashioned, but her iBook and cell phone help her solve mysteries in the 21st century. Nancy is so good at solving crimes in small-town River Heights that the police even acknowledge that she can nab criminals before they can.
Her attorney father, Carson Drew (Tate Donovan), gets a short-term assignment that forces him and Nancy to move to Los Angeles (her mother died long ago). Nancy’s father is not too keen on her mysterious ways, and he insists that she try to be a normal teenager while they are in L.A.
Of course, normal is not really in Nancy’s vocabulary. She sews her own clothes, drives a blue roadster and gives homemade treats from her housekeeper in River Heights to anyone she’s trying to sweet talk.
Nancy’s father allows her to choose where they will stay in California; she picks a house with an unsolved mystery. Even though she tells her father she will not get involved in any mysteries, the intrigue is just too much for her.
The home once was inhabited by Dehlia Draycott, a Hollywood starlet who turned up dead in the pool 25 years ago. Nancy wants to uncover the reason for her death and find the rightful heir to the woman’s estate. However, there are a few people who think she should mind her own business, including a creepy caretaker of the home and a shady attorney.
Nancy’s good friends, George and Bess, only make a brief appearance at the beginning of the film. Ned (Max Thieriot), the boy who has a major crush on Nancy, makes brief appearances throughout the film. She meets Corky (Josh Flitter), who winds up being an entertaining sidekick in California. The stereotypical mean girls at Hollywood High make fun of Nancy for being so old-fashioned, but it doesn’t seem to faze her.
With role models few and far between for today’s ’tweens (those 8-to-12-year-old girls), Roberts is certainly filling a void. Roberts, who stars in the Nickelodeon show Unfabulous and co-starred in last year’s Aquamarine, steps nicely into the leading role here.
Being a big reader back in my own ’tween years, the Nancy Drew series was certainly a staple on my bookshelf. The character has been able to stand the test of time. Nancy Drew is intelligent and polite. At one point in the film, when her innocent birthday party becomes a wild celebration, instead of a scolding, Nancy’s father congratulates her.
Nancy’s throwback style is sure to send girls to the mall looking for penny loafers and plaid skirts instead of Manolos and miniskirts.
Nancy Drew tries to be a good movie and succeeds to a point, but it’s far too predictable. The character is never in any real peril. Writers attempt to throw in a few red herrings, but it’s not hard to figure out the identity of the bad guy or gal.
Even so, seeing Nancy Drew is not a total waste of time, even though I’d say it’s best suited for an afternoon matinee among gal pals. ••
Movie Grade: B