As boring as this pattern may seem, “Drew” still contains a good story line. The mystery is predictable, but cute.
The house Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) moves into once belonged to a movie star. Someone murdered this leading lady after she went missing for five months and returned to change her will and to quit acting. Drew must figure out who killed the actress and why.
Meanwhile, Drew has family problems. She promises her dad (Tate Donovan) she will not “sleuth” any more, but continues in her investigation without telling him. Under pressure from her father, she tries to fit in as a normal, teenage girl. She throws a party and hangs out with two other teenage girls (Daniella Monet and Kelly Vitz) completely opposite in personality. The two girls only hang out to make fun of Drew or to get access to the hot and attractive Ned.
Ned (Max Thieriot), the boy from home, shows up for a while, but then leaves. Another character, 12 year old Corky (Josh Flitter) develops a crush on Drew. He follows her around and fights with Ned once or twice.
I have two main problems with this movie:
1. The acting is not believable. Roberts does an alright job as Drew, but she lacks passion and excitement. Her scenes with Donovan as Drew’s father are not deep enough and do not enhance the plot the way they should. The rest of the crew seems pointless. Drew’s friends come and go, but are not essential to the plot. Take Ned, Corky, and the two teenage girls out and you would still have a good Nancy Drew Film. Give them more substantial parts in the plot and you’ve got yourself a much better film. The teenage girls give a small bit of comic relief, but much of that comic relief showed up in the movie trailers. The girls are also meant to help point out the way Drew does not fit in at school, but those bits are limited as well.
2. Drew’s character is not believable. Perfect in almost every way, the faults she does possess do not show very well. If the film makers had her try harder to fit in and learn her lesson from that it would enhance the moral of the film more. On the other hand, her confidence does exemplify the way we should carry ourselves, which takes away from the cliché of the film. Still, Drew’s confidence does not show up very often in real life and sometimes we just need an example of how to deal with our emotions when we go through trials and ultimately learn our lessons. Furthermore, Drew’s relationships with other characters should show up more in the script and the way she sees herself should show up more in the script. You see her outward confidence, but how does she feel inside? Drew should work with her friends in a team effort. She could act as a Kim Possible character while her friends could act as Ron Stoppable characters. As the leader of the group, Drew would do most of the work, but she would depend on her friends in the process.
Despite its flaws, “Drew” still pulls off a cute film. Visual effects and cinematography do not fall short. The film also stays true to the books and maintains a feel for the time the books were written in. Although the movie takes place in current times, Drew owns an old car and during chase and action scenes viewers are reminded of the classic chase scenes in shows like “Scooby Doo.” The score does not include 50’s music, but much of it keeps to an old fashioned feel.
While the moral of the story is not brought to light in the best possible way, a moral does exist. We are taught to stay true to who we are no matter what and to always follow our heart, but to use our mind all the while. Drew chooses to do the right thing and thinks of others above herself.
The best thing about this film is that it is a clean movie. Suited more for children, it still contains a typical teenage plot. Adults are sure to enjoy watching this film, as well. In the world we live in, it is not very often a clean movie comes out and all audience should be able to enjoy clean films just as much as films that are not so clean.
Although I do not recommend seeing it more than once, “Drew” remains a good, clean, family film with good morals that we can learn from.
Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings
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