By Katherine Ramsland
June 19, 2007
Although the character of Nancy Drew was first created in 1930, she's shifted and changed with each new generation. While she remains a role model for young girls, this film, with Emma Roberts as the girl sleuth, aspires to make her relevant for the post-CSI 21st century. (Nancy's even seen reading a pop forensics text, but for sleuthing she sticks with pencil and paper, strings and hooks — whatever worked in the past.) Given the decades of popularity of this character, and the emphasis these days on solving crimes, bringing Nancy Drew to film at this time is a great idea.
 |
| Movie Poster |
The film opens with the quick resolution of a small-town mystery to show what Nancy can do in limited circumstances — wowing everyone, from school chums to River Heights's chief of police. We also meet her mooning boyfriend, Ned (Max Thieriot). Next, it's show time: Nancy's going to Hollywood.
She accompanies her father, Carson Drew (Tate Donovan), on an extended business trip to Los Angeles, where she's made a promise to quit sleuthing and try to be "normal." However, Dad lets her pick the house they will rent, so she chooses one with a mystery: the famous unsolved murder of an actress who disappeared for five months, returned to throw a fabulous party, and ended up floating dead in her pool. While there are no such Hollywood stories - at least not to the magnitude of fame that this one reputedly has - one can't help but think of Marilyn Monroe and the Black Dahlia, actresses around whose deaths mystery still hovers.
Next Page
For More Daily Crime News
default
increase
decrease
email
print