Review of What a Girl Wants (2003) by Adam R — 04 May 2018

I watched this film during a particularly nasty day of illness. In the midst of my boredom, I decided to watch some chick flicks in my film collection that I hadn't watched (I have a lot of weird shit in my film collection).

Unfortunately, What A Girl Wants is a dud that relies on cliched storytelling that feels part wish-fulfillment and part Cinderella. The story follows an American girl named Daphne who comes to find out that her father is an Englishman named Lord Henry Dashwood who is running for office.

So, she decides to travel to England to meet her father and is soon swept up in a rich lifestyle, becoming the talk of the tabloids, falling in love (With a guy who looks like a Saved By the Bell era Mario Lopez with a British accent), competing with her father's fiance and her daughter (The Cinderella-esque elements of the plot), and growing close with her father.

While the film has its moments, the plot is a mess that struggles with tonal shifts (Even the music score struggles to keep up with the tonal shifts) that can go from melodrama to wacky hijinks in the blink of an eye.

It's a shame, because the acting is actually pretty solid. Amanda Bynes certainly gives it her all and is delightful. She's energetic, likable, and charming which makes the dreadful script all the more shameful.

I can see why this film has its fans, but for me, it was a very underwhelming film that could have (and should have) been much better. Look for your chick flick fix elsewhere.