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The Case of the Misplaced Detective
movie connoisseur, psychotronic genius, Movie guru
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JUL
1
2007
Starting in the late 1950s, Stratmeyer began efforts to update Nancy. The novels were edited to be more contemporary, and portrayals of Ms. Drew in new novels and on television attempted to keep up her image as the model teen. It never quite worked. It was hard to imagine that Nancy was tracking down smugglers in River Heights in the same world that Dirty Harry was blowing away serial killers and terrorists. Could Nancy be called upon to solve the Case of the River Heights High School Massacre?
For this new movie adaptation, entitled simply Nancy Drew, director Andrew Fleming (The Craft) and co-screenwriter Tiffany Paulsen (who as an actress was pursued by Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th VIII) have wisely opted to make this disconnect into the backbone of their film. Their Nancy (Emma Roberts) operates in a River Heights frozen in time, her wits and resourcefulness making her a hero to everyone in town. Even the thieves she captures admire her. As a famous lawyer, Nancy’s father Carter Drew (played here by Tate Donovan) has always been a worldlier facet of the novels, usually out of town on some big case. The film uses him as a device to get Nancy into the real world, bringing her along as he works on an assignment for a few months, and exposing Nancy’s attitudes and habits as decidedly retro. In 2007, Nancy’s interest in mysteries, outstanding scholarship and self-styled fashions make her more than just a square. To today’s kids, Nancy Drew is a weirdo.
Unfortunately, there’s a bit of Hollywood narcissism at work here, even if it is self-deprecating. Hollywood sees itself as the center of whatever is hip, def, cool and groovy, so it’s the natural choice for a destination to make Nancy feel like a fish out of water. However, Hollywood is far from the “real world”, and installing Nancy in an old mansion that is home to an unsolved showbiz murder case, then having her hobnob with movie stars on a film set, hardly creates the juxtaposition that its assumed is intended.
Much like Bewitched’s Samantha Stevens’ attempts to refrain from using witchcraft to please her husband, Nancy has sworn to give up sleuthing in order to stay out of trouble while dad is busy. But in a house of mystery, she just can’t help herself, and she immediately sets out to solve the mysterious death of the mansion’s previous owner, movie legend Dehlia Draycott (Laura Harring of Willard). Though ostracized at her new high school, she gradually wins over some of her classmates, in particular accelerated 12-year old Corky (Josh Flitter), who becomes her default sidekick. Eventually, her default home town boyfriend Ned (Max Thieriot of The Pacifier) comes to visit, further aiding her in exploring secret passageways and running from thugs.
The film has an oddball appeal mixing Disney Channel sparkle with a bit of Warner Bros. grit – one scene has a party thrown by Nancy going mildly “out of control” (the music isn’t even that loud), but the plot involves such seamy elements as murder, kidnapping and unwed mothers. In a film where villains leave bombs clearly visible in the back seat of the hero’s car, it’s somewhat shocking to see Nancy kick a villain in the nuts.
It’s too Roberts’s credit that she carries the show here, despite its disparate elements. To adults, the 16-year old actress is the latest addition to the Roberts acting family, but to the movie’s target audience, she’s already a big star, veteran of a Nickelodeon TV series and star of Aquamarine. Her birdlike and petite stature makes this feat all the more impressive. In one scene, Nancy needs to sneak over a catwalk without causing the boards to squeak, which seems impossible since she doesn’t weigh anything. But make no mistake – there are heavyweight developments in her future.
Adults will see the solution to the mystery a third of the way in, but this isn’t meant to be The Usual Suspects. For an audience of pre-tween girls and their moms, this just might be the best movie ever – scary, intriguing, exciting, dramatic and funny, but not in threatening amounts.
Nancy Drew is recommended by gamera23
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