Movie Review: Nancy Drew (2007)

The movie stars Emma Roberts, Amy Bruckner, Craig Gellis, Max Thieriot and Rachael Leigh Cook.

I saw this movie some time ago and, when I discovered it was on Netflix, I planned to watch it with my oldest daughter (who loved the Nancy Drew books when she was younger). However, I ended up skipping my walk today because of the weather and, mostly because I couldn't find anything better to watch when having lunch, ended up putting this movie on. As it turns out, it was as good as I remember.

I think the thing I like most about this movie is the way it manages to modernize the Nancy Drew story while still maintaining the charm of the original character. Yes, Nancy (complete with her 1950s outfits) was a fish out of water in Los Angeles and, as a result, there were some comical scenes.

However, I personally loved how, instead of having her be completely clueless about her lack of popularity (something that has been done way too many times before), the writers chose to keep her fully aware and stick by her values anyway. That allowed her to be funny but, at the same time, made it very easy to respect her character.

To tell you the truth, the mystery itself was a little bland. The movie tries to throw in some red herrings. But, it isn't hard to figure out the creepy caretaker's (Marshall Bell) secret and the real bad guy is kind of obvious. That being said, the movie still manages to be entertaining because of the various twists and turns that are thrown in, including Nancy's life being put in jeopardy (on more than one occasion).

In fact, I think the only thing I found I didn't like about this film is, even though it came out 10 years ago, there has never been a sequel. That, I can honestly say, is a disappointment in my book.

The mystery leaves a little to be desired. But, this is a fun family movie that I think my daughter will enjoy whenever I get the time to actually watch it with her.

My Grade: B