Published: March 15, 2008

Nancy Drew DVD Review

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By Prairie Miller

A great coming of age girl movie that prioritzes teen personality and brain power over female body appeal, Nancy Drew hasn't lost any luster since the Carol Keene wildly popular book series debut seven decades ago. Director Andrew Fleming smoothly updates the enduring classic sleuth series by relocating the new and improved Nancy (perky Nickelodeon star Emma Roberts, niece of Julia) from small town anywhere USA to the seamy LA glitzy Hollywood underbelly.

And the new Nancy arrives with class and classic style. Her retro plaid skirts and knee socks, and pre-girls gone wild innocence, are efficiently mined with plenty of wit and style as teen fashion accidental individuality.

Nancy's widowed attorney dad (Tate Donovan) elicits a promise from the free lance detective-driven Nancy that she'll drop out of sleuthing for more normal age-appropriate pastimes like shopping. But once in LA, the girl just can't help herself.

She is soon operating beyond the law, bribing weak-willed bureaucrats for classified documents with her irresistible lemon blondies, as she gets obsessed about the decades old unsolved mysterious murder of a famed screen goddess. Tagging along after Nancy as she chases down assorted adult villains in her penny loafers, while dodging the nasty pranks of mean girl coeds at school, is surprising fun.

Warner Home Video
Rated PG
3 stars

DVD Features: Behind The Scenes Featurette: Nancy Drew: Kids At Work: Emma Roberts And Friends Up Close And Personal; Music Video: Pretty Much Amazing, performed by Joanna; Mini-Featurette Gallery: Cool Scenes with The Cast & Crew; Gag Reel; Text/Photo Gallery.