Movie Review: Nancy Drew

Jacob and Clare and I went and saw Nancy Drew in the dollar theater the other day. (I love the dollar theater, by the way.) I would give it four out of five stars.

First, you must know that I've read many, many Nancy Drew books. I was a little bit worried about how the movie makers were going to put Nancy into the modern world. Would she still be herself? She was pretty close, though a little bit young. And the quirky way that the old was mixed with the new (Nancy driving an old convertible that still looked as polished and waxed as ever, for instance) was fun.

The biggest disappointment, to me, was Carson Drew. When I think of Carson Drew, I think tall, good looking, wealthy, and unruffled. I think, (deep voice) "Oh, Nancy. Its terrible that those bad guys blew up your new convertible! I'll have another one waiting for you when you get home." The Carson Drew of the movie was, in short, a worrywart. He was looking for a job (what?!? Carson Drew is, according to the first page of The Secret of the Old Clock, "...a well-known lawyer in their home town of River Heights...") and fretting about Nancy quite a bit.

There was, however, some nice tension between Nancy and Ned that made things much more romantic. The Ned of the books is just a background boyfriend -- a handy college cutie. The Ned of the movie is still a cutie, but he's less background. There were short cameos for Bess, George, and Hannah Gruen. Oh, and Bruce Willis. Don't ask. Just see it if you want some quirky fun.