First Daughter (2004) User Reviews

Good Cast Wasted in a Silly and Shallow Screenplay

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 1 January 2007]

Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes), the daughter of President Mackenzie (Michael Keaton) and his wife Melanie (Margaret Collin), decides to go to college in California during his tough campaign for reelection. She requests a reduced secret service protection trying to act normal with her new mates, including her roommate Mia Thompson (Amerie), and she falls in love for James Lansome (Marc Blucas). When her security is threatened, she discloses the real identity of James and decides to return home to support her family in the election process.

In spite of having a good cast with great performances, "First Daughter" has a very silly and shallow screenplay that does not help the actors and the actresses. The story aims to expose the "tough life" of a young woman because she is the daughter of the president of the USA, but actually shows a futile, spoiled and overprotected teenager with a weak personality having a luxurious and banal lifestyle. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Filha do Presidente" ("The Daughter of the President")

It's not that bad; it's just not that good

[oshram-3 · 5/10 · 26 September 2004]

Frankly, First Daughter is not the train wreck the critics are saying it is; it's not like it was The Stepford Wives or anything.

First Daughter follows the travails of one Samantha Mackenzie (Holmes) as she breaks away from her dad (Michael Keaton) and starts college. Okay, it's not especially deep, and yes, it probably is similar to Mandy Moore's Chasing Liberty, which was released at the top end of this year and was by all accounts a stinker (I didn't see it so I can't say). We see Sam get in some fairly predictable situations; she's hounded by her Secret Service guys; she has a cheeky black roommate (Amarie Rogers) who takes a while to warm up to her; and she has trouble relating to guys until she meets James Lansome (Marc Blucas), who just lets her be her, blah blah blah. It's a little thin, yeah, and the whole fairy-tale narration done at the beginning (by director Forest Whittaker himself) is treacly, period.

But at least everyone gives it an honest stab. Keaton in particular seems to be enjoying himself as an embattled president (we could have used a little more of that, frankly) who cares about his daughter but is caught up in re-election blues. Rogers is a whole lot less annoying than I thought she would be, and her character Mia has a twist that I actually enjoyed. Blucas I find to be a terribly underrated actor; he's been good in a number of otherwise unremarkable productions, but he's solid, charismatic, and fun to watch. All of those traits serve him well here and he has good chemistry with Holmes, which you can't say about most of her big-screen beaus.

And Katie, who has to carry the film? Well, she's not really given a chance to shine. She gets a few scenes of real acting, but mostly this is lightweight stuff for her (after her performance in Pieces of April there can be little doubt she has the goods); aside from some pleasant chemistry and one or two scenes where she gets to be a little weepy, there's not a lot here for her to do but look princessy and gaze wide-eyed at a lot of things. One scene, an argument with Mia, could have really benefited from a little more heat. Katie can do anger pretty well (so would you if you had to work with James Van Der Beek for six years), and it's a shame she never gets to open up the throttle here and show off. I suspect that was Whittaker's decision, but more than once he passes on the opportunity to utilize the strengths of his lead.

First Daughter isn't a particularly memorable film, but it's not all that bad either. It's a light piece of fluff that only waxes saccharine in a few scenes, and actually has a few good moments (when Blucas reveals that he's a Secret Service agent, both he and Holmes pull it off excellently). It's by a long shot not the worst film of the year (or even the season; it's far less annoying than Resident Evil). In fact, it's a great deal like Sky Captain; a really pretty wrapping around a mostly empty box.

Great Acting, awful writing...

[LuvBrd81 · 4/10 · 17 October 2004]

OK, I love Katie Holmes and do not regret seeing this movie cuz she was so cute and really did a great acting job, as usual. And, in fact, all the actors did, which shows what talent they have to be able to act in such an awfully written movie. The script was just dull and parts of the movie that were interesting, they chose not to develop. The whole problem with her roommate could have been interesting, but the problems just went away way too quickly. And, the commercials give away that Katie Holmes' character's boyfriend is a bodyguard, which seems to be the whole excitement of the movie. I would recommend that you don't pay money to see this movie, if anything, wait till it comes out on cable, it can't be too far away!

Good enough

[Thilfan · 1 October 2004]

First Daughter says it all.... This movie was fun and light-hearted, but by no means was it a collector's item. Katie Holmes does not always succeed in looking 18 (more like 25) but she convinces the audience that she is at least well-meaning. Michael Keaton returns to the big screen- the daddy-daughter chemistry is endearing, if not nearly convincing. The plot line was neither original nor engaging to any real degree, but Katie does an OK job of keeping interest. The love interest is charming and the scenes are moderately appealing. If you have no real expectations you'll most likely get a kick out of the movie, just don't expect too much. If you saw Mandy Moore's version of this movie you'll be pleasantly surprised to find it not so far-fetched, but it is no more original than round number one of the "first daughter" goes. If you're up for any chick- flick available, do it. If you're skeptical and short on cash... stay home.

Guilty Pleasure

[cschear · 5/10 · 6 November 2016]

Okay, I am very aware that this movie is pretty awful. And funny enough, I don't care for Katie Holmes or Marc Blucas. But I can't help but watch this when I'm alone and no one else knows. Michael Keaton is good as always. And even though the whole storyline is completely ridiculous, there are some very sweet moments. The biggest problem with this movie is simply the very weak script. However, the good news is that regardless of the script and some of the actors, it can't help but have some guilty charms. I don't think I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't have genuine guilty pleasures. Real ones. Like that George Lazenby is their favorite Bond. But it's a cute movie that I think younger tweens might enjoy.

This movie is boring!

[Lady_Targaryen · 4/10 · 24 October 2005]

I cannot imagine how 11.4% of people that watched this movie can rate it 10. This movie is such a crap! The story is totally predictable and the end, they tried to make it different from the predictable comedy where the girls stays happy with the guy, but they only let the movie got worst! Katie Holmes has a terrible acting,without any life and I think this movie is a total copycat of 'Chasing Liberty'!( If you people never watched Chasing Liberty, I suggest you go, because it's much better than First Daughter and at least is original, since it was made before First Daughter) I really don't know why this movie was made. And if the DVD was mine, I would sell it for sure.

One of the WORST movies I have ever seen

[jerodm · 1/10 · 26 February 2006]

I just registered with IMDb for the exclusive purpose of telling everyone within shouting distance that is one of the absolute worst movies I have ever seen. I had to do this in order to validate the two hours of my life that I just wasted on this tripe. The script was beyond awful, and it was incredibly slow. Please, for the love of God, do not waste your time on this movie. I cannot even conceive of a movie more predictable, more cliché, more utterly forced. I can imagine Michael Keaton seeing the final cut of this film for the first time and retching, wondering what the hell happened to his career. This film was clearly targeted to under 13 girls, and I suspect that they could not even stomach the astoundingly slow pace of the film.

Good clean entertaining fun.

[gma32720 · 7/10 · 16 January 2006]

We watched the DVD for the first time over the weekend and since then it has been replayed numerous times. Yes, there are parts that are fluffy and not very deep but sometimes we need clean lighthearted fun movies to entertain not educate, make us think or try to shield our children or grandchildren from language, obscenity etc.

I think there was a lot of subtlety in the movie that some may have missed, the callbacks and transitions were interesting. Yeah there were some parts where I wondered what message the Director was trying to get across because the scene seemed a little out of order or at times unnecessary. I agree with others that there were opportunities to develop characters that were not taken up. I hope there is a sequel - there are so many issues that could be explored in a relationship between an Agent and the First Daughter - and last but not least Marc Blucas seems to be under rated as an actor - and he is very easy on the eyes.

Nothing much

[AscendeSuperius · 4/10 · 13 December 2021]

Despite it being an interesting concept, it was quite poorly executed. While the plot twist did make it more interesting, little care was given to the 'solution' of the issue in the film,making the conclusions that the characters come to seem abrupt and out of place. Furthermore, I simply could not see any chemistry between the couple at all, making it hard to root for them.

Fun movie

[mcoehn · 6/10 · 24 July 2021]

Entertaining and delightful. A nice movie to watch. Cast is suited for their respective roles, but Katie Holmes is well suited for the role oozing elegance and grace at times in the various functions she attends as the president's daughter. As said before a nice, entertaining and relaxing movie for all. Worth the watch.

The lesser of the two First Daughter films of 2004 with an uneasy mixture of fairy tale whimsy and drama coupled with a lack of chemistry

[IonicBreezeMachine · 4/10 · 27 November 2023]

Samantha "Sam" Mackenzie (Katie Holmes) is the First Daughter of President John Mackenzie (Michael Keaton) who prepares to leave home for college while still dealing with the presence of Secret Service in her life during an election year. As Sam struggles to adapt to college life and escape the limelight, she falls for her RA James (Marc Blucas) as events soon align that Sam must overcome.

First Daughter is a 2004 romantic dramedy and one of two First Daughter related projects released that year alongside Chasing Liberty. Despite beginning development prior to Chasing Liberty, First Daughter was released several months after Chasing Liberty. Directed by Forest Whitaker who'd previously directed the successful (if not critically well-regarded) Waiting to Exhale and Hope Floats, the film was negatively received by critics who called it inferior to the middlingly reviewed Chasing Liberty and also proved to be a box office bomb earning $10 million against a $30 million budget. While Chasing Liberty was just undemanding date night fodder that owed more than a few debts to Roman Holiday, First Daughter is chemistry free as a romance, laugh free as a comedy, and dramatically inert.

From the opening intro where narration provided by Forest Whitaker sets the story up as though it's a fairy tale, the film fails at establishing a consistent tone for itself and creates already shaky foundations for itself. I don't think Katie Holmes is necessarily to blame for this material as she's only working with what's been given, but in comparison to Chasing Liberty's handling of the First Daughter subject, Holmes feels like she's struggling with understanding a character who simultaneously exists in a world of Fairy Tale fantasy and real world unwanted tabloid and media attention creating a "no-man's land" of a character that doesn't fully satisfy either side of that equation. Marc Blucas is just an absolute blank as a leading man and there's so little chemistry between him and Holmes that the first kiss is shot from the back of Blucas' head as an indicator that even Whitaker knows there's no chemistry. But I think the biggest issues aside from its floundering comedy and lack of chemistry comes from a reveal halfway through the film that makes Michael Keaton and Margaret Colin's President and First Lady MacKenzie absolutely irredeemable as characters in a way the movie doesn't seem to understand. The reveal is very similar to the setup in Chasing Liberty (except played for drama) and while I had my problems with the execution at least the film acknowledged both in character and delivery that what was done was not a good thing. In First Daughter's case it bends backwards over itself to try and justify President MacKenzie's actions and he and the First Lady only do further actions involving their campaign that only further make them irredeemable.

I did not like First Daughter at all. While the cast are clearly trying to do what they can, there's no saving this movie. As a romance there's a lack of chemistry and passion, as a comedy the humor is very hackneyed, and as a drama it alters between being inert or in some cases unintentionally petty or malicious.

A pleasant pastime

[ClassicMovieFans · 8/10 · 4 September 2005]

The plot itself - about the First daughter who went to College in Carlifornia, far away from the White House, in order to be normal and meet friends may be cliché. Yet the movie on the whole can still hand out nice surprises every now and then. Katie Holmes has a unique face and looks intelligent enough to want to be independent as well as not to disappoint the First family. More importantly, Marc Blucas (her love interest) is not like the stereotyped Prince Charming for a teenager. At least he also looks sophisticated and mature and gives a strong case why the first daughter would fall for him. The two make an attractive couple and are on the same wavelength when they share the views on science etc.

The twist in the movie, at least I didn't see it coming, is good. Considering how many such plots have appeared on screen, I must say this one at least is not as predictable and does give me some credibility as a story about real people. The President and First Lady are not given a significant part here. The young couple already is a good reason to watch the movie. The love songs that accompanied the ball room dances are pleasant and well-chosen. If "monster-in-law" is rated 5 out of 10 here (last time I check), then "the First Daughter" deserves at least a 6.5 or 7, for its creativity and credible performance by the leading couple.

I also hope that Marc Blucas has great roles in future movies for his refreshing looks and performance.

Predictable yet watchable

[Angelus2 · 6/10 · 28 December 2007]

Samantha; the Presidents daughter is off to college and finds the stress of being the First Dauhter extremely hard and she ends up meeting James.

James shows Samantha a world she has never seen or experienced only for it to broken when she finds out James real agenda in 'hanging' around her.

He is a federal agent, protecting her.

The film is a charming film brilliantly directed by Forest Whitaker.

Katie Holmes plays the role of the good girl perfectly while Blucas shines as the agent. (Similar to a role he played in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Michael Keaton is very funny as the President and father; while Amerie adds spice to the sweet mannered movie.

Squirm-inducing tripe. Don't waste your time.

[Ben_Cheshire · 1/10 · 12 May 2005]

Katie Holmes is the president's daughter, but she wants to go to college like a normal kid.

We've seen this before, the cindarella story has played out so many times in Western cinema its physically sickening. We've seen this EXACT story recently, too, in The Prince and I, where it was a European royal who wanted to go to American college and be young.

Absolute cornball tripe with cliché dialogue and contrived situations. Squirm-inducing.

Forest Whitaker clearly learned nothing from being in the classic movie Good Morning Viewtnam.

could have been better

[dougiejr3 · 25 September 2004]

The best parts of this movie - in my estimation is watching Katie Holmes run around with that tiny blue bikini on, and do the table dance with the blonde wig on. Other than that - it could have been much better. I thought the combo of Michael Keaton and Katie would have made this movie much improved over Chasing Liberty (I also thought that movie was mediocre at best). But in the end, this movie was just okay. The ending was very disappointing also. There was no resolution except that she's got her whole life in front of her. I still consider Wonder Boys and Pieces of April as Katie's best work. I hope she's got something really redeeming up next. I'd hate for her to fall under the Ben Affleck curse (good looking, made some good movies, but then started making tons of terrible ones). We can only hope.

Flimsiest of light rom-com

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 15 April 2014]

Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes) has always been a sweet proper girl and the only daughter of the President (Michael Keaton). She is going off to college and the strict Secret Service protection doesn't always fit. She falls for student James Lansome (Marc Blucas). However the president is in his re-election campaign and James isn't who she thinks he is.

It's always odd to note that this was directed by Forest Whitaker, but he seems to like these light rom-coms. And this is the lightest of rom-com especially in the first half. Katie Holmes is playing a stiff character and isn't allowing the comedy to come through. The movie does improve slightly with the twist for about 15 minutes, but then it falls apart with a flat unimpressive ending.

Pretty weak

[roset60 · 3/10 · 2 October 2004]

I went to the movie house expecting to see another movie, but I was a day early, so went to see this one. Boring. The whole relationship with the room mate didn't work for me. The room mate role didn't work. Even the whole college scene was not realistic. The college class with the deep remark from Samantha didn't work. The trombone playing could have been the room mate was way overdone. The dance scenes were boring. The general topic is interesting, how someone like a Chelsea Clinton might yearn to have the life of a nobody, but this movie doesn't really explore it with anything but a superficial view. The chocolate cake snack is too big. The relationship with Dad is too superficial. The little guy working for the president was an annoying stereotype. The escape to the White House that Samantha planned was silly.

Would you like insipidity with that?

[kelc_mishthegreat_02 · 2/10 · 23 June 2007]

Okay, the idea of the American President's daughter breaking away from her life under the media microscope and going to college isn't a bad one, but I felt it could have been done more justice.

Nearly the whole film felt like it had been dipped in chocolate fondue it was that sappy.

I expected more excitement, the kind of exciting and hilarious adventures you see these teenagers have at college in movies, but in this film hilarity and vigour failed to ensure.

There were a few moments which were entertaining though, and that was when Sam (Katie Holmes) was trying to make James (Marc Blucas) jealous of her so he would show his affection for her (which entailed buying a heap of pregnancy tests). Yeah...that and the bitch fight scene between Sam and Mia (Amerie) were the only parts in the whole film that really appealed to me.

I often wonder why professional and grown up actors go for such lame parts in teeny flicks like these...But then again, work is work and if I was getting paid some good cash then I would degrade myself to that level of shame.

Speaking of teeny movies, this one's a little soft for the mental capacity of the average teen, so I would recommend it to tweens instead. It's predictable and insipid.

I mean, who could stand to watch Katie Holmes (pretty as she is) waltz around in slow motion for nearly a quarter of the movie? This film is really badly written, with sappy and symbolic dialogue crammed in waaay to much.

Leave it for the tweens. If they can stand it...

Good but not original

[marugorlero2 · 6/10 · 14 October 2005]

Don't get me wrong, it is an OK movie. Not the best but not the worst either... But is it me or is this movie practically the same as *Chasing Liberty* starring Mandy Moore???? It is basically the same plot - daughter of the president of the united states leaves home seeking for some freedom, falls in love with an undercover secret agent and gets her heart broken - They actually both came out around the same time so it's hard to say if one copies the other or what happened here. But they are definitely oddly similar... Both movies are OK, acting is OK too by both Katie Holmes and Mandy Moore. The ending kind of disappointed me in both though. I am not going to spoil it but it did. I liked the ending of First Dauther a little bit better i guess but overall they were just practically the same movie...

Nonsensical tosh, but hilarious.

[rfmh2 · 2/10 · 18 March 2005]

This film is a farce. Or is it? Who knows? I don't, you won't and the director certainly doesn't. This muddled mess of a film is unintentionally funny (or maybe it it's not), especially in the cheese laden voice overs and turgid, romanto-crud dialogue that pervades the end of the film like a rose tinted, sickly sweet cloud of virtuousness. Some scenes are so incredibly cheesy/sentimental/'American dream inspirational' that they induce laughter involuntarily.

Having realised that this film is a poorly edited and assembled mush fest, the director has shoe-horned in some modern, hip elements, notably the 'Token Fiesty Black Friend' (TM) and various ludicrous college based calamities. These DO NOT WORK when forced into the aforementioned slush.

Avoid like the plague. (The Mandy Moore film was better. Yes, it's that bad.)If you're a filmmaker, watch for an exercise in how to make a complete mess of a film and include an entire encyclopedia of clichés.

"Imagine never being alone and always feeling lonely"

[tanujabaidya · 7/10 · 20 July 2023]

I thought this movie will be some rich brat spoiling their life but this movie is so much more than that.

Basically, this movie is about a girl Samantha she is a girl of the president. All she wants is to live a life like regular people she wants her life to be simple but with privilege we need to sacrifice something. She went a college but her father send a tight security as he is helpless he also gets many death threats about her daughter. People are giving her all attention because she is a daughter of precedent not because of who she is. Nobody wanna know, what she wants her whole future is picked by people with all the expectations. She doesn't even have friends. In college she met her roommate Mia she is cool. She treats her like a normal person. And there she met a handsome boy James they become friends quickly. He treats her like a normal person. He talks to her for her, not because he wanted he took her to the normal place. He doesn't judge her. But life can be that simple right? So she found out something that's the story.

I love the concept of the story like you have everything you want but not what you need. You are lonely but need to pretend like you are happy. Putting happy face all the time is hard, I loved this film not relatable but I enjoyed it.

First Daughter

[jboothmillard · 2/10 · 31 May 2009]

It is interesting to see actor Forest Whitaker directing, and narrating, this chick flick teen romantic comedy. The teenage daughter of U.S. President John Mackenzie (Michael Keaton), Samantha (Katie Holmes) is going off to college hoping to have a normal life without the Secret Service keeping an eye on her, but they are. They are agreeing to give her a little space, but she meets James Lansome (Marc Blucas) who is secretly an undercover agent playing a student. In the time they spend together, Samantha - the first daughter, and James fall in love, until of course she learns his real identity, and has words to say to her Dad, but don't worry, everything is settled in the end. Also starring singer Amerie as Mia Thompson, Margaret Colin as Melanie Mackenzie, Independence Day's Lela Rochon Fuqua as Liz Pappas, Michael Milhoan as Agent Bock, Dwayne Adway as Agent Dylan and a brief Joan Rivers. This is one of those films that might have a good title and have one or two good people, but it turns out to be one of the most boring films ever, I just couldn't get into it, and it was just about a waste of time. Pretty poor!

Wonderful clean fun

[jp4man1980 · 10/10 · 26 January 2005]

I really enjoyed this movie. My husband and I went to see it at the movies together. This movie is about parental love, finding yourself, first love and the college experience. It talks about how hard it is to live up to someone else expectations. It is a wonderful movie that you can watch with your kids. The actors and actresses are the best. My husband had never seen Katie Holmes in anything before and was as impressed with how expressive her facial features are. She can really express herself with her eyes. She looked crushed, happy, sad, excited, embarrassed and betrayed all with her features. Her words just added to it. Michael Keaton was exceptional as always. Marc Blucas has come a long ways since his Buffy days. You will enjoy the love and happiness that is in this film. JP

Sweet and Charming Movie....

[Kwantic · 7/10 · 11 June 2006]

Well it's not the best movie ever, nor is the plot extraordinary, it is a very sweet and at times charming movie. Katie Holmes does a great job playing Samanatha, a sweet and respectful young lady. And Marc Blucas is equally as good in the role of James. I could go on about the cast, which all played their roles well, but I won't. While at times the movie is a bit choppy, not flowing from scene to scene, it's still enjoyable to watch. While the movie is a bit of a fairy tale, it also shows the ugly side of being the presidents daughter. If you're into fairy tales, and romantic comedies it's worth seeing, and a movie that both mothers and their daughters can enjoy. The movie never manages to loose you're interest, and you may even want to watch it again.

Such a bizarre film

[mrtomkania-163-340158 · 4/10 · 6 October 2018]

The whole time I was watching I was trying to imagine what made Forrest Whittaker want to tell this story. In all honesty, I didn't hate it. It did make my toes curl frequently and it's a truly strange story that I laughed out loud at on more than one occasion, but the twist half way through made me shout at the telly in shock. I am quite hungover today though, so my standards are naturally lower.

I'd give it 4.5/10 if I could, but I can't. 4/10.