Wild Child (2008)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Nick Moore

Writer (WGA):

Lucy Dahl (written by)

Release Date:

14 August 2008 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A rebellious Malibu princess is shipped off to a strict English boarding school by her father. |

Plot Keywords:

Boarding School | Teenager | Fire | Bitch | Spoiled Child

Cast

Emma Roberts	...	Poppy
Lexi Ainsworth	...	Molly
Shelby Young	...	Ruby
Johnny Pacar	...	Roddy
Aidan Quinn	...	Gerry
Natasha Richardson	...	Mrs. Kingsley
Georgia King	...	Harriet
Eleanor Turner-Moss	...	Charlotte
Ruby Thomas	...	Jane
Kimberley Nixon	...	Kate
Juno Temple	...	Drippy
Linzey Cocker	...	Josie
Sophie Wu	...	Camilla 'Kiki'
Shirley Henderson	...	Matron
Alex Pettyfer	...	Freddie

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some coarse and suggestive content, sex references and language - all involving teens. (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

98 min | USA:124 min

Country:

USA | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:6 | UK:12A | Australia:PG | South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | Malta:U | Argentina:13 | Mexico:A

Filming Locations:

Balls Park, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The dance the Abbey Mount girls perform before the last part of the lacrosse Finale is a modified Haka, or "Maori war cry", as used by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team. The first New Zealand rugby team to play overseas back in the late 19th century was the first to perform the Haka before their matches against the Australian teams to intimidate them. The Girls' Haka contains several of the present day's All Blacks' more aggressive Haka; Standing with knees bend while holding their arms bend over each other and their hands fisted, sticking out their tongue while yelling at the other team, slapping their elbows, thighs and chests, kneeling on one knee with a fist in the ground and their threatening facial expressions.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Drippy hands Poppy the Wagonwheel, it's whole. When Poppy hands it back, there's a bite missing from it, despite the fact that Poppy won't eat it because it's "carbs and sugar!"

Quotes:

Poppy: When the headgirl has earned my respect, then I will shake her hand, biatch!
Harriet: I'm sorry?
Poppy: Apology accepted.

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

Chasing Pavements

Nonsensical. Silly. Entertaining.

Poppy (Roberts) is a spoiled rich Malibu teen who has gone too far after playing an over-the-top prank and making her dad (Quinn) snapped. Thus, deciding to send her to an English boarding school for girls. She is, of course, taken in as an outsider, becoming Harriet's (King), the School Head Girl, greatest nemesis in mere seconds. But the headmistress (Richardson) really would like to help her mend her ways. She bonds with her roommates (Nixon, Temple, Wu and Cocker), after a rough start and they agree to help her get expelled so that she could go back home. Of course, cliché as it may sound, these friendship and a crush on the headmistress' son, Freddie (Pettyfer), give her second thoughts.

I can say that this move is like Mean Girls, except the girls aren't as mean. We get an American girl who's ignorant about all-thing Brit (and the other way around). Poppy came to the school overdressed, and thought that somebody will carry her bags for her, and was completely oblivious about the school hierarchy. You might think this is another fish-out-of-the-water type of film, but it's more than that.

The movie is witty, fun, honest, and slightly intelligent enough to make it watchable. It's nothing new, but it's pretty entertaining.

As the movie progresses, we see the character, mostly Poppy, develops. We get to learn why she is this "wild child" in the opening scene, and why she's so mean and ignorant about other people.

It all get slightly predictable towards the end...everything comes crashing down, Poppy's friendship is heading for breaking point, Freddie is angry with what Poppy has done, and she is on the brink of being kicked out of the school. So she only gets on chance to make everything alright again. School movies will do better without this kind of scenes. Anyway, the ending is quite emotional and touching, it'll make up for the rest of the clichéd trip you take since the start of the movie.