Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)

A teenage girl is convinced that her home city revolves around her until her family packs up and moves to the suburbs, where she finds herself competing for attention.

Director:

Sara Sugarman

Writers:

Dyan Sheldon (book), Gail Parent (screenplay)

Stars:

Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Adam Garcia

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lindsay Lohan	...	Lola
Adam Garcia	...	Stu
Glenne Headly	...	Karen
Alison Pill	...	Ella
Eli Marienthal	...	Sam
Carol Kane	...	Miss Baggoli
Megan Fox	...	Carla
Sheila McCarthy	...	Mrs. Gerard
Tom McCamus	...	Calum
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Mr. Gerard
Sheila Sealy-Smith	...	Sgt. Rose
Ashley Leggat	...	Marcia
Barbara Mamabolo	...	Robin
Maggie Oskam	...	Paige
Rachael Oskam	...	Paula

Storyline

When the teenager Mary Elizabeth Steppe, a.k.a. Lola, moves with her mother and two younger twin sisters from New York to the suburb of Dellwood, New Jersey, she has the feeling that her cultural and entertaining world ended. While in school, the displaced Lola becomes close friend of the unpopular Ella, who is also a great fan of the her favorite rock band Sidarthur. However, the most popular girl in the school, Carla Santini, disputes the lead role in an adaptation of Pygmalion with Lola and also the leadership of their mates. When the last concert of Sidarthur is sold-out, Lola plans with Ella to travel to New York and buy the tickets from scalpers. However, the girls get into trouble while helping the lead singer and Lola's idol Stu Wolf, changing their lives forever.

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Plot Keywords:

suburb | band | new york city | friend | teenager | 

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Taglines:

She's making a scene over everything.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bekenntnisse einer High School Diva

Filming Locations:

Birchmount Collegiate, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,350,572, 22 February 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$29,331,068, 20 May 2004

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,051,296, 31 December 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Confessions Productions, Argentum Film Produktion und Betriebes KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Right after the scene where Lola and Ella did not get into the concert, they are seen walking down the street heading towards the after party. Right behind them is Lindsey Lohan's mother Dina, her sister Ali and brother Cody walking.

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Goofs

Toward the end of the movie when Lola is in her first costume as Eliza and is talking to her mother before going on stage her cartilage earring disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

Karen: You are a Lola.

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Connections

Referenced in Scrubs: My Big Move (2005)

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Soundtracks

1-2-3
Written by Kara DioGuardi, Jörgen Elofsson
Performed by Brittney Cleary (as Nikki Cleary)
Courtesy of Jive Records
Under license from BMG Film & Television Music

User Reviews

It sounds like an After School Special, and plays like a (weak) one as well.

Can Lindsay Lohan act? Yes. Can she sing? Yes. Can she dance? Yes. Is she attractive? Oh yes. Is "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" a good vehicle for her?

Ah well, four out of five isn't a bad average.

You can't deny that this lives up to its title; the heroine, uprooted from her beloved New York City to a New Jersey town and thus derailed from her dreams of becoming an actress, lies and overreacts to everything around her while keeping us additionally informed in voiceovers. But her behaviour is a match for the movie - all surface, no real depth. It all seems like we're watching a feature-length After School Special, and not a particularly good one at that; maybe the running time of less than 90 minutes kept anything from being developed, but even so it would have been nice if director Sara Sugarman and writer Gail Parent had given the elements some kind of balance (the whole business with her favourite group Sidarthur's farewell performance and the shenanigans involved with it takes up far too much time, and we don't get to see enough of how she fares in her new town).

It doesn't really register as anything, and the heavy-handed use of songs on the soundtrack doesn't help (every time the school's resident snob appears, up pops that song by Lumidee). The ever-reliable Carol Kane adds a few real chuckles as the drama teacher in charge of the school musical (and guess who stars in it?) - seeing her conduct an orchestra entirely made up of people at computer screens IS funny - but really, is there anything here that hasn't been done before better? And why does the school musical practically scream "Fame"?

Alison Pill (as her new best friend) and Adam Garcia (as the singer with Sidarthur) are a big help, but most of the highlights of the movie are, sorry to say, the FX-filled fantasy sequences from Amoeba Proteus - and surely there has to be something wrong when such is the case in a movie like this. Thankfully, Lindsay manages to carry the movie past the finish line; less effervescent than Hilary Duff but a stronger actress, she's a good performer in need of a better movie. But I have a feeling that "A Cinderella Story" will be more suited to Miss D than this movie is to Lindsay.

Ah well, we in the UK still haven't seen "Mean Girls"...