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.
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.
