On September 24th, First Daughter will be released in the US. After many date changes and worrying times, First Daughter's fate will soon be decided by the movie-going public, but has it's future already been determined? The comparisons to Chasing Liberty are inevitable. Another movie about life as the First Daughter, another young actress leading the cast and less than a year between release dates. Trying to distance itself from Chasing Liberty left First Daughter with a shaky future and has finally resulted in a reduced promotional period. The critics are already making comparisons and it's difficult to tell if many had already formed their opinion before entering the movie theatre. For some people the critics' opinion is important, but many fans will choose to ignore them and see the movie regardless of the volume of negative comments printed. Even the most loyal fan can have doubts though and further questions are being raised about the nature of Katie's role. It may have been Katie's intention to move away from teenage roles but First Daughter has resulted in yet another to add to her filmography. As a Katie fan it will be nice to see her make the complete transition into adult roles. Another light romantic comedy, I worry that the movie is now aimed at a younger demographic than previously expected and the Daily News today heightened my fear by labelling it a 'tween' movie. While many light-hearted movies try to appeal to all ages ('13 Going On 30' starring Jennifer Garner being a recent movie that springs to mind), reviews have not been promising that First Daughter will hit the spot with anybody over the age of 20. If that's the case then it faces a tough challenge to compete with the other teen films and many genres on offer today. Focus is being placed on Katie to carry the movie. The movie poster consists of just Katie against a plain background and few other names are mentioned in connection - most surprisingly the omission of Batman star, Michael Keaton, who plays the POTUS. But even if Box Office success is not in First Daughter's future, will this really be a disaster for Katie? With a starring role in the new Batman feature film already secured and all signs currently pointing to a successful future for that, First Daughter could be a mere blip on the radar. Time will tell though and come September 24th you will be in a position to decide if First Daughter will be on your must watch list or if you'll be steering clear. Visitor Responses From Lenny: This looks like just another teen film. Katie hasn't been a teen for years and needs to stop doing this sort of thing and start playing 20 something roles right now. There are just so many teen films around today and so many popular teen actresses, that Katie's film may get lost in the crowd - kind of like the person who comes to a party that they are way too old to attend. Personally, most teen films are so boring they put me to sleep. And, from the trailer of First Daughter I saw, I think I will need to bring my pillow. Of course, I always wake up long enough to see the cute girls jiggling and falling out of skimpy dresses. (I am a man - sue me). But, why would Katie want to do that sort of thing. She is too good an actress to waste her time on such feeble stuff. And, I also hope she learned her lesson about sexploitation from The Gift. She really "took one for the team" in that film and the team still lost. Come to think of it, the team lost in most of her films, so I think that she may need a new manager that has a clue about the kind of films she should be making. I am a big fan and have seen all her films, and have generally been disappointed. First Daughter looks like more of the same, but, for the first time in any of her films, she will look as beautiful as she really is, and that is worth the price of admission all by itself. I hope that this will be enough to get people to come to the theaters, because, the film doesn't seem to have much else to offer. I am crossing my fingers for Batman Begins. This film looks like it might be a breakthrough film for her, because it seems to provide the right kind of role for her in a film that could be a big hit (unless this film is another screwup, like most of the other Batman films). From Mariette: I will not be viewing this film, because I already know the ending. She will fall in love with the secret agent, and their love will overcome everything. How original! Come on. I have seen the obvious love story coming before the movie starts. Lets see what has come out so far recently. "The Prince and Me," with Julia Stiles. "13 Going On 30," with Jennifer Garner. "The Princess Diaries 2," with Anne Hatheway. "Ella Enchanted," also with Anne Hatheway...... Need I say more? Give us a movie where the romantic leads are not who you would suspect. I think that this movie won't do good because its just too predictable. From Guy: Katie's choice to do First Daughter was wise at the time, I think. It was to be helmed by Forest Whitaker, director of Hope Floats and Waiting to Exhale, and it was a romantic comedy, a genre she had previously not done before. But Chasing Liberty was produced at about the same time, and won the race to the theatres and now the premise seems tired. To make matters worse it seems that their has been an endless parade of romantic comedies aimed at younger viewers since Liberty's release, making FD seem that less original. I'm not surprised that Michael Keaton's name is not on the poster, considering he has not truly had a hit movie in over a decade and has been working on TV and video lately, not saying he's not an accomplished actor. But I do think Marc Blucas's name and picture should have been featured on the poster to show the direction this movie is taking. I'm not sure how FD will fare at the box office, as of now it doesn't look promising. If it had been released a year earlier I think its chances of being a hit would have been far greater. From Oshram: I think it's important to pretty much ignore what critics say about a film, because like anyone else that's just one person's opinion, and it should (and IMO does) carry no more weight than anyone else's. I don't have an issue with Katie playing 'teen' roles -- she's only in her mid-20s and can obviously pass for late teens or she wouldn't be cast; I'm more interested in seeing Katie play interesting roles that allow her to show that she can really act (like Pieces of April). I think FD will do more for her career than Batman, in which she will likely be a minor piece in a large ensemble. Of course we'll have to see if FD is any good, but don't forget that Katie has never been box office gold, and she probably won't be this time. From Janet: Ever since I heard about First Daughter, I had set my mind on watching it on its original release date. Then I heard about Mandy's movie..and I thought..uh oh.. Well the media didn't have to think twice before writing articles on the differences between the two movies, and its leads. Apparently, Katie was pretty much voted the 'copycat'. At the time, Mandy was more in the spotlight after Katie ended her run on Dawson's Creek. So I guess the fans instantly decided on seeing Chasing Liberty.  I, being a bigger fan of Katie, but also liking Mandy, really didn't care which one was better...I just wanted to see them both. I thought it was pretty smart for the producers and all, of First Daughter, to change the release date to a later date. But, however, it did give Chasing Liberty the advantage to get better ratings, reviews..etc.. I think with Katie's name being listed in the cast of Batman, it might influence people's choices when deciding whether to see First Daughter or not. I have a slight feeling that people who have already seen Chasing Liberty would wait till First Daughter comes on DVD, instead of wasting their money on a movie ticket. With First Daughter's movie poster being well..plain.. I dunno if it'll attract that many people. I wish they used that picture of her during the formal dancing scene. I thought that was really pretty. In conclusion, even if this movie bombs at the box office, Batman begins should most-definitely pick Katie back up again. I am quite sure Katie has a good chance of making it as one of those respected actresses such as, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, and Charlize Theron. Like I've said before..Katie should get ready for her Oscar acceptance speech..=D From Robby: I think that it will be given a chance if people come into the theatre with an open mind. Sure people will see the commercials and previews and think, "Hey that looks familiar", but I think people will still be willing to give it a go. Plus the lovely Katie Holmes is starring in it and she attracts a lot of people and she's a great actress. Many folks will want to go see it just for her. I've never seen the Mandy Moore movie myself and apparently (according to the box office) neither did anyone else. So I will definitely be going into the movie with a clear mind and ready to see an original film. From Nash: First Daughter won't be Katie's big break, that's for sure.  Why are we going to watch the movie? Clearly because we are fans. The movie itself looks like a common and already seen ten thousand times teen movie where the princess meets prince charming. This time, the princess is the "first daughter" and the prince is some kind of bodyguard...I am already sleeping! Even if the movie is not so bad, there is almost no way it could be considered as a good one, just because it is useless and probably childish. I don't think this movie is bad for Katie's career because people don't judge actors on love stories (I guess Teaching Mrs Tingle was worse for Katie 'cause there was this "slasher" buzz going on back in 1999). In France (you may want to know) , Katie Holmes can be considered as an "unknown" actress compared to movie stars. Here in France, TV shows are considered as underproducts (some cheap movies). Actors from TV shows don't bring people to theatre. Here in France, First Daughter will be watched by KH fans and by girls. It won't be a success (however I cannot predict the future), but it also won't be a disaster for Katie's next movies because no one will notice that she did FD. I really believe Batman will be the beginning of her career as a movie star. From Jill: I am definitely going to like the movie know matter if its like Chasing Liberty cause I am a huge Katie Holmes fan and I would not miss it for anything. From Louise: The movies shouldn't be judged because a similar story line was already released a while ago (chasing liberty) I think this movie will be really good, and the bonus is that Katie will be in it. I just want to know when is it coming to Australia, personally I cant wait, and if you're a true fan of Katie's, you would ignore the critics and wait to make your own opinions on the movie and her role in it. From Kennedy: Well I think that it will be a good movie, but given that it is rated PG, I'm not so sure. PG can be good, but I like Katie's more serious and dramatic roles, which I think that everyone can agree with me on. So I'm going to see it, but I don't think that it's going to be as good as her other ones :D From Rebekah: I think it will do fine. There are a lot of Dawson's Creek fans who loved her as Joey and are waiting to see what she'll do next.  Plus there are a lot of girls from ages 8-12 that want to see this movie. I think it'll work out fine but it does have a lot of competition with the movie "The Forgotten". Thank you to all that contributed! We apologise for not being able to share all responses. Continue to next topic: First Daughter Movie Review >>

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