|
I saw the movie on Friday night and while there
weren't as many people as I would have liked there, I did go to
the late showing and given that the movie was aimed at
the younger set, I'm kind of chalking up the sparse numbers to that. Before
I went I thought it would be pretty good, judging by the previews and clips
I'd seen. But as the lights went down I started to get nervous that it
wasn't going to be very good.
The narration by Forest at the beginning
and end was weird, corny and to me, unnecessary. The information you
receive in those parts could have been delivered in a better way and
still in keeping with the "fairy tale" funk. The movie in general was
very well done, but in my opinion didn't have a lot of
substance to it. It didn't really flow all that well to me, the black outs
between scenes were a few too many at times, and in awkward places. They just really drew my attention more than they should have, and more than other films I've seen that use them.
As for the actors performances. I thought Katie, Marc, Michael and
Amerie all did a pretty good job. Marc was maybe a bit lack luster;
maybe his part was written as such, but he didn't do a bad job by any
means. Michael's part was underwritten I thought, but he did an
outstanding job with what he had. He used his screen presence and charisma to carry his part and bring it to life despite his sparse lines. I thought Amerie did a really good job with
her part, it actually was solidly written throughout the film. Nice job by her.
And of course Katie. She did an excellent job in my opinion. She ran
the gamut from childish daddy's girl, to on-the-verge-of-womanhood and
falling in love, to devastated and heartbroken, to drunk, to mature,
polished young woman with ease. I think that's one of the most
understated things about Katie: she can play and in turn evoke
any emotion from her audience with something as simple as a look. I
can't really recall any weak moments in her performance, she delivered
top notch and really carried the movie. She's definitely got charisma and screen presence too.
So all in all, a good movie. Not going to be a blockbuster or a
classic, but I never expected it to be. I do think most reviews have
been pretty on track, if a bit harsh. You need to keep in mind it's
meant to be fairytale like and that's what it is. I think if not proud
of the whole movie package itself, Katie should definitely be proud of
her performance.
Visitor Responses
From Stephen:
First, I have great admiration for Forrest Whitaker as an actor though I have not seen any of his directorial efforts prior to this movie. Secondly, the movie does not get off to a promising start with some truly AWFUL narration. Yes, we get it Forrest! It's suppose to be a fairy tale! We don't need this frankly pathetic narration in the begining and also at the very end. Having said that, I'm happy to report that other than the narration, the movie was pretty good. This is not one of Katie Holmes's best performances but she still has charisma and talent to burn and really carries this movie. Plus, she has great chemistry with costar Marc Blucas. The actress playing Samantha's roomate is also very good. And I really liked the
From Sarah:
I loved First Daughter. I thought it was one of Katie's better performances. She looked beautiful of course, but she added new things to this character Sam that I hadnt seen from Katie before. I saw a tad bit of Joey Potter in her too. ;) All in all, I was very proud of the movie and I enjoyed it above her other movies!
performances by the actor's playing Samantha's secret service agents escort. And then there is Michael Keaton. Keaton is one of my favorite actors so it's great to see him FINALLY back on the big screen! Keaton is underused a little but that !
doesn't stop him from shining in every second he's on screen. So overall, director Forrest Whitaker delivers a movie with plenty of laughs and some pretty touching moments as well. But most of all, it let's us get to spend an hour and fourty-five minutes with one of my absolute favorite actresse, Katie Holmes. She alone is worth watching the movie for.
From Lenny:
Unfortunately, this film is what I expected, Chasing Liberty redux. The few people who paid to see Chasing Liberty may have paid to see the same film again. Since this film is no better than the first FD picture this year, very few people will pay to see this one. So, it will lose money and die hard and fast like all of Katie's other films.
I am getting worried about Katie. With DC gone and not able to maintain her visibilty, she can't keep making these turkeys and expect to have directors keep casting her in their films. They are going to start looking at other starring actresses from popular TV series, who have a following, that may come to see her films. It's just an assembly line out there.
If Batman Begins doesn't do well and pump some life into her stuttering film career and/or she and/or her management get a brain transplant and start making intelligent choices about the films she signs onto fast, her film career (and this website) will be toast.
That's too bad because I think she is terrific and I will really miss her the way I miss Dawson's Creek.
From Bridgette:
I think the review above is generally accurate. The movie is not a blockbuster but I didn't expect it to be. The narrations by Forest were corny and unecessary. The movie was just alright. Kevin didn't seem to be challenged with the role, nor did Katie. I enjoyed it because I am a fan of Katie. Although, I wouldn't go recomending it to every everyone I meet!
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 Jan:
Just saw FD and thought it was delightful, although the dialogue, for the most part, was plain corny. The ending was completely limp and didn't come to a satisfactory ending. In view of the poor reception, I'm sure investors would be hard to come by; but I would love to see a well written sequel with the same cast. Think it would do much better.
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 originial. 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 boxoffice, 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 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 alot 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 definately be going into the movie with a clear mind and ready to see an original film.
Thank you to all that contributed! We apologise for not being able to share all responses.
Continue to next topic:
Katie and Tom Cruise: What do you think? >>
|
