What a Girl Wants (2003)
Directed by Dennie Gordon
Written by William Douglas-Home, Jenny Bicks, & Elizabeth Chandler

Surprisingly, the sheer cutie-pie-ness of Amanda Bynes is enough to keep What a Girl Wants afloat, despite the film being as contrived as they come. It's a remake of the 1958 Sandra Dee vehicle The Reluctant Debutante, concerning a 17-year-old American girl reconnecting with the British aristocrat father she never knew. The script is forced, the direction is generic, and the music sucks, yet Bynes and co-star Colin Firth are so magnetic that it doesn't matter much.

Amanda is a clumsy free-spirit, like her mother (Kelly Preston), who left Firth because his nefarious advisor (Jonathan Pryce) engineered a painful misunderstanding on both sides. Her journey takes her into high society, where she proves herself, but loses herself, before realizing that she is good enough just being herself.

Most of the scenes revolve around providing excuses for Bynes to smile, flirt, dance around in tight clothing, and break stuff. On its own, there's nothing all that special about the movie. But on DVD, it becomes a whole new thing.

Bynes's commentary track turns the film into something more wholly enjoyable than The Godfather. Her remarks, crammed as they should be with "like," "actually," and "literally," surely invite ridicule, but defy judgment. She comments on how cute everything is (Firth especially), points out when you can see her bra strap, discusses how hot it was filming nearly every scene, and chortles to herself at the lines she especially enjoys.

So true enjoyment and appreciation of What a Girl Wants absolutely depends on two viewings, because the re-watch with her running commentary is astounding. With this stipulation, What a Girl Wants is quite inadvertently one of the most wonderful films you could ever imagine.

With Amanda Bynes commentary:

Review by Caitlin Champagne