Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3018 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-02-11
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.co.uk
Nancy Drew is an iconic girl detective created by Carolyn Keene with a passion for mystery and all things old. The small-town Nancy Drew (played by Julia Roberts' niece Emma Roberts) is about to experience a serious case of culture shock as she heads to Hollywood on an extended business trip with her father Carson Drew (Tate Donovan, The OC) and prepares to join the 21st century (well, sort of) at Hollywood High. Having promised her father that she'll give up sleuthing in favour of becoming a "normal" teenager, Nancy tries her best to resist the lure of the age-old mystery of famous actress Dehlia Draycott's (Laura Harring, Mulholland Drive) death, but living in Dehlia's old booby-trapped mansion full of clues proves too powerful a force for Nancy to resist. Feeling completely out of place with high school peers who prove self-absorbed and obsessed with fashion, Nancy makes an unlikely friend in 12-year-old Corky (Josh Flitter), the brother of one of the meanest girls at school. Hormones and hero worship land Corky right in the middle of Nancy's dangerous detective work and inspire some good old-fashioned jealousy when Nancy's close friend Ned (Max Thieriot) visits from River Heights. Nancy's deductive skills are as sharp as ever, and her inspired detective work will profoundly impact the lives of complete stranger Jane Brighton (Rachael Leigh Cook, She's The One), her own father, and a host of others. Offering a faster pace for modern audiences than the classic Nancy Drew films, this 2007 movie is sure to enthrall a whole new generation of tweens and teens while simultaneously living up to their parents', or older siblings' expectations. --Tami Horiuchi

DVD Description
Carolyn Keene's most loved character - Nancy Drew - finally makes it onto celluloid in this 2007 movie. For generations of fans worldwide, the name Nancy Drew is synonymous with adventure. This young amateur detective has a mind of her own, a passion for solving mysteries and a reputation for getting into - and out of - some very scary situations.
Emma Roberts stars as the resourceful teen detective, who leaves her friendly hometown of River Heights for the West Coast and enrolls at Hollywood High. There, her unique personal style immediately sets her apart from her self-absorbed, fast-living peers, especially reigning mean girls Inga and Trish, who can't quite figure her out but know that everything about her is different. Their less-than-warm reception might bother the average new girl in town, but not Nancy. She has more important things to think about - namely, a brand new mystery. Even though she promised her worried Dad (Tate Donovan as Carson Drew) that she'd quit the "sleuthing" business, it isn't long before Nancy gets a lead on one of the greatest unsolved cases of all time: the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of famous actress Dehlia Draycott.

Stills from Nancy Drew

Synopsis
Legendary teenage sleuth Nancy Drew enters the 21st century in this feature film from director Andrew Fleming (Nixon, The Craft). In Nancy’'s (Emma Roberts) latest mystery, she and her father (Tate Donovan) make a temporary move from rural River Heights to Los Angeles. Determined to make the most of her stay, Nancy has chosen them a rental home with a notorious past: the mysterious death of its owner, starlet Dehlia Draycott, in the early 1980s. The closer Nancy edges towards the truth, the more trouble she encounters from someone who clearly doesn'’t want the mystery solved. To make matters worse, old-fashioned Nancy doesn'’t quite fit in with the cool kids--or anyone else--at Hollywood High, except for younger would-be Romeo, Corky (Josh Flitter).

Customer Reviews

Not A Great Film, But Movies Targeted At A Tween Audience Never Are
Nancy has just moved to a mansion with her dad formerly owned by a murdered starlet of decades past, whose death is a mystery. She is starting a new school, she has a passion for solving crimes & a vocubulary better than most her age.
What's good about this film is that its not just about some cute looking Disney actress who wants to be famous, its about someone who is smart & wants to be a detective; considering that the targeted audience for this film is about 5-14 years old I think her passion for knowledge & a 'normal' career, as opposed to wnating to be a singer is refreshing & sends out a good message to the young viewers. While Nancy may be a good influence, she unfortunately doesn't have the likeability factor & realativity so maybe the sub plot of liking a guy whose your best friend might be slightly realtive, but lecturing your headmaster about the benefits of first aid trianing is not. Nancy also tends to patronize adults which is not good.
Entertaining yes, but why only three stars you may be asking, well its predictable, dull & we've seen it all before.
I'd love it if movies targeted at tween audiences could be a little more original. On the subject of stars, Emma Roberts does well in the lead role, she is a good actress & proves that her surname doesn't define the reason she was cast in the lead role.

FASHION STYLE MYSTERY ORGNASTION.... THAT'S NANCY FOR YOU!!!!
This story is a teen classic basicly filled with everything if you want to know, for a girl that is! ...fashion,style,mystery,orgnisation,the villians,the friends and much more.
Nancy fills the story to top to bottom. The outline of the story is she is heading off for a hoilday with her dad(as her mums died) which they rent and Nancy picks the house, and of course, knowing her it's one with a years ago death and mystery! What's a girl to do -investergate.
Years and years ago their lived a famous actress "Dehlia Dreycott", who died by someone else's doing who was found in the pool. That was the same house Nancy's in. Ohhhhhhhhhh.
It's strange and as Nancy's a star and has worked out many other cases will she work this one out. A tough challenge huh.
She finds clues, puts them together like a puzzle and she has a story. Of course the story would be nothing without her friends helping.
I really ennjoyed this movie and if you get it I hope you get it too.In some places it gets scary but it's a natural plot line twist. It's a story for the whole family. Enjoy!!!!

A Great Movie Translation of the Books
Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) is the best detective in Riverheights. There is no case she can't solve. And, thanks to her detective kit, she's ready for anything.

Her dad, lawyer Carson (Tate Donovan), has a temporary assignment in Los Angeles, and the teenager gets to go along. In fact, Carson let her pick out the house they are renting. Naturally, Nancy picked one with a mystery. Seems 25 years ago, actress Dehlia Draycott disappeared for five months. Then, just a few days after she came back, she was found dead in her pool. Her murder was never solved.

Unfortunately, just before the trip, Carson makes Nancy promise to stop sleuthing. And Nancy really does try to live up to her word. But when she begins stumbling on clues to what happened in the past, she just can't stop thinking about them. Where will the trail lead? Will Nancy solve the old crime? Or will she keep her word to her father and work toward becoming a normal teen?

Warning: The following paragraph was written by an obsessive book person. Let's start by getting some stuff of my chest. Why were Bess and George reduced to cameos? They are an important part of the books. The fact that Nancy's housekeeper Hannah only had a cameo didn't bother me too much since she often got little more then that in the books. At least Ned (Max Thieriot) got a bit more of a role, showing up on Los Angeles for a while. And, I did enjoy seeing Nancy's car (a roadster). I just wish they had included those other characters more.

Okay, now we can review this movie as it is.

And it's a surprisingly decent movie. The mystery is well done with plenty of clues being dropped along the way. I figured a couple things out before Nancy, but only a few minutes before. The plot and danger was perfectly in keeping with the things Nancy faced in the books, so fans of the series will know what to expect.

The movie did provide plenty of laughs along with the danger. Nancy views the world differently then everyone else, and many of the laughs are at this culture clash. In fact, my only real complaint is the uneven tone they use with Nancy. Most of the time, the movie sets her up as someone to look up to. Occasionally, her character is the butt of the joke, however. That unevenness was weird for me. Granted, her character is ripe for parodying; I just wish the movie could have decided whether it was going to mock or praise her.

There's also a plot point that bothers me. Just how long were Nancy and Carson in Los Angeles? It seemed like only three weeks or so, yet Nancy was enrolled in school. It seemed like more trouble then it was worth. But that's a minor point

Not surprisingly, this movie aims at pre-teen girls, the usual reader of the books. With a bit of light romance with Ned (they're just friends at the beginning) and some fun with fashion, I think they will love it.

Yes, I have some quibbles, but the movie is basically good. The target audience will love it, and the rest of the family will find it diverting.