MPAA Rating: PG, for mild violence, thematic elements and brief language
Genre: Family/Comedy/Adventure/Mystery
Age range: Ages 6 and up
Runtime: TBD
Starring: Emma Roberts, Josh Flitter, Max Thieriot, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tate Donovan
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: June 15, 2007
Nancy Drew - Guide Review
Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) is the local heroine in her small home town of River Heights, and the local law enforcement has come to depend on her superior sleuthing skills. Her father, Carson Drew (Tate Donovan) has accepted a position in the big city of Hollywood, CA, though, and he knows that CA won't breed the same kind of hapless criminals that Nancy has encountered in River Heights. Mr. Drew makes Nancy promise to put her investigating on hold and focus on having fun being a teenager.
Little does Carson know, Nancy has a mystery to solve before they even get to Hollywood, and they end up living right in the middle of it. Nancy tries to keep her promise and forget about sleuthing, but the the mysterious death of their new home's previous owner, famous movie star Dehlia Draycott, is a mystery that is practically begging to be solved.
Nancy has a bit of trouble fitting in at her new school, and self-declared fashion police Inga and Trish are certainly not giving Nancy a break. Nancy doesn't let their immaturity get her down, though. In fact, she becomes friends with Inga's little brother Corky (Josh Flitter), who has developed quite a crush on her. By the time her "good friend" Ned (Max Thieriot) from River Heights arrives to surprise Nancy for her birthday, Corky and Nancy are dangerously deep in uncovering the secrets surrounding the death of Dehlia Dreycott - secrets that someone very obviously doesn't want to get out.
Nancy, Ned and Corky investigate the eerie caretaker at the Dreycott house, and they also find out that Dehlia has a daughter. When Nancy tracks down struggling single mother Jane (Rachael Leigh Cook), Jane has no idea that she could be the daughter of a famous actress and heir to a fortune. Nancy will never be able to prove her case, though, if the mysterious person who wants to keep the truth hidden succeeds in stopping her.
Nancy Drew is obviously aimed at kids, so adults should not go to the movie expecting a captivating or realistic mystery. The movie succeeds in addressing its target audience, providing kids with an exciting adventure that is not only decidedly PG (as opposed to teetering on the edge of PG-13, as is the case with many recent movies), but also offers a strong role model. Yes, Nancy is too perfect to be true, but it is very refreshing to see a teenage female in a starring role dress modestly, aspire to wholesome achievements, and seek to better the world around her.
Nancy Drew - Note to Parents
In the context of solving the mystery, Nancy and other characters discuss subjects surrounding the death of a movie star, threats to their lives from unknown villains, and other mystery-related perils and facts. The characters find themselves in some perilous situations which could be intense or frightening to young children. The worst of such predicaments is when a character is kidnapped and later chased and threatened by a bad guy. Various weapons are shown in the movie including a gun and a bomb.
Parents should also know that a situation occurs in which a child is taken from its mother by CPS. The movie does not show the child being taken, but the mother discusses the incident and the false charges which led to the action.
Nancy Drew - Content Overview
The following lists a few of the most prominent examples of possibly offensive content in the movie (may contain spoilers):Violence (Moderate)
- An SUV follows Nancy and Corky, seemingly trying to run them over. Later, a car chase ensues with the same SUV. Several traffic laws are broken.
- Nancy finds a bomb in her car and throws it down a nearby manhole. The bomb goes off causing a fiery explosion, and Nancy is thrown to the ground, but she is fine.
- Nancy runs from various villains and is caught by one, who holds her head and threatens her. Another man hits some of the bad guys on the head with a shovel and takes their gun.
Sex/Nudity (Mild)
- A woman is thought to be the daughter of a famous actress and her secret boyfriend.
- A boy pretends to be unconscious as a ploy to get Nancy to give him mouth to mouth, but he doesn't succeed.
Profanity (Mild)
- The word "hell" is used.
- The phrase "Oh my God" or derivatives of the phrase are used several times.
Alcohol/Drugs (none)
Bad/Disrespectful Behavior (Moderate)
- Nancy tries to keep her no sleuthing promise to her father, but the temptation is too much and she investigates the murder of the actress anyway.
- Schoolgirls make fun of Nancy, laugh at her, and play some pranks on her.
- The movie bad guys steal, threaten and use other means to stop Nancy from working on the case.
Scary Scenes (Moderate)
- scenes listed under "violence" may be scary for young children.
- Nancy receives threatening phone calls demanding that she stop investigating the case or she will be sorry.
- Nancy is kidnapped and makes a narrow escape. Later, two characters are trapped in a car with a man they find out is against them. One character escapes by jumping out of the car.
Sad/Unsettling Scenes (Mild)
- Jane is distraught over CPS taking her daughter from her.
Nancy Drew - Topics to Talk About
- Kids may have questions about CPS, wills, heirs, adoption and sleuthing in general.
- One scene depicts a tracheotomy being performed on a teen who had an allergic reaction. Is this a realistic way to solve the problem? What should be done in a similar situation?
