A lighthearted, sometimes lightminded, movie that will appeal to those who enjoy Cinderella stories--except this Cinderella wants a father, not a Prince Charming. Although the star of the show is meant to be Amanda Bynes, the show is held together by the actors playing her parents: Kelly Preston and British actor Colin Firth, who endures a lot of nonsense and turns in a performance that keeps the movie going. American teenager Daphne Reynolds, 16, never tires of her mother’s story--Libby and Henry met in North Africa while each was on a 1970s-style global self-discovery tour. They were married in a Bedouin ceremony and Henry took Libby home to Dashwood Manor (Jane Austen fans take note). Seems he’s the son of Lord Dashwood, who promptly died after Henry and his bride arrived, creating Henry the next Lord Dashwood. Libby (in a mysterious manner) was sent home from London to New York and Henry never knew he had a child. Until she springs full-blown from the paving stones outside the Dashwood front door. After she presents her birth certificate and Henry calls Libby for the first time in seventeen years or so, Henry accepts Daphne as his daughter. Henry’s fiancée and her daughter (read: Wicked Stepmother and Ugly Stepsister) are wickedly unhappy about the new “woman” in Henry’s life, as is Henry’s political advisor, because Henry is standing for Parliament and there must be no scandal. (Henry’s entitled to a seat in the House of Lords but, in all democratic feeling, prefers the House of Commons.) Much is made of Daphne’s inappropriate American behavior and lack of manners appropriate to a young lady of the British aristocracy. This gives Wicked Stepmother and Ugly Stepsister the opportunity to play juvenile tricks on Daphne so she will inadvertently embarrass her father in public. Daphne is comforted by Henry’s mother (read: Fairy Godmother, sort of). She also has a boyfriend who is much better behaved than the aristocratic young men who tell him that he doesn’t belong in their precious world. All this fluff is marred by unkindness, plotting, some profanity, a couple of sexual references, and adolescent-style misbehavior by adolescents and adults. The British aristocracy, with a few exceptions, comes off badly, while Daphne puzzlingly refrains from asking permission from her parents before flying from New York to London or even disappearing with her boyfriend for a day in London. Americans may rear their children with a less rigid philosophy than British parents (although it’s doubtful), but “May I?” should be an essential part of every 16-year-old’s vocabulary. Ugly Stepsister is even less respectful of her mother. If you’d prefer the predictability of the Cinderella story without the modern (?) touches, you might try Disney’s animated Cinderella, the Rogers and Hammerstein musical version, or the Richard and Robert Sherman musical, The Slipper and the Rose. More substance? Try Ever After. Less obvious? The Princess Diaries. Any of the above may be time better spent.
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