Why Can't Hollywood Ever Get Nancy Drew Right?

Nancy drew - cartoon pic of nancy drew
United States
June 26, 2007 8:54am CST
I was so excited about the new Nancy Drew movie then I see the commercial and find out that Hollywood once again has gotten her wrong. In the movie,she is portrayed as a very young bumbling teenager who doesn't fit it in at the school.As all true Nancy Drew fans know,she was 18 and I believe she was out of high school.She was very smart,couragous and very popular,except with the villians that is.Hollywood has never gotten her right going way back to the old movie "Secret of the Hidden Staircase". They had Nancy as a bumbling,brainless idiot who was afraid of her own shadow and that her boyfriend Ned was the one who solved the mystery. They had the series out and even thought that was better,they still couldn't do her right. If they can't stick to Carolyn Keen's true character,Hollywood should leave her alone.
3 people like this
7 responses
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
26 Jun 07
I was thinking the same thing when I saw the previews. I had never even seen any other Nancy Drew movies, but I have read all the books. I think they went this way with it to bring in a younger audience. But I do wish that they had stuck more to the character in the book.
• United States
26 Jun 07
i agree with you. They are always messing with things they shouldn't .I was so mad when i first saw the commercial.
2 people like this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I haven't seen the movie yet, to be honest I'll probably catch it on cable as it's not that appealing to me. I did read one or two Nancy Drew books when I was younger, but really they are aimed at younger girls. It is not surprising that the movie is doing so badly in the box office. It doesn't really have an audience. Hollywood changes certain things in order to make it more marketable. In hopes of catching the younger generation of girls as well as the grown-ups who used to read the series when they were teenagers. This is where the "bumbling teenager who doesn't fit in" comes into play. Most tween and teenagers girls feel that way, so movie studios think that said audiences with identify with the character more. I agree that it's not right when the studios change things from the original source material; but I do see where they are coming from, and what they are trying to do. "Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Hidden Staircase," is another prime example of what I'm talking about. The film was released in 1939. Through the 1960's women were treated as second class citizens, incapable of taking care of themselves let alone thinking for themselves. Those were the views of the days, so the stuido's again tried to make the movie connect with the current audience of the day, and their boyfriends. It's interesting, I came across an old comic from the 1960's and was amazed at the portrayal of women and minorities in it. It mysoginistic and full of stereo-typical racist themes without meaning to be. Those were just the common views of the day. It was interesting to say the least.
2 people like this
• United States
27 Jun 07
I should have know you would know when that movie came out,lol. I do agree with you but it still aggravates me. I know what ya mean about the stereotypes.I am surprised that being as things were back in the 30's,that Nancy Drew became so popular as strong as the character is.
1 person likes this
• United States
28 Jun 07
i know what ya mean.the women always hold the front down at home. I was so proud of the rosie the riveters during ww2 and thought it was disgraceful the way they were discharged when the men came back without even a thank you ,good job done ,compensation or anything
1 person likes this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
29 Jun 07
Very true about Rosie the Riveters and their treatment. There were though, other social implications. The children needed to be taken care of and the housework still had to be done, but more importantly the men coming back from war (disabled or shell shocked) needed to go back to work and fit back in to normal society. During those times there only needed to be one income to support a family, not like it is now.
• United States
29 Jun 07
I'm not sure when the old movie was made - but was it during the 50s or 60s when women didn't get any credit for anything? And I agree Nancy was courageous and competant not a teenage airhead. But hey - that's what sells and we all know Hollywood is about money.
1 person likes this
• United States
29 Jun 07
The movie was made in 1939. I may sell but i don't appreciate girls being made to be airheads all the time.It's not a jood way to get me to spend money ,that's for sure
@patgalca (18164)
• Orangeville, Ontario
26 Jun 07
When I saw the commercials for the movie I knew it was totally out of whack. I don't know if anyone remembers, but back in the 70's or 80's there was a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys series that alternated every week. Nancy Drew was played by Pamela Sue Martin and she was a heck of a lot more convincing as a 20-something rather than a bumbling teenager. The Hardy Boys were played by Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson, just jogging your memory. If they decide to do a Hardy Boys movie they will probably screw that up too. This is why I don't watch re-do's, like the Brady Bunch movie. I would rather remember the original and not what some Hollywood producer thinks will be better than the first and is really worse.
2 people like this
@patgalca (18164)
• Orangeville, Ontario
15 Jul 07
Thank you for the best response mark. ;)
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Jun 07
I remember the series. I had forgotten they alternated with the hardy boys. Hollywood always has to mess things up.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84646)
• United States
26 Jun 07
I know. I was disappointed when I saw all the differences in the commercials and then read some of the reviews. I will make allowances for a few differences, but they really handled it badly. They didn't have to market and produce directly to the tween audience either. Imagine if producers made such changes to Harry Potter films. No one would hear the end of it.
@AmbiePam (84646)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I read three reviews. One pointed out all the inconsistencies that made Nancy Drew so marketable in the first place. It also commented that Emma Roberts was a poor choice for Nancy. I agree, but the girl is just a teenager, so I hope she kept away from the reviews. The second review said it was a "tween delight" and they had a probable series of these movies in the future. The reviewer also said Emma Roberts has some of her aunt Julia's charisma. And the final one just ripped into it. The whole time warp thing they had this Nancy in, comparing her to a caricature. I've heard more bad reviews, but not read about them. I guess this is something I might turn on if it were on basic cable, but no way would I see it in a theater. By the way, two of the reviews I read in People magazine and Entertainment Weekly. I don't remember who had the third review.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Jun 07
Don't i know it. I can't believe they screwed her up again.What did the reviews say?I hope they were bad like It looks like to me.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Jun 07
thanks!
@tinamwhite (3252)
• United States
26 Jun 07
Apparently, you are a Nancy Drew fan.....LOL I also dislike it when Hollywood takes liberal freedoms with the original story....the author writes it one way and they change it to reflect "their" image of what it is the movie viewer's will want to see.....sometimes they really mess things up... Good point, my friend....
2 people like this
• United States
26 Jun 07
I am definately a Nancy Drew fan and I am really irked at the movie coming out. If I was Carolyn keen's family,I would have never okayed this movie as it is a completely different Nancy Drew from her vision
1 person likes this
• Philippines
27 Jun 07
maybe she is not popular enough to get by the hollywood to make a movie or a commercials...
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Jun 07
She's still popular.Her books are still selling ,it's like one member said,Hollywood changed her to fit the times but what they don't realize is the fans dont like the way they changed her