Please No

In dismaying news I found out recently that there is yet another Nancy Drew movie in the works, this one starring Emma Roberts (Julia's niece, star of "Aquamarine"). There are so many things wrong with this it's hard to know where to start so I'll just dive right in.

First, Nancy has never been captured on film well. The original celluloid Nancy, Bonita Granville, ("Nancy Drew, Reporter", "Nancy Drew, Detective" ,"Nancy Drew, Troubleshooter" and "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" ) had the right period look but Granville lacked Nancy's inner core of steel and seemed way too young-Nancy needs to be 18 going on 40.

The television versions of the intrepid teen detective have not fared much better. Pamela Sue Martin in the 70s "Nancy Drew Mysteries" was too modern (it was hard to get past Nancy's feathered brunette hair) and not smart enough (Martin was better suited to her scheming "Dallas" role). There was apparently also a Canadian TV series in 1995 which never caught on enough for me to actually see it.

Second, Emma Roberts? I know, I know, the thing with casting is no matter how bad it is it could always be worse (Paris Hilton anyone?) but Emma Roberts? Really?

So, why go there? There's so much baggage with this character (she has been around since 1930 after all) so many people grew up with Nancy and feel they know her as a friend you're almost certain to set yourself up for failure. Why not come up with a new detective, in the spirit of Nancy Drew, who could carry on the tradition but be totally modern?

Well, I'm happy to say this has already happened. Kristen Bell, TV's Veronica Mars, is the new century's Nancy Drew. Think about it:


-a missing mother, which allows her unlimited and mostly unsupervised detecting time
-a close relationship with her father, a prominent local figure who works in law enforcement
-2 close friends who help her solve her mysteries
-a devoted boyfriend who she cares about but not enough for him to be more important than her mysteries (Veronica has actually had a couple of these)
-Veronica is smart, brave, pretty, blonde, can talk to anyone and is never at a loss no matter what the situation

Yep, sounds like Nancy alright.

As for Miss Roberts? Well, they haven't made a Trixie Belden movie yet...


**The first two seasons of "Veronica Mars" are now available on DVD**