What a Girl Wants (film)

What a Girl Wants is a 2003 American teen comedy film directed by Dennie Gordon and written by Jenny Bicks and Elizabeth Chandler. Based on the 1955 play The Reluctant Debutante by William Douglas-Home, it is the second adaptation for the screen of this work and stars Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston, Eileen Atkins, Anna Chancellor, and Jonathan Pryce. The film tells the story of a seventeen-year-old girl who goes to the United Kingdom to meet the father she never knew.

The film was released on April 4, 2003, and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, but grossed $50.7 million worldwide.

Plot
Seventeen-year-old Daphne Reynolds is an American teenager, living with her wedding singer mother, Libby, above a restaurant in Chinatown, Manhattan. Many years earlier, Libby had met Briton Henry Dashwood in Morocco, and they had gotten married in a Bedouin wedding ceremony, under uncertain legality. They then returned to his family's estate in England. His father died soon afterward, making Henry the new Lord Dashwood, Earl of Wycombe. Alistair Payne, the family's aristocratic advisor, tricks Libby into leaving Henry, telling her it is best for Henry's duties not to know she is pregnant; then he lies to Henry, hiding the pregnancy from him, and saying that Libby's claim for leaving him was because she had fallen in love with someone else.

Libby has always been honest with Daphne about who her father was, though Daphne felt a sense of emptiness without him. Daphne soon graduates from high school and she runs off to London to try and meet her father. Henry has disclaimed his seat in the House of Lords to run for election to the House of Commons, hoping to eventually become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Henry is being pushed by Alistair, acting as his political advisor. As a result, Henry has become engaged to Alistair's snobbish daughter, Glynnis, who only wants to marry Henry in order to become the new Countess of Wycombe, who also had an equally snobbish and bratty teenage daughter, Clarissa.

Checking into a London hostel, Daphne meets Ian Wallace, a local boy who works there to support his dream of becoming a musician. After forming a friendship when Ian shows Daphne around London, they start dating. When Henry catches Daphne at his estate, he is stunned to learn he has a daughter, but his mother, Jocelyne, the current Countess of Wycombe, immediately welcomes her in, giving her a room at the estate. After confirming things in a phone call with Libby, Henry embraces the opportunity to connect with her. Daphne tries to win the acceptance of her father's social circle, but is repeatedly thwarted by Glynnis and Clarissa, who feel threatened by her arrival. In addition, Daphne has to ward off the advances of a boy, Armistead Stewart, a sleazy and arrogant upper-class boy whom Clarissa fancies and with whom Ian has long-standing rivalry. Daphne eventually pushes Armistead into the River Thames.

Daphne inadvertently wins over the British aristocracy, including an elderly royal, Princess Charlotte, whenever she interacts with them. However, Henry's political campaign suffers due to Daphne's flamboyant and tomboy behavior, and his subsequent misbehavior with her. He asks her to assume the more dignified manner of the Dashwood lineage, after which Henry's polling numbers quickly begin to improve. But Ian is disappointed in her new behavior, made worse when she attends the Queen's garden party instead of hanging out with him.

During her Debutante party, hosted by her father, who flies Libby over to attend, Daphne overhears Alistair telling Glynnis how he "got rid" of her mother. When Daphne confronts him, Glynnis locks her in another room. Glynnis then asks Ian, the band's lead singer, to announce the father–daughter dance, knowing Henry will have to dance with Clarissa. Libby frees Daphne, but when they see Henry dancing with Clarissa, Daphne rejects her new self, telling Henry she is returning to the United States. Sometime later, Henry surprises everyone by announcing that he is withdrawing from the election. As he leaves the press conference, Henry discovers that Alistair knew about Libby's pregnancy and manipulated their separation and punches Alistair in the face for concealing Daphne from him for seventeen years. Henry then breaks off his engagement to Glynnis and calls off the wedding.

Daphne is serving as a caterer at a wedding, where Libby is the singer. When the father–daughter dance begins, Henry shows up, telling Daphne that he loves her for who she is. Daphne embraces him, calling him "Dad" for the first time. Daphne finally gets the father–daughter dance she has been longing for her whole life. Henry informs Daphne that he has brought a large apology present for her—at which point Ian appears and asks her to dance. As Ian and Daphne dance, Henry apologizes to Libby, and the two also start dancing.

In the epilogue, Glynnis has married a wealthy nobleman, who bores her to death, Clarissa has married Armistead, who still womanizes, and Alistair now works on a London tour bus. Now able to be together, Henry and Libby are legally married in another Bedouin ceremony, while Daphne is accepted into the University of Oxford, still being in a happy relationship with Ian. The film ends with Daphne, Henry, Libby, Jocelyn, and Ian having a family picnic in the backyard.

Cast

 * Amanda Bynes as Daphne Reynolds, the protagonist. A seventeen-year-old American teenager living in New York with her single mom, Libby. Daphne has desired to meet the father she never met, Lord Henry Dashwood, for most of her life. Care-free and eccentric, but loyal and kind-hearted, Daphne tries her best to fit in with her father's world, but ultimately finds out that she is happy for who she truly is.
 * Colin Firth as Henry Dashwood, Earl of Wycombe. He is Daphne's biological father and Libby's former lover. First appearing as stuffy, Henry is a kind man who buries his own eccentric, carefree life style in the favor of keeping up appearances. Although he previously thinks that Libby had left him for someone else, he is still in love with her. At first shocked that he had a daughter, Henry warms up to Daphne and ultimately realizes that he needs her and Libby in his life.
 * Kelly Preston as Libby Reynolds. Daphne's compassionate and supportive mother and the love of Henry's life, who works as a wedding singer.
 * Eileen Atkins as Jocelyne Dashwood, Countess of Wycombe. Henry's widowed mother and Daphne's paternal grandmother. Level-headed and having a dry wit, Jocelyne openly welcomes Daphne into the Dashwoods' lives. She despises Alistair, Glynnis, and Clarissa for their snobbiness and over-emphasis on social standing, preferring the more authentic and humble Daphne.
 * Anna Chancellor as Glynnis Payne. Henry's fiancée, Alistair Payne's daughter and Clarissa's mother. A snobby and materialistic social climber, intent on marrying Henry to become the new Countess of Wycombe, Glynnis is over concerned with appearances. She and her daughter feel threatened by Daphne's arrival.
 * Jonathan Pryce as Alistair Payne. Henry's pompous and manipulative advisor and campaign manager. He was the advisor of Henry's late father. Alistair orchestrated Henry and Libby's separation, because he viewed Libby as unsuitable to be a lady.
 * Oliver James as Ian Wallace, a young, aspiring British musician and Daphne's love interest. He loves Daphne for her go-getting, lively personality, though he tries to be supportive of her trying to fit in, even though she was really "born to stand out."
 * Christina Cole as Clarissa Payne. Glynnis's equally snobby, bratty and gossipy daughter and Alistair's granddaughter. As the stereotypical evil stepsister, Clarissa is not as intelligent as her mother, but is cruel to Daphne and everyone she views as of lower standing.
 * Sylvia Syms as Princess Charlotte, a royal whom Daphne befriends.
 * Tara Summers as Noelle
 * Ben Scholfield as Armistead Stuart, Baron-Smthye, the son of the Earl of Doughton, he is an arrogant and womanizing upper-class boy whom Clarissa fancies. He lusts for Daphne, who wants absolutely nothing to do with him.
 * James Greene as Percy, the elderly butler of Henry and Jocelyne.
 * Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lord Orwood, a lord who hosts a party that Daphne attends.
 * Cassie Powney and Connie Powney as Peach and Pear Orwood, the twin daughters of Lord Orwood that Daphne befriends whose mother named them Peach and Pear due to her obsession with fruits. They also mentioned to that they have a sister named Parsnip who doesn't get out much.
 * Elizabeth Richard as Queen Elizabeth II

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 36% based on 109 reviews, with an average rating of 4.80/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Little girls will definitely enjoy it, but it's too syrupy and predictable for adults." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.

The film is available on various streaming services.

Edward Guthmann of The San Francisco Chronicle called it a "dreadful teen comedy." Anya Kamenetz of The Village Voice described the film as "a sanitized adventure for the Mary Kate-and-Ashley set."

Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $11.4 million in 2,964 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #2 at the box office behind fellow newcomer Phone Booth ($15 million). By the end of its run, the film had grossed $36.1 million domestically and $14.6 million internationally, totaling $50.7 million worldwide.

Promotion
Before the U.S. release of the film, print advertisements were altered to remove the peace sign that Bynes was giving in the poster as the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, the United Kingdom, and their allied forces had begun. A rep for Warner Bros. explained: "'In a time of war, we made a slight alteration so that we could avoid any potential political statement in a completely nonpolitical film."

Accolades
The film won and was nominated for a number of awards throughout 2004.