What a Girl Wants 2003

Critics score:
35 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe: It's not that What a Girl Wants is dreadful; it's merely slapdash, wildly inconsistent in tone and style, and mind-numbingly predictable in character and plot. Read more

Scott Von Doviak, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: As sugary and mild as a vanilla milkshake. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: What a Girl Wants is exactly what a girl -- specifically a dreamy middle-school girl -- wants. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: There's nothing wrong with this movie, it just kind of moves along at this little pace, no surprises. Read more

Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune: What a girl wants, according to screenwriters Jenny Bicks and Elizabeth Chandler, is a father. What a girl needs, however, are better filmmakers. Read more

Dave Kehr, New York Times: It's no longer the children who must learn to grow up, but the adults -- exemplified by Mr. Firth's character as he slips into a pair of leather pants and practices his air-guitar moves -- who are required to grow down. Read more

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Compared with this, the similar Princess Diaries is a tough-minded work of realism, yet on its own narrow terms What a Girl Wants works well enough. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: Though predictable and often preposterous, this warm and funny wish-fulfilling fantasy is a richly rewarding ride. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A likable throwaway. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Is What a Girl Wants what anybody wants? Not really. Read more

Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: The story is one of those laboratory concoctions in which you can tell the conclusion from the opening scene. Read more

Hazel-Dawn Dumpert, L.A. Weekly: An overstuffed fantasia. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: An execrable and witless nonstarter that makes a potent case for hanging the Cinderella myth out to dry till the end of time. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Forget 'Halloween.' Forget 'The Shining.' Forget 'The Exorcist' and 'The Ring.' The movie to truly horrify a grown man is 'What a Girl Wants,' a motion picture that only a female (preferably between the ages of 8 and 16) could love. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie asks the timeless question: Can a little girl from America find love and happiness as the daughter of a wealthy and titled English lord? If you are a fan of Bynes, you will probably enjoy finding out the answer for yourself. If not, not. Read more

Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle: A dreadful teen comedy. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Daphne Gordon, Toronto Star: What A Girl Wants doesn't satisfy. Read more

Time Out: Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Girls undoubtedly will want to see it, but What a Girl Wants feels a bit like a reheated version of The Princess Diaries. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: It's fantasy time for the instant gratification generation. Read more

Anya Kamenetz, Village Voice: A sanitized adventure for the Mary Kate-and-Ashley set. Read more