Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

This is an enjoyable but often obvious and predictable film likely to be forgotten quickly. Sophia Lillis does a respectable job updating the character of Nancy Drew, and Linda Lavin elevates the entire film with every scene in which she appears. The rest of the cast is uneven. The haunted house manages to be creepy while still appropriate for young audiences. Both some of the teen girl empowerment material and the overall mystery frequently are handled with an obviousness some adults might find annoying.

Nancy Drew (Sophia Lillis) and her father Carson moved to the small town River Heights after the death of her mother. She is bitter at having left her friends in Chicago. She gets into trouble when she pranks annoying jock Derek who cyberbullied her friend Bess. She runs into Derek's girlfriend Helen Corning and her beloved aunt Flora (Linda Lavin). Flora's home has been haunted by ghosts from its past and nobody believes her except Nancy Drew. Meanwhile, Carson is fighting efforts to bring a train line into River Heights.

The story is a little old fashion that the hip scriptwriters have tried to update. The seams between the two do show. I wish they change train story. I can do without Nancy Drew riding a long skateboard or the truly ridiculous Derek. Can't he be a real villain rather than a silly one? It's like the movie is caught between a silly kiddie Disney channel movie and a grown up thriller. In addition, Nancy Drew needs a weapon; a stun gun or pepper spray. She's jumping into a scenario unarmed against a thug with a gun. It gets a bit too Home Alone for me to take seriously.

On the other hand, the girls have good chemistry. Sophia Lillis and Laura Wiggins are solid actors even if Laura is a tattooed 30 trying to pass for a young teen. It helps to have TV legend Linda Lavin. I like what she says about her best friend and the two girls coming together. The girls have the right attitude. The movie does have a few too many minor annoyances.

Young teens, that is. I wonder if young people read anymore, and if the ones that do ever read Nancy Drew books. Hard to tell if this movie will appeal to a large teen audience after "Captain Marvel" and numerous Batman films, but the story is good enough to hold the attention of kids who are not waiting for something to blow up.

Nutshell; Nancy is drawn into a mystery of a haunted house, owned by Linda Lavin. Aided by her 2 friends and a 'mean girl' they solve the problem, with a few object lessons about mean friends along the way. If you are over 21 the script is hard to endure but sufficient to hold the interest of a young audience. Nancy Drew as played by Sophia Lillis is adorable and appealing. I would recommend it to teens who are tired of superheroes, but with a caveat - it's not Fortnite.

7/10 - The website no longer prints my star rating.

I didn't expect much from this movie going in, in that sense this movie didn't disappoint at all. If u would like to speak about flaws and weaknesses, I promise you there is a ton of them. But if you are planning to watch this movie after seeing trailer and expecting to be perfect, then you should blame yourself. Having mentioned much about the notions, lets analyse the movie strengths. Sophia lillis as Nancy drew is vibrant and funny. She is very good at keeping the mood light even in the tense scenes. There is an innocence in her acting. Laura wiggins plays the pretty friend as usual. Andrea anders, sam trammel doesn't have much screen space but they have supporting roles to sophia. Even though you pretty much know how its gonna pan out, this movie keeps you invested. Grab a popcorn and drink and if you plan to light hearted teen movie this movie won't make you regret it.

I have never experienced a film speeding as fast as this, its 80 minutes were gone like the wind. so that maybe a good quality sign, that the grumpy old man had a time warp while watching nancy drew. its an modernized , not to overexhaggerated detective story, that are for all ages, i myself read some of the N.D. books to impress my childhood girlfriend, though i prefered the Hardy boys better.

the film are well made, and bears the message without vfx and cgi, the language are plain, and the plot iand story are really working. the actors does a fine job, they even have vocal pureness so even the tinnitusated grumpy old man didnt need any subtitles. the sets and design are very colourfilled, and the use of modern technology are moderatly and clever used. imagine miss marple of agatha christie with a laptop and smartphone, that would raised MY eyebrow, so the modern nancy drew does still have the authentic sting.

i will recommend this to you all, but dont expect the unexpected, and let nancy guide you through the hidden staircase with pride.