Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

As a 43yo man I definitely do not belong in the demographic this movie is made for, but I actually liked reading Nancy Drew when I was young which is why when I saw this movie flicker by, I stopped, and watched it.

This is not great, not fantastic, nor amazing in any form or way. Directing not so great, light and effects need to be worked on, story is bland and very simple, there is very little to celebrate with this movie since it is basic and do not offer much comes to cinematography, great scenes or action.

Still, this is fun. This is very much watchable, and well worth a look. I enjoyed this movie. Not everything need to be perfect or MCU spectacular. You do not need Oscar level of acting to enjoy a simple, fun, basic movie about teens, a couple of mysteries set in a small city and all that comes with. And Sophia Lillis is a magnet, she will be a star, with those wonderful eyes; how can she not become one?

I give this movie a strong 6 or a weak 7, I will give it a 7 just because I am in a good mood.

If you have nothing else to do, I can definitely recommend this. Much better movie than Us, much better movie than Alita, much better movie than What Men Want, in fact this is probably my second favorite movie of 2019 so far - after Captain Marvel.

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.

When I saw the title while surfing through my TV guide list, I was excited. I've been reading Nancy Drew books for years-the ones from the 60's and '90's. I recently read "The Hidden Staircase" again so I was interested in seeing just how loyal the movie was to the book. Call me old fashioned I don't care. While the movie was cute, it deviated too much from the book. In the book, Hannah was an older, matronly lady living and taking care of Nancy since her mom died. And Nancy? Sophia is cute but not who I envisioned as Nancy. They turned her into a major tomboy. Not that there's anything wrong with a tomboy. I'm a tomboy. But, in the book, Nancy managed to remain classy while getting her hands dirty. She knew how to drive. She did not use a skate board and wear cut up jeans. If you've never read the books, you could really enjoy this movie. But, it's true what they say: books are almost always better than the movie. This movie is an example. Although, if they decide to make a movie of the next book about the mystery of "Lilac Inn", I'd still watch it. I'd have loved to see movies done of the '90's books, as well.

The worst part is the script's dialogue and over the top scenarios. It felt like they filmed off the very first draft of the script without making it better or realistic. I know people in film school that wrote better scripts their first year! Very cheesy moments and cliche dialogue. BUT the actors do they're best (which is not easy!) and I applaud them for that. Because of the likable actors the movie is saved. All in all its a good movie for kids aged 6-12.

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.