Themes: Fish Out of Water, High School Life, Mothers and Daughters
Main Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly, Alison Pill
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 89 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
British actress/director Sara Sugarman makes her U.S. feature debut with the Disney-produced comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, based on the young-adult novel by Dyan Sheldon and adapted for the screen by Gail Parent. The story concerns a popular urban teenager named Mary Elizabeth Cep (Lindsay Lohan), who is convinced her real name is Lola. Unfortunately, her family moves from fashionable New York City to a small suburb in New Jersey. Disturbed by her environment, Lola is quick to wage war against the popular Carla Santini (Megan Fox). She's also pursued by high school hunk Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), but chooses to focus her attention on winning back her title of Most Popular Girl in School. With the help of a frumpy drama teacher (Carol Kane) and shy new friend Ella (Alison Pill), Lola creates a dramatic performance to earn her coveted high status. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Review
If Freaky Friday is the film that gave Lindsay Lohan a warm cinematic welcome, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is the hasty follow-up, an unendurable vanity project that's as long as any 90-minute movie out there. Sara Sugarman's film aims for the tone, pastel design, and outrageous sartorial sense of Clueless, but its Disney pedigree, as well as the intrusion of a square Disney morality, prevents it from amassing the necessary irony. Wherever it needs to be brash, it's safe. What's left is a tedious tween comedy with precious few laughs or insights, and even less sense of how to appeal to its target audience. The film is modern enough to feature an iMac orchestra and a hip-hop staging of Pygmalion, but its characters' wants and needs are decidedly quaint. Not only are Lohan and her best friend hung up on the kind of glam rock band that teens haven't favored since the 1980s, but Lohan's excessive narration contains numerous allusions to unlikely works of literature. In vain, Sugarman resorts to cutaways and running the action in fast-motion to punch up Gail Parent's script, which includes such zingers as "Are you partially insane?" and "You're being accusatory!" But the film's most obvious deference to Lohan's budding superstardom, at the expense of humor, is that none of the times she breaks into song involve setting up a punch line -- they are presented merely as music videos. In the grand scheme of things, Confessions turns out to function as a rough draft for Mean Girls, the Lohan vehicle released only two months later, which comes a lot closer to being an effective satire of teen politics. Preferring Confessions would be...well, partially insane. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Richard Fitzpatrick - Mr. Gerard; Carol Kane - Miss Baggoli; Tom McCamus - Calum; Sheila McCarthy - Mrs. Gerard; Eli Marienthal - Sam Creek; Adam MacDonald - Steve Maya; Kyle Kassardjian - Andy; Barbara Mamabolo - Robin
Credit
Dennis Davenport - Art Director, Marcia Ross - Casting, Donna Morong - Casting, Robin D. Cook - Casting, David C. Robinson - Costume Designer, Bruce Speyer - First Assistant Director, Sara Sugarman - Director, Robert Shapiro - Second Unit Director, Anita Brandt-Burgoyne - Editor, Mathew Hart - Line Producer, Mark Mothersbaugh - Composer (Music Score), Dawn Solér - Musical Direction/Supervision, Leslie McDonald - Production Designer, Stephen H. Burum - Cinematographer, Marguerite Derricks - Cinematographer, Robert Shapiro - Producer, Jerry Leider - Producer, Elis Lam - Set Designer, Grant Van Der Slagt - Set Designer, Sean Breaugh - Set Designer, Andrew Stean - Set Designer, Douglas Ganton - Sound/Sound Designer, Gail Parent - Screenwriter, Larry McConkey - Second Unit Camera, Dan Schrecker - Visual Effects Supervisor, Robert L. Sephton - Supervising Sound Editor, Adam Kopald - Supervising Sound Editor, Clive Thomasson - Set Decorator, Dyan Sheldon - Book Author
It was filmed in various locations, primarily south-central Los Angeles. The film was release in late February 2004 opening with little positive feedback from critics, but reached number two in the United States box office behind Adam Sandler's 50 First Dates. It was released July 20, 2004 on VHS and DVD.[2]
Fifteen-year-old Mary "Lola" Cep (Lindsay Lohan), who is desperate for attention, moves with her family from New York City to the suburbs of Dellwood, New Jersey, much to her chagrin. Her new attitude then gets a reality check as she begins to realize she must become best friends with the most popular girl in school, Carla Santini (Megan Fox), and her two followers Marcia (Ashley Leggat), and Robin (Barbara Mamabolo). Lola makes friends with an unpopular girl named Ella Gerard (Alison Pill), as they share a love for the band Sidarthur (spelling as in script and on concert banner in film, however sometimes interpreted as Sidartha or Sid Arthur), whose lead singer, Stu Wolf (Adam Garcia), is the object of Lola's crush; Ella has a crush on Steve, the bassist. Lola also meets Sam, a cute guy who takes a liking to her because of her large breasts. Later she tries out for the school play, a modern version of Pygmalion named "Eliza Rocks" because the teacher wanted to base it on a modern-day New Yorker with "modern, hip" music. The play uses David Bowie's song "Changes" as its main theme. After getting the part of Eliza over her brand-new enemy Carla, the resentment between the two grows. Later they hear an announcement over the radio that Sidarthur has broken up and that Stu Wolf does not ever want to work with the band again. Lola and Ella are devastated. After school, Lola and Carla end up challenging each other on the dancing machine at an arcade. While there, Carla reveals that she already has tickets to Sidarthur's sold-out farewell concert due to her father being Stu Wolf's lawyer (mentioned earlier in the movie). Lola tells Carla that she and Ella have tickets, too, based on a connection of her mom's. Lola then wins the dancing machine game and earns some respect from the others.
Lola tries to get tickets as well in the hopes of upsetting Carla. But because she's grounded and has no allowance, Lola asks Sam to "borrow" Eliza's dress. He nearly gets caught when Miss Baggoli, the drama teacher gives the performers a break from training and goes to the drama room, but she is distracted by Lola while Sam hides as a mannequin, behind a mirror, and eventually exits behind Miss Baggoli's back. Ella offers to pay for both of their tickets at first. After failing to obtain tickets legally, Ella and Lola take a train to New York City in order to buy tickets from a scalper. But things don't go as well as they hoped because Lola had left her bag behind the sink on the train, and now doesn't have the money to pay for tickets. Lola and Ella finally give up, and they walk through the city to find Stu's after-show party.
Afterwards, Lola goes home, upset, and decides not to go to the performance, but she is spurred on by Ella's encouragement. Meanwhile as Miss Baggoli questions the absence of Lola, Carla confirms that she knows Eliza's script and that she will take the part. Just in time, Lola arrives and goes on stage as her part. Just as she is about to go on stage, Lola's mother wishes her good luck and finally calls her by her nickname "Lola". Then she goes on stage and gives a great performance and then the scene focuses on the after-party at Carla's. Stu Wolf shows up on the doorstep to see Lola and return her necklace but to save herself from humiliation, Carla attempts at saying he is here to see her, but is promptly proved wrong when Stu sees Lola and gives her the necklace, in front of everyone. As Carla's lies become apparent to everyone, she somberly backs away from the crowd and falls into the fountain, greeted by everyone's laughter. In pity, Lola helps her up and the two resolve their issues. After dancing with Stu, she dances with Sam and they eventually share a kiss, ending the film.
Based on 87 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an average 13% overall approval rating.[4] Parent Previews gave the film an overall grade of C+.[5] Dennis Harvey of Variety magazine commented in his review that "Based on Dyan Sheldon's popular youth fiction, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen emerges a strained showcase for up-and-comer Lindsay Lohan as a sophisticated Big Apple teen unhappily relocated to New Jersey. Minimally funny comedy feels like a Disney Channel pic that got boosted to theatrical after Lohan scored a hit opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the "Freaky Friday" remake. Nonetheless, it should have a lock on the 7- to 12-year-old female demo for a couple weekends before finding longer tube/tape shelf life."[6]Ultimate Disney reviewed the DVD saying that it "doesn't garner a recommendation as a film, and its DVD special features are as breezy and shallow as the movie itself. Lindsay Lohan fans and teenage girls are bound to be the most interested, and they might well enjoy it on the surface as light entertainment. But for others, one viewing may be more than enough."[7]
Box office
Despite mostly negative critical reception, the film grossed a modest $9.3 million in its opening weekend (February 20-22, 2004), debuting at #2, right behind Adam Sandler's 50 First Dates. The film did fairly at the box office, grossing $29 million domestically and $30 million worldwide.[8]
