What a Girl Wants (film)

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What a Girl Wants
Original theatrical poster
Directed by	Dennie Gordon
Produced by	Denise Di Novi, Bill Gerber, Hunt Lowry
Written by	Jenny Bicks, Elizabeth Chandler
Starring	Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston, Oliver James
Music by	Rupert Gregson-Williams
Cinematography	Andrew Dunn
Editing by	Chuck McClelland
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date(s)	April 4, 2003
Running time	100 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Gross revenue	Worldwide $50,732,139
Official website
IMDb profile

What a Girl Wants is a 2003 film starring Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston and Oliver James. It is directed by Dennie Gordon.

The film is a remake of the 1958 film, The Reluctant Debutante which had a screenplay by William Douglas-Home, based on his play of the same name.

[edit] Plot

Daphne Reynolds (Bynes) has what every girl wants--or so it seems. This young American girl has a unique style all her own, an unconventional but loving relationship with her Bohemian mother Libby (Preston) and a future full of possibilities. But despite her remarkable promise, Daphne feels incomplete.

She dreams of one day meeting the father she’s never known, the man Libby loved deeply seventeen years ago, but ultimately left behind because his aristocratic family found her unsuitable. Determined to live out her fantasy of forging a storybook relationship with her long-absent dad, Daphne, on an impulse, gets a flight to London, where she quickly discovers that her father is a high profile politician Lord Henry Dashwood (Firth). Henry opens his life and his social calendar to the daughter he never knew existed, but Daphne’s appearance in his high society creates an uproar that threatens to undermine his political career. Not wanting to jeopardize his campaign for an upcoming election, Daphne stifles her naturally vibrant personality, refashions herself as a proper debutante and plunges into a whirlwind of British social events. But even with Henry’s support, she’s not getting any help from his conniving fiancée or her jealous daughter, who are bent on ruining Daphne at every turn.

With the aid of Ian (James), a charming and society-savvy local musician, Daphne attempts to prove that love, along with proper etiquette, can conquer all. But Daphne soon realizes she doesn’t like the person she’s becoming in the process. As much as she wants to be her father’s daughter, she realizes it's not worth it if she can’t be herself. She goes back home but Henry realizes how much he loves Daphne and goes to find her.The film ends with Daphne's mother officially getting married to Daphne's father. Daphne also becomes Ian's girlfriend and she goes to College at Oxford so she can be near him. They move into Henry's house.

[edit] Poster Changes

This film opened during war with Iraq which made Warner Bros. change the poster art for the film. Because the original artwork showed Amanda Bynes displaying a peace symbol, the artwork was changed so that the peace symbol was airbrushed out. The studio did not want anyone to think the artwork was a war protest.