First Daughter ---- first-rate disappointment

© 20th Century Fox
Title: First Daughter (C-)
Release Year: 2004
Actors: Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton, Marc Blucas, Amerie, Margaret Colin, Lela Rochon Fuqua
Director: Forest Whitaker
Story: Jessica Bendinger and Jerry O’ Connell
Screenplay: Jessica Bendinger and Kate Kondell
Editor / Music: Richard Chew / Michael Kamen & Blake Neely
Design / Photography: Alexander Hammond / Toyomichi Kurita
Producer: John Davis et al.
Studio: Regency Entertainment and 20th Century Fox

“…I’m still gonna stay with you, not because I have to, but because I want to”

Oh, how sweet, and how I wish I could be as amiable. But there are tons of reasons that forbid me to be so after watching this movie. If there’s anything that I am glad about, it will be the fact that my decision a couple of months ago to skip this movie was substantiated.

I love Katie Holmes. For me she’s an angel. She’s the sweetest thing that ever ensued from television. Dawson’s Creek is one of my favorite shows of all time. I grew up watching that show, which means I grew up watching Katie. I stood by her even though thousands of people deemed that she can’t act (God, I’m so emo). That’s how much I adore her, but I’m afraid that adulation will not be enough to save this princess from falling from grace.


© 20th Century Fox
Katie plays the role of Samantha, the first and only daughter of the incumbent president of the USA, Mackenzie (Keaton). She’s about to experience her first real walk in the world, alone--- or so she thought. She enters college, a time in once life where one learns how to be independent, something probably she won’t learn since 24/7 secret service is on her tail. A lot of things happened and I don’t wanna transmit any of the burden from what I saw, to you so I’m just gonna cut it short and say that this movie is truly nonsense.

I never thought I’d see a movie cheesier than any Hallmark movies I’ve seen. I mean really, the first half of the movie was like a never-ending conclusion to a rom-com/self-evaluation movie. You know how movies of this type works, the lead ends up telling about what she have learned. This one didn’t settle for one scene alone of never-ending lessons but for the entire half of the movie. And then, what makes it so much more exciting is that the final half felt really felt like a Hallmark movie. Too much drama that’s nothing but plain drama.

Forest Whitaker needs to learn a lot more. Not that I am singling him out, cuz I honestly believe that the script plain sucks. And what’s even funnier is that it took two people to make up the story and another two to write the screenplay. Wow, it did work.


© 20th Century Fox
I feel really bad for all the actors in this movie especially Katie. Man, I do hope she survives this disaster and actually land a good role someday. Michael Keaton was actually good in this movie that came as a surprise. This one won’t pass as rom-com too, cuz the chemistry was not just there. Katie and Marc as a couple is not just convincing. They’re as cold as any straight man would feel towards Madame Auring.

The movie tried to be so nice and all which they succeed of doing, however instead of ending up as heartwarming it became too cheesy to handle. I don’t know about Chasing Liberty cuz I haven’t seen it s I can’t really compare them from one another and speculate who copied who. But if it is almost as the same as some people say, I say watch the one which stars the one you idolize. Press Chasing for Mandy and press First for Katie. As simple as that. As for the ordinary viewers who don’t care about either of the two, you can skip this one without being left guilt-stricken that you didn’t support the first family or your country.

Grading Sheet:
Story – 12%
Screenplay – 9%
Direction / Execution – 10%
Acting – 15%
Technical Aspect – 13%
Total: 59% = C-