Opening Day: 9 November 2006

Synopsis:

Material Girls is a light-hearted, teen comedy about a pair of “celebutante” sisters, who are famous only for being famous (much like another pair of infamous celebutante sisters). When their inheritance is stolen, they quickly discover who their real friends are, while also learning that there is more to real life than the glitz and glam of fame.

Movie Review:

It’s a typical comedic plot - Rich, spoiled girl(s) learn lessons in life after losing everything and then become better and more loveable people. Yet somehow, even though Material Girls follows through with this premise, the movie and its characters doesn’t quite work.

Here sisters Ava (Haylie Duff) and Tanzie Marchetta (Hilary Duff) are heiresses to Daddy’s beauty and cosmetic empire. They live the life but none of the responsibility, letting their father’s best friend and now CEO of the company (Brent Spiner) to handle the business. Their fall from ‘grace’ begins when it is discovered one of the products causes extreme allergic reactions. They risk losing Daddy’s company to arch rival Fabiella (the divine Angelica Houston) who threatens to buy them out. They then proceed to lose everything – money, credit cards, friends and fiancées, convertible Mercedes and home (who runs away from the SCENE of their burning home anyway?).

However, these rich girls just don’t seem that poor or destitute enough to garner any sympathy from me. I mean, they learn to take a bus, do some dishes and ironing and maybe pretend to clean the company toilet, but seriously, that’s it? Weren’t they supposed to learn about the superficiality of their lives? The err of their ways? They decry “what do we do about money?!”, yet everything they do seemed otherwise– immaculate hair and make-up, the endless array of changing accessories and dresses included. Further, their circumstances are not as bad as you think – they still have a roof over their heads, in the form of ex-housekeeper Inez (Maria Conchita Alonso) and stand to earn 60 million dollars each from the sale of the company.

I admit, after all is well, you do seem to think that the girls do learn that money does not come easy; they start working in their own company and make their products more affordable. But it just goes to show, some people, or more specifically the rich and elite, will always tend to have it easy even if they seemingly lose everything. They may learn some lessons in life but they still gained even more (plus some hot boyfriends) and then some!

The acting by the Duff sisters is deplorable (their characters just aren’t spoiled or dumb enough). Perhaps the attempt at moving away from stereotypes was its downfall. But these categories of movies thrive on stereotypes and that’s what makes them funny in the first place! Angelica Houston, decked in hilarious flowing Vivien Westwood-type robe and signature turban, really did try to save the show with her limited lines. Ava’s love interest/pro-bono lawyer played by Luke Nass, also does a valiant thespian effort. The scene near the end between housekeeper Inez and Ava deserves mention. This was perhaps the best scene in the film that was portrayed lovingly. Maybe Haylie is not too bad an actress after all.

Therefore, I point the finger mostly at poor quality writing. The movie is really not that funny for a comedy; I could literally count the number of times the audience laughed with my fingers. The first half hour of the movie plodded along with poor pacing and mediocre jokes. It is not without its gems though – I laughed out loud at the spot on inane and banal commentary of television soap opera “I’m so sorry I slept with your father” and “I took 30 birth control pills”.

The rest of the comedic devices and plot elements are silly and illogical at best. This is a shame as it could have been much, much more. Nonetheless, the film does wrap up nicely, inclusive of a Julia Roberts/Eric Brockovich-styled escapade, some original one-liners “You smell like Satan’s armpits!” and of course, an obligatory well-done coda.

Movie Rating:

(Pleasant and wholesome entertainment but silly, illogical and mostly bland. Strictly for obsessed teens)

Review by Darren Sim