First Daughter
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: September 24, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
31
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
14
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Just one more in the plague of weak Cinderella stories released in the past year. It's too sugary to be good for you, but in the end, its over-the-top sweetness won't kill you. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Is there a limit to this incessant princessitude? Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Keaton and Holmes have some sweet father-daughter moments and the supporting cast gives its all. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
All heart and has the best intentions in the world, but what a bore. It's a beat slower than it should be, it makes its points laboriously, and the plot surprise would be obvious even if I hadn't seen the same device used in exactly the same way earlier this year in "Chasing Liberty." Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
A dull, formulaic romance comedy with an ulterior motive and a sly message. Remarkably, the message is this: "Please Re-elect George Bush." Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsRobert Dominguez
There are plot holes you can fly Air Force One through. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
First Daughter can be measured in degrees of Holmes' discomfort... There's never a moment when she doesn't appear as if she'd rather be in a different movie. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Whitaker directed this flaccid romance from a script by girl-power hacks Jessica Bendinger. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Part of the problem is that this First Daughter is modeled on good-girl Chelsea Clinton; a movie based on our current two party-girls-in-chief trying to embarrass their reformed alcoholic dad would be far more fun. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The role of a poised daddy's girl is a dull one for Holmes, who looks pained, in a nonspecific way, throughout her capers; the movie itself, with a screenplay by Jessica Bendinger and Kate Kondell, is a dull one for director Forest Whitaker. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWinda Benedetti
Though First Daughter delivers a nice twist about midway through and Keaton lights up the screen every time he's on it, Holmes fails to deliver the kind of nuanced performance "Pieces of April" suggests she's capable of. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
While First Daughter is nowhere near as airheaded or disingenuous as "Chasing Liberty," it's far more confused. Read full review
40
Village VoiceBen Kenigsberg
First Daughter is less amusing than Jenna and Barb at the RNC, and dumb enough to make last January's presidential scion, Mandy Moore, look electable. Read full review
40
EmpireLucy Aitken
Holmes’ wholesome charm keeps the movie afloat, but only just. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a glossy, well-mounted, slickly done but almost stuporously predictable affair, both formula-bound and utterly illogical. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Has any movie this millennium had less reason to exist than First Daughter? Read full review
30
VarietyRobert Koehler
There are stiff politicians and there are stiff political movies, but the rigidity of the White House-based fairy tale that is First Daughter is in a category even pollsters may have a hard time assessing. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
A bland, formulaic picture where romance and comedy are noticeably absent. A more wooden and uninspired effort from talented people behind and in front of the camera is difficult to imagine. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
One hackneyed, inauthentic, predictable scene after another. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
Directed without wit or energy. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Just bland behavioral propaganda, and Holmes makes such a guileless and robotic spokeswoman, it wouldn't be nuts to think the White House was just another mansion in Stepford. Read full review
20
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Plays more like a nightmare than a dream, and an exceedingly unnerving one at that. Sam isn't just a prisoner of her parents' ambitions; like nearly everyone else in this film, she's a zombie, sleepwalking through life while Rome burns. Read full review
20
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
It sends a bad message to the film's young audience that the daughter of a world leader needn't be more than a vapid bikini-stuffer. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Stupendously dull and infuriatingly obtuse. Read full review
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