What a Girl Wants
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: April 4, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
18
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
In her sassy but scrubbed way, Bynes is a real charmer, and What a Girl Wants is a likable throwaway. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
There's nothing wrong with fairy tales, but they don't have to be formulaic. A movie like this would have benefited from a blending of the fanciful and the inventive. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
Strictly for budding young ladies, though it does offer those who've already bloomed the grown-up pleasures of Firth, a great actor who graciously invites you to join him in the slow-burn romantic corner into which he's rapidly painting himself. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Works well enough. It has a decided plus in its appealing young star, Amanda Bynes, last seen opposite Frankie Muniz in "Big Fat Liar." Read full review
60
Film ThreatClint Morris
While this is far from an avant-garde, ingenious flick, it uses a dependable formula that’ll definitely deliver. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Bynes is a charmer who adeptly straddles the line between romantic heroine and physical comedienne, while Firth is extremely enjoyable as a befuddled father. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Minnelli's comedy had its serious underpinnings: by the end of the film, a girl had become a woman. By the end of Ms. Gordon's film, the girl is still a girl, but a girl with much cooler stuff, including a stately home, a butler and a cute British boyfriend. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
It's a tame, hypocritical fantasy. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's mostly forced and predictable, too much of the physical comedy falls very flat. Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
It feels much more like a shameless reshuffle of "The Princess Diaries." Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Pleasant bubblegum romp, which was inspired by the old Sandra Dee picture "The Reluctant Debutante." Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's slick girlie stuff, but the cast makes it go down easy. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie is clearly intended for girls between the ages of 9 and 15, and for the more civilized of their brothers, and isn't of much use to anyone else. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJanice Page
It's not that What a Girl Wants is dreadful; it's merely slapdash, wildly inconsistent in tone and style, and mind-numbingly predictable in character and plot. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Harmless, fish-out-of-water fluff. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerKaren Heller
Designed as the ideal confection to attract a young girl or teen, What a Girl Wants will more likely hook their mothers. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
It's a cheery, impossible fantasy. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Instantly forgettable but good-natured all the same. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAnya Kamenetz
A culture-shock/daddy-meets-girl romantic comedy, WAGW is a sanitized adventure for the Mary Kate-and-Ashley set. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Very sketchily based upon "The Reluctant Debutante" (minus the charm, plot, and characterization). Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Were it not for young star Amanda Bynes' energetic good nature in the face of drab dialogue and wooden stereotypes, What a Girl Wants might have been a career-ending movie violation rather than just an embarrassing fender-bender. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Movie lite, a clueless, formulaic paint-by-numbers comedy. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It's uninspired and insipid all the way. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
If the Warner Bros. wizards have it right, what a girl wants is to see as much of Amanda Bynes as she possibly can...It's not so great for the rest of us, since the film has nothing else to offer. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Irritating wish-fulfillment movie. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Dreadful teen comedy with a "Cinderella" theme. Read full review
20
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Young audiences may welcome this movie, but girls, and boys, should want more.
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