Took the kiddos to see Nancy Drew last night. 

I confess, when I first saw the theatrical trailer, I was appalled, to say the least. I couldn't believe what they'd done to Nancy Drew! My beloved yellow-spine-volumed, titian-haired sleuth!

(Slight digression here, because it still ticks me off: Trivial Pursuit [original edition] is wrong. Nancy Drew does not have blond hair. She hasn't since 1957. She has strawberry-blond, or titian, hair. And when that particular question cost me a Trivial Pursuit win back in college…well, let's just say I haven't ever forgotten it. Bitter is the word that comes to mind. Yes, bitter.) 

But now that I've seen the movie, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. I really was!

As I explained to Music Man (who barely has a clue who Nancy is [except for his fond memories of Pamela Sue Martin and her Playboy spread], and certainly didn't know enough to back me up in that Trivial Pursuit game, to my great annoyance and his even greater regret), Nancy's about as wholesome as you can get. And so is this movie (except for the illegitimate baby subplot…but who knows–as far as we know, the baby's parents could have been secretly married). 

And I guess if Nancy were ever to come to life in the 21st century, she probably would be this perky, preppy, uber-organized, over-achieving young woman who doesn't have a clue about the important things (ie, that Ned is madly in love with her), but who can solve puzzles in a matter of weeks that adults haven't been able to crack for decades.

I say this with a wave of affection and hardly any snark, because, for all of her perfection, the Nancy in this movie is likeable and she doesn't condescend to anyone–even those who are mean or rude to her. Not a bad role model, I say.

So, anyway, I liked it. My nine year old son liked it, too, so for those of you with mixed-gender families, it's boy safe. And my two daughters loved it. It's a Disney-esque version of Nancy, with everything safe and happy at the end, a decent mystery that adults will solve more easily than the children, although the villain doesn't appear until well into the flick.

And there's a sort of weird Big Star Cameo in the middle of the movie–not exactly sure why they included it…but I guess it was to show that Nancy can even take over Hollywood if she wants to.

Oh, and this was cool: when Nancy goes online to check out the listing of movies that Dehlia Draycott (the actress at the center of the mystery) is in, when she gets to IMDB.com and scrolls through the list, if you watch carefully, you'll see that the movies are actually titles of Nancy Drew books. Nice touch, I thought. 

There's a Hidden Staircase, a Chinese box (for some reason that rings a bell), a Blackwood Hall type ghost, and a kidnapping–complete with whatever they used to put on a handkerchief over Nancy's face to knock her out (choloroform?)….and I'm sure there are other nods that I missed or don't remember. Oh, and Nancy's blue roadster.

Anyway, it's cute. Enjoy.

And while we're on the subject of movies: anyone recommend (or not) Oceans Thirteen? I loved the first, fell asleep in the second…so what's the verdict?