In her hometown of River Heights, Nancy Drew is famous for being a sleuth; even the local police forced looks up to her, and it seems she can put no foot wrong. Then she moves away from home temporarily with her father, Carson Drew, who has been assigned a legal case in California and wants Nancy to concentrate on being a teenager rather than a sleuth. At her new school, Nancy is looked upon as a bit of a geek with obsessional tendencies. Luckily, she manages to rise above her tormentors, and she finds a new case. The house that the Drews are renting previously belonged to a famous actress, now deceased, but there has always been suspicion about her death and a possible inheritance. Can Nancy, along with friends Corky and Ned, solve the years' old mystery? Or has Nancy finally bitten off more than she can chew?

Emma Roberts stars as Nancy Drew. She just about manages to look the part. Nancy is famous for her red hair (the author refers to it as titian, which used to make me giggle as a little girl - and still does if I'm being honest!); Emma Roberts isn't perhaps as red-haired as she could be, but it is passable, and she generally gives a good performance. However, there are quite a few differences between the original Nancy and this one - obviously not Roberts' fault - Nancy Drew is loved and admired by absolutely everyone around her, so to see her ridiculed by her schoolmates was a bit strange. I know that she needed updating for the film - and the original Nancy could be incredibly annoying with her holier than thou attitude, but to change the way that everyone sees her didn't sit right with me. It didn't ruin the film for me, but this factor really did stand out and detract from the film.

I think the director would have done much better to concentrate on characters that weren't regular appearances in the books. I enjoyed watching Josh Flitter as Corky; he adds a real touch of humour to the proceedings and I could sit back and enjoy it, without comparing him to a character in the book. His sister and her friend were also amusing, and, with their modern clothes and hairstyles, really make the film seem that much more up to date, as does the soundtrack.

What I am not so sure about is whether the film will have persuaded a new legion of fans to the Nancy Drew franchise. The series is obviously set in the US and I am sure that there are many more fans over there than in the UK, so it is perhaps hard for me to judge. However, I don't really have the impression that the Nancy Drew character went down all that well here. People seem to have thought that the film was okay, but I don't see masses of interest in Nancy Drew as a character, which is a shame - I feel as if a marketing opportunity was somehow missed. I do hope that there will be future Nancy Drew films though, so perhaps there is still hope. I would love to think that a whole new generation can enjoy the same stories that I have known and loved for years.

Classification: PG