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Poppy Moore is a spoilt rich girl from LA whose wayward behaviour goes too far. Her father sends her to an all-girls boarding school in England in the hopes of straightening her out. She hates it, so starts a campaign of pranks with the aim of being expelled. Nothing seems to work, so she sets her sights on the headmistress' son Freddie because any girl caught fraternising will be sent to the honour court and then home. But just as it looks like Poppy's plan is working, she starts to realise that the school isn't so bad and begins to fall for Freddie…
In order for a formulaic genre film such as this to succeed, it's important to direct with verve so it stands out from the crowd. Director Nick Moore achieves this to a certain extent, opting to shoot the picture as a high-gloss teen movie. The visuals are pristine; contrasting the wide blue skies of West Coast America with the interminable greys of Britain, the open-plan lifestyle of California with the dark woods and shadowy staircases of an English boarding school. All of Poppy's American friends are primped, plucked and preened to the nth degree, while their UK counterparts are fresh-faced and the fake plastic Malibu Barbies are contrasted with less self-obsessed British schoolgirls showcasing a range of regional accents. Relationships are clearly marked out so we know what to expect from various encounters. Poppy's attempts to get herself thrown out are covered in a single montage that keeps everything snappy, but her pranks feel more playful than malicious. She and her new roommates of course bond over shopping (again shown in another montage) and her school spirit is increased through playing lacrosse (shown in training and playing montages).
Thankfully Moore's previous career as a film editor stands him in good stead, keeping these sequences brief and fun. His sharp editing also keeps the pacing sprightly throughout the ninety-eight minute running time and keeps the gags fairly funny. However, it sometimes feels as though plot points have been excised for the sake of brevity or to keep the censors happy. For example, Poppy and her friends fail to buy alcohol but are then mysteriously hung-over after the social. But these are minor niggles and fans of the genre and indeed the targeted teenage girl audience will no doubt find lots here to like.
The screenplay by Lucy Dahl is a basic fish-out-of-water story at heart. You are under no misapprehension as to what the eventual outcome will be from the outset. You know the bad girl from the States will turn herself around, find real friends at the boarding school to replace her superficial ones from LA, fall in love and make a real go of things - and so it pans out. We go through the usual cycle of ups and downs that show Poppy being brattish, sullen about being sent away from home, lonely, homesick and finally fitting in and becoming popular. However there are some gaping plot holes. There is no preamble so we have no idea why Poppy is the way she is or how bad her behaviour has been previously. The film could have done with a few scenes to establish the character instead of a belated expository conversation that sets her up as troubled rather than spoilt. But her "me, me, me" attitude is all we know of her initially. You can predict the run-ins with the bitchy head prefect and the shrewish matron. So as a contrast the headmistress has to be warm and caring.
The characterisation is perhaps overly simplistic as Poppy's troublemaking is symptomatic of bereavement. All her Californian friends are slutty fakes, while her new classmates fall into the usual categories; Kate is the nice girl archetype, Kiki is the brains, Drippy is the ditzy one, Harriet the school bitch with cronies that don't really like her and Charlotte and Jane are there to make up the numbers. The teachers are well-meaning but behind the times and Poppy's father is never developed beyond a plot device. The dialogue is maybe the only surprising aspect of the screenplay, as there is a handful of references to sex and an unusual amount of swearing for a film aimed at young teens and tweens. But I suppose it makes it more relevant to today's teenager and reflects the way they speak, so it works.
Emma Roberts is doing well to head up her second feature in as many years as Poppy. She deals well with the character's transformation from snotty brat to model schoolgirl, making her irritating at first before redeeming her in the eyes of the viewer. So she's a believable heroine for the youngsters the film is targeting. Her timing is good and she does a good job of conveying the role's insecurities and bravado, gradually making her more sympathetic as the movie progresses.
Natasha Richardson is warm but displays a dry sense of humour and a knack for sarcasm as the headmistress of the boarding school, which stops the character from feeling like a goody-two-shoes. Kimberley Nixon, who plays Kate is a likeable foil to Roberts, coming across as a nice girl with a strong sense of who she is and the fresh-faced looks to match. Georgia King camps it up slightly as the hateful Harriet, which works because the head girl is such a pretentious cow. She has the rather horsy looks of the stereotypical aristocracy and the cut-glass accent and overdone hairdo to match. She appears bitchy and brittle, being one of those girls that bullies others because of a lack of self-esteem. Juno Temple does ditzy well as the oddly named Drippy and Sophie Wu is likeable as Kiki.
Alex Pettyfer hasn't got much to work with as love interest Freddie, but pushes the heartthrob envelope enough to get the teens swooning. Shirley Henderson feels miscast as Matron. I think the part was originally intended for an older actress and despite her waspish turn, it feels as though Henderson is pushing too much. Nick Frost is also going a bit OTT as über-camp hairdresser Mr Christopher, which is little more than a chewy Scots accent and a big ginger moustache. Meanwhile Jason Watkins and Daisy Donovan try their best with underwritten roles as the amorous French and PE teachers respectively.
The original music by Michael Price relies heavily on the string section of the orchestra to relay emotions. The film opens with dark rising strings and harps underlaid by deep piano that suggests the kind of trouble Poppy is about to get into. The school is represented by sweeping strings and chimes, French lessons by predictable accordion, loneliness by melancholy piano and the most serious incident of the film by tense strings and drums. Heroic acts are accompanied by sweeping strings and brass and an act of self-sacrifice by sad cellos and piano. As a score it has its own internal consistency, but it sits at odds with the other soundtrack choices. This includes a grab bag of recent hits such as Rihanna's "Shut Up and Drive", Nelly Furtado's "Say it Right" and Adele's "Chasing Pavements" which fit the target audience and style of the movie. But the girly version of Christopher Otcasek's "Real Wild Child" is a crime against music.
"Wild Child" is a film that will find its greatest favour with its intended demographic of young teens. It's a fun stab at the teen movie genre with enough action and non-threatening totty to entertain all but the most jaded fourteen year-old girl. The performances are also lively enough to stop accompanying adults nodding off. It is by no means original, but I have seen far worse versions of similar stories and it may become something of a guilty pleasure on DVD.
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Advantages: Anything that has Cameron Diaz in it, wet and 'unzipped' to the waist has got to get 5 stars Disadvantages: not sure Lucy Liu was the right casting for the 3rd 'Angel'
flashpointz 27.08.2002 (27.08.2002)
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