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Young girls are very impressionable. Here is a list of movies which I think are entertaining and age
appropriate for Tweens.
AKEELAH AND THE BEE
Following in the fine tradition of inspiring inner-city underdog tales like STAND AND DELIVER, and
TAKE THE LEAD, Doug Atchison's AKEELAH AND THE BEE is a story of overcoming odds that never descends into empty formula. The
narrative centers around the character of Akeelah (Keke Palmer, in a star-making performance), a charming yet insecure 11
year old girl from Los Angeles' gang-ridden South Central district. Upon flipping channels after school one day, she lands
on ESPN's coverage of the National Spelling Bee. Having recently become aware of her innate talent in this area, Akeelah cannot
help but fantasize about the prospect of being a star of the bee circuit. The tragic problem -- intelligence of this kind
is not valued in her community, where skills of athleticism and rapping are coveted far more than school smarts. Though Akeelah
attempts to hide her academic acuity behind a rebellious attitude, she cannot resist the temptation to enter her school's
spelling bee, at which her stellar performance attracts the attention of her idealistic principal, who pairs her with a mentor,
a former professor named Joshua Larabee (the always riveting Laurence Fishburne, who re-embodies the wise iconoclast character
he played so well in the chess movie SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER). Meanwhile, Akeelah's strong, practical mother, (played
by Angela Bassett, who worked with Fishburne on the Tina Turner biopic WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?) while always supportive
of her talented daughter, does not necessarily see the point of spending such time and energy on what will likely amount to
a fleeting hobby.
MEAN GIRLS
In this survival-of-the-fittest teen comedy, high school is a dangerous jungle seething with teenagers who
prey on each other like wild animals. The nonstop jokes are hilariously rewarding as they exaggerate adolescent vanity and
satirize political correctness issues like race, class, and homosexuality. Here, the Plastics are the most popular girls in
school. They wrote the rule book on Girl World, like always wearing pink on Tuesdays. And they're mean. So when pretty new
girl Cady (Lindsay Lohan) arrives in school, the first thing they do is make fun of her. Then they try to win her over. Cady
is torn between social cliques. She befriends the punky rebels Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese). But the
guy Cady wants to date is friends with the Plastics--Regina (Rachel McAdams), Gretchen (Lacey Chabert), and Karen (Amanda
Seyfriend)--so she has to be resourceful. Problem is, the two groups hate each other. Just trying to fit in, Cady jumps through
hoops for the Plastics and becomes a mean girl in the process. Though her transformation is radical, when the final act of
meanness is done, she learns a few valuable lessons.
THE PRINCESS DIARIES
Teen actress Anne Hathaway gives an endearing performance in Garry Marshall's delightful Disney comedy,
THE PRINCESS DIARIES. Assisted by such seasoned pros as Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo (a Marshall regular), Hathaway shines
here in her first major film role. She plays Mia, a high school misfit who has resigned herself to social invisibility. Mia
and her best friend, Lilly (Heather Matarazzo), are outcasts. While Lilly relishes the role, Mia just wishes a cute popular
boy she likes, Josh (Erik von Detten), would notice her. Mia's life changes dramatically when her grandmother (Andrews) contacts
her and Mia finds out she is heir to the throne of Genovia, a small European country between France and Spain. The klutzy,
socially awkward girl doesn't think she's up to the job, but she agrees to be coached in regal manners by her grandmother
before deciding if she wants to become a princess. Marshall (PRETTY WOMAN) is clearly in his element directing this light,
charming teen comedy. Andrews, perfectly cast as Queen Clarisse Renaldi, makes her character seem both imperious and caring.
Hathaway's performance and the presence of teen pop star Mandy Moore assure that young girls, in particular, will enjoy the
film.
YOU GOT SERVED
Teen group B2K apparently burned bright and brief, scoring their first hit in 2002 and announcing their
split in the first days of 2004. However, they go out in full blaze, starring with Marques Houston in the hip-hop-dreams/dance-contest
movie YOU GOT SERVED. The foursome also logically provide the bulk of the film's infectious soundtrack--a collection of danceable,
sensual rap-infused R&B songs born to fuel epic battles on the dance-floor, cut by the requisite slow jams.
BRING IT ON
Stellar Kirsten Dunst, as cheerleading captain Torrance Shipman,
leads six-time defending cheerleading champions the Toros against a talented inner-city squad, the East Compton Clovers, in
BRING IT ON. The film presents a lighthearted, slightly quirky exploration of the cutthroat but perky world of professional
cheerleading competitions.
Only days after taking over the reins of her hallowed suburban high school squad, Torrance
is presented with the ugly truth about her team's success when a new recruit, Missy (Eliza Dushku), a semi-outcast gymnast,
realizes that the Toros' cheer was stolen from another team. Missy takes Torrance to inner-city L.A. to see the same routine
being performed by the East Compton Clovers. The Clovers throw down the gauntlet; they are going to challenge the Toros for
the national championship on ESPN 2. As if having to find new cheers were not enough trouble, Torrance also has romantic decisions
to make: She has to choose between her oily but pretty current boyfriend and Missy's less popular but rocking brother, Cliff
(Jesse Bradford).
MISS CONGENIALITY
When a notorious criminal mastermind known only as the Citizen threatens to terrorize the Miss United States
Pageant, the FBI scours their ranks to find a female agent capable of winning the contest and capturing the killer before
it's too late. Special Agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) may be the most physically beautiful woman in the Bureau, but her
tomboyish lack of feminine grace jeopardizes the plan and spells disaster. Forced to turn to the once-proud beauty pageant
consultant Victor Melling (Michael Caine), Agent Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt) tries to accomplish the impossible goal of
transforming Hart from an unrefined rogue to a model candidate of elegance, poise, and style, with the irresistible power
to win the pageant and simultaneously catch the killer. MISS CONGENIALITY combines the hilarious physical comedy and girl-next-door
charm of Sandra Bullock with Michael Caine's trademark British wit and impotent outrage, adding up to a devastating orgy of
comedy, glamour, and catastrophe.
DRUMLINE
Charles Stone III's crowd-pleasing drama spotlights the previously unheralded world of
university marching bands--more specifically, the cutthroat world that energizes Southern black campuses. Devon Miles (Nick
Cannon) is a Harlem teenager who receives a full scholarship to attend Atlanta A&T University based on his excellent percussion
talents. However, making the transition from hip-hop street drumming to the drumline of the school's legendary marching band
is more challenging than Miles expected. For one, the band director, Dr. Lee (Orlando Jones), is determined to reclaim the
national championship using old-school tactics, even though his traditional beliefs appear to be leaving A&T in the dust.
And then there is Sean (Leonard Roberts), the current drum leader, who is threatened by Devon's skills and frustrated by his
fierce individuality. These antagonistic forces, as well as the addition of a cheerleading love interest (Zoe Saldana), combine
to test Devon's previously unshakeable confidence. As the season builds toward the BET Big Southern Classic and a showdown
with rival Morris Brown University, Devon must swallow his pride and learn to be a team player if he wants his band to win
the championship.
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