# I can't believe that I really want to see Nancy Drew **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2007, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843 "2007-06-13T13:24:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/21 "2007-06-13T16:43:34Z")
According to Fisher, Nancy Drew is 16, the same age she was in the original books (her age was changed to 18 in the 1950s). Emma Roberts, the actress who plays Nancy, is also 16. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/22 "2007-06-13T16:54:05Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Are there that many non-pc things in the originals? [/QUOTE] According to Fisher, there were many politically incorrect stereotypes from the originals that were removed in the revised texts. For example, _The Secret of the Old Clock_\*, the very first Nancy Drew book, featured a minor character who was a black who staggered around drunkenly and spoke in a stereotypical black dialect. In the revised version, he is a white Southerner who speaks plain English. \*Not to be confused with the controversial _Clue in the Clock_. So many swears… ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/23 "2007-06-13T16:58:02Z")
I dunno… when I first read the books, I was a little girl. Like… eight? So for one thing, I always pictured Nancy Drew as someone cool and older, who was mature and proper and smart. Like Violet in The Boxcar Children, only without a bunch of siblings. This seems ridiculously bubblegumfied. I understand that most kids my age and younger only really know Nancy Drew from video games and just by name and having it be a sort of generic forgettable tweenybopper movie is probably the best way to make money, but… it makes me sad. It might prove to be okay. I guess it’s impossible to tell 100% for sure from the preview, but… I don’t plan on seeing it til… probably til I read on here that it was amazing and didn’t completely ruin everything. and in regard to faithful adaptations, I think it really could be just as successful (or more) if it were done in a less disney-channel cinematic style. a little more like A Series of Unfortunate Events, color-wise. From the previews, it looks like Hannah Montana solves a mystery (in between trying to fit in in high school and probably some wacky hijinks). I hope it surprises me. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/24 "2007-06-13T16:58:05Z")
The thing about the Nancy Drew I remember is that she’s _perfect_. She doesn’t even get dirty! Also, she’s not some kid - when you’re the age to read them she’s a mystical adult-type with certain teenage attributes. Also, she has a badass car. And wears pumps. Everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/25 "2007-06-13T17:01:34Z")
Pamela Sue Martin was hot. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/26 "2007-06-13T17:03:51Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] Pamela Sue Martin was hot. [/QUOTE] Didn’t she pose for _Playboy_ back in the day? ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/27 "2007-06-13T17:14:44Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] The thing about the Nancy Drew I remember is that she’s _perfect_. She doesn’t even get dirty! Also, she’s not some kid - when you’re the age to read them she’s a mystical adult-type with certain teenage attributes. Also, she has a badass car. And wears pumps. Everywhere. [/QUOTE] about her age, I looked it up (because I thought the same thing) I always figured she was around 16-17 (because she had her own car, but wasn’t really an adult) And the actress is 16. But who can say how old the character will be. She does look ridiculously young to be Nancy Drew, though. I thought it was just me stuck on the “she’s supposed to be older than me!” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/28 "2007-06-13T17:17:04Z")
Without the title Nancy Drew, I would never have realized they were trying to do a Nancy Drew story based on that trailer. The Nancy I remember was well dressed, drove a cool car and was smart and sophisticated. The Nancy they’re portraying reminds me nothing of Nancy from the books. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/29 "2007-06-13T17:19:50Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] I’ve only read, a few of, the post 50’s whitewashed versions. Are there that many non-pc things in the originals? [/QUOTE] If I’m remembering correctly, there was at least one of the original books in which Nancy is accosted by “two big Negros” or “two burly Negros” or something like that, with unattractive references to how dark they were or how big-lipped or something equally as offensive to later readers. Those references were all changed, and the “non-PC” _original_ Drews are actually quite valuable becaue they are so rare. [Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her](http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Sleuth-Nancy-Women-Created/dp/015603056X/ref=sr_1_31/002-5508346-2299264?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181754912&sr=1-31) is a really interesting history of the Nancy Drew phenomenon, if you like non-fiction social-history books. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/30 "2007-06-13T17:28:49Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] According to Fisher, Nancy Drew is 16, the same age she was in the original books (her age was changed to 18 in the 1950s). Emma Roberts, the actress who plays Nancy, is also 16. [/QUOTE] And, from what I hear, very happy about being able to drive in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/31 "2007-06-13T18:20:21Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] The trailer makes it look like run-of-the-mill tween dreck to me. I wish Hollywood didn’t always have to “update” everything. That insults the fans and shows contempt for the source material. This isn’t really a Nancy Drew movie at all. It just has a character with the same name. Honestly, it looks like any of the crap my 7 year old watches on the Disney Channel after school. [/QUOTE] I went to a pre-screening last weekend, and well, **DtC** got it in one. But if you’re an 11 year old girl, you’ll love it. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/32 "2007-06-13T18:25:37Z")
From the trailers alone, it might not be a bad movie in it’s own right, but it doesn’t give me that "Nancy Drew"esque feel. Feels more like they just took the brand name and slapped it on a story they already had. Seems like some combination of Penny from Inspector Gadget, Harriet the Spy, and there also looked like some elements of the supernatural making it part Scooby Doo. Too cutesy, comedic, comic strippy, and the outsider-girl and supernatural elements don’t fit at all. I guess she’s technically the right age, but I always imagined Nancy as if not older, more mature. Taller and skinnier. Overall, I imagined Nancy a little more serious, and more inspired by curiousity and snooping then by farce and broad comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/33 "2007-06-13T18:50:05Z")
There is a new generation of Nancy Drew novels out there in the form of Graphic Novels, by papercutz. I have given these as birthday presents to all the little girls in my life. I haven’t seen the Hardy Boys versions of this ,but I haven’t looked, either. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/34 "2007-06-13T19:04:10Z")
[QUOTE=Logan 5] yeah the trailer left me disgusted. it is **modern teen crap**. I would have at least expecvt the trailer to be more mystery oriented. I mean she is a sleuth right? It seems like the movie is more about her teen fitting in drama than using her talents to discover nefarious schemes. geeez. way to ruin another aspect of my youth. I mean even a Pamela Sue Martin style Nancy Drew would be better than this drivel. [/QUOTE] That’s the point. I think that they mean for the audience to be _modern teens_. If _they_ don’t come to see the movie it _will_ bomb. Why do you think there are so many remakes today? Because regardless of their quality, kids today just aren’t interested in seeing twenty and thirty year old movies. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/35 "2007-06-13T19:14:28Z")
[QUOTE=jackdavinci] From the trailers alone, it might not be a bad movie in it’s own right, but it doesn’t give me that "Nancy Drew"esque feel. Feels more like they just took the brand name and slapped it on a story they already had. Seems like some combination of Penny from Inspector Gadget, Harriet the Spy, and there also looked like some elements of the supernatural making it part Scooby Doo. Too cutesy, comedic, comic strippy, and the outsider-girl and supernatural elements don’t fit at all. Overall, I imagined Nancy a little more serious, and more inspired by curiousity and snooping then by farce and broad comedy. [/QUOTE] I agree with you on the supernatural bent of the story, I’m hoping the ghost turns out to be a fake. but > [@](#): > > I guess she’s technically the right age, but I always imagined Nancy as if not older, more mature. Taller and **skinnier**. Skinnier than [Emma Roberts?](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/3436/Events/3436/EmmaRobert_Mazur_5672915_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Roberts,%20Emma%20(II)) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/36 "2007-06-13T19:21:58Z")
[QUOTE=SurrenderDorothy] about her age, I looked it up (because I thought the same thing) I always figured she was around 16-17 (because she had her own car, but wasn’t really an adult) And the actress is 16. But who can say how old the character will be. She does look ridiculously young to be Nancy Drew, though. I thought it was just me stuck on the “she’s supposed to be older than me!” thing. [/QUOTE] Exactly! It’s not her age specifically, it’s that she’s always “older than me”. I _still_ think of her as “older than me”, and I’m 27. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/37 "2007-06-13T21:42:35Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] “Nancy-Drew-who?” [/QUOTE] Distant cousin of Cindy-Loo Who, of **Grinch** fame. (little known fact) ---
**Author:** ![Freezair\_SilverEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Freezair\_SilverEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freezair_SilverEye)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/38 "2007-06-13T22:26:04Z")
It looks kind of cute to me. Not a perfect “Nancy Drew” movie, but then again, I never did like either Nancy or the Hardies much. I’m not much a mystery person (though I do remember a similarly kind-of-cute tween mystery show from the 90’s that I did enjoy). But I like the idea of Nancy having a very 1950’s personality. I want to go to a taffy pull… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/39 "2007-06-13T22:50:22Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Am I the only one? [/QUOTE] Nope, I am 40 year old Male that learned to like reading, reading Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. The movie looks good to me and I feel funny about that. I was happy that my Daughter and Wife both want to see it. Gives me a good excuse. Jim ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843/40 "2007-06-14T00:10:17Z")
I can wait for the DVD, but I’ll see it. I don’t really like what they’ve done to Nancy, either, but what can you do? She could have been skankified… Check out the covers of some of the newer books–she looks a lot like Brittany or Paris on those. I wish her chums were in it (or maybe they are?). George and Bess… memories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-that-i-really-want-to-see-nancy-drew/407843.md?page=3)