Odette (Gaby Hoffmann) is the new girl in Miss Godard's Preparatory School For Girls. Verena von Stefan (Kirsten Dunst) is the school bad girl and she quickly befriends Odette. Abby Sawyer (Rachael Leigh Cook) is the school monitor. Verena leads a group of girls called the DAR until plans to merge the school with a boy's academy turn the group upside down.
This stars some of the best young actresses of the time. It's an uphill battle for sexual equality. Some of it is poignant and some of it is funny. But mostly it meanders. There are a lot of lead characters all going in different directions. It seems like the film wants Kirsten Dunst to lead, but she's just one of many.
Writer/director Sarah Kernochan tries to get the right feel with the era music. But the writing isn't funny enough or sharp enough. While it's fun to see these stars at an early stage, it never really gets great. It's much more of a girls movie where the girls are smart. It's about girl power, and not just the easy sexy-girls-doing-kung-fu-fighting type of girl power.
This stars some of the best young actresses of the time. It's an uphill battle for sexual equality. Some of it is poignant and some of it is funny. But mostly it meanders. There are a lot of lead characters all going in different directions. It seems like the film wants Kirsten Dunst to lead, but she's just one of many.
Writer/director Sarah Kernochan tries to get the right feel with the era music. But the writing isn't funny enough or sharp enough. While it's fun to see these stars at an early stage, it never really gets great. It's much more of a girls movie where the girls are smart. It's about girl power, and not just the easy sexy-girls-doing-kung-fu-fighting type of girl power.