MATERIAL GIRLS

REVIEWED BY RISSI C.

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: mild sensuality, some language, and immodest dress

Rated:

They lost a fortune, but got a life.

I went to this movie having read bad reviews, and knowing people didn’t like it. I went for two reasons: One, I have enjoyed every thing I have seen Hilary Duff in, and Two, I thought from the trailers it would be a cute and enjoyable movie. I was right on number two. While it is not Oscar material it was fun and fairly clean. 

Ava (Haylie Duff) and Tanzie (Hilary Duff) are wealthy sisters who inherit their father’s cosmetics company after he dies. They have everything they want: fabulous clothes, great cars, and a mansion. Ava enjoys being the life of the party and being seen with her rising TV star boyfriend, while Tanzie would rather be home filling out applications for college. While the girls are at a dinner for the company, honoring their father, a local news channel breaks a story that one of their father’s products was a bad formula that causes a skin reaction. The girls don’t believe their father could have sold anything that dangerous. In the midst of their resulting argument, the girls unintentionally start a fire in the house. They call 911 and get their most "precious" possessions-- Ava, her new dress, and Tanzie, her father’s TiVo.

They go to their housekeeper Inez’s (Maria Conchita Alonso) apartment, who welcomes them with open arms and thinks of them more like daughters than employers. Their trusted friend Tommy (Brent Spiner) and their father’s business partner advises them to sell the company to their biggest competitor, Fabiella (Angelica Huston). Tanzie and Ava know their father didn’t sell the formula, so they decide to become "detectives" and find out who sabotaged the company. With the help of Henry (Lukas Haas), their legal representation, and Rick (Marcus Coloma), a valet, Tanzie and Ava start the search for the information they need to prove their father innocent and save the company their dad worked so hard at building. 

The biggest content issue in the movie is the clothing for the leading ladies, which consist of short dresses, miniskirts, and low cut tops. Their wardrobe does improve as the film goes on, since Tanzie and Ava have to wear older fashions due to money limitations. Five minutes into the film, the girls attend a bar where most of the guests are drinking and dancing. It is a short scene, about two and a half minutes. Tanzie dresses scantily to get information from a night guard at a TV station. As a result of her quest for confidential information, she ends up in jail. Language is kept to a minimum. There are some kisses exchanged between the girls and their boyfriends. I would recommend watching this movie as a family with girls 14 and up, because of the things I have mentioned above, and the fact that older audiences can appreciate that not everything Tanzie and Ava do is appropriate.

I thought the casting was great all around. Hilary and Haylie both were great as wealthy heiresses. Anjelica Huston was brilliant as Fabiella. I also enjoyed the character of Jaden (Reagan Dale Neis), an intern at the company. She is constantly trying to imitate the girl’s fashions. Everything from their hairstyle to their designer clothes. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I laughed throughout and in the end both girls learn a valuable lesson. They realize what is important in life, and that having fame and fortune aren’t always a piece of cake. For those of you who enjoyed Hilary’s other films, you will enjoy Material Girls.

* For families with younger girls, I would recommend the Disney channel movie Cow Belles starring sisters Aly & AJ. It's a very similar story except the characters own a dairy, and it's more age appropriate.