Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Starring Sophia Lillis, Zoe Renee, Mackenzie Graham, Andrea Anders

Directed by Katt Shea

The Story:
After moving to a small town from Chicago after her mother's death, Nancy Drew (Sophia Lillis) and her father Carson (Sam Trammell) are trying to adjust to small-town life.  Nancy befriends fellow geeks George (Zoe Renee) and Bess (Mackenzie Graham), and after pranking a jock who cyber-bullied Bess, Nancy is given community service.  During that time she meets the jock's girlfriend Hannah (Andrea Anders) and her eccentric aunt Flora (Linda Lavin), who claims her home is being haunted.

Nancy and Hannah spend the night at Flora's house, and encounter seemingly supernatural events.  Nancy isn't convinced it's ghosts, and sets out to unravel the mystery behind the hidden staircase, as well as uncover a plan to allow a train station to be built through the town that threatens her father's well-being.

The Synopsis:
In 1927, teenage sleuths Frank and Joe Hardy were created by Edward Stratemeyer, and their exploits were published in a series of books written by a series of ghost writers using the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.  The Hardy Boys became a well-known and well-respected novel series for young adults, but it obviously catered to men.  Stratemeyer then created their female counterpart - Nancy Drew - in 1930, whose own adventures were written by ghost writers under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene.  Nancy Drew became an icon of female empowerment, and has been the source of inspiration for some of today's most powerful women, including former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor, current Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush.  Yet, despite this overwhelming popularity and cultural relevance, it's been virtually impossible to make a decent television series or movie based on Nancy's exploits.  "The Hidden Staircase" has actually come the closest to really encapsulating the essence of Nancy and giving her a more millennial tone, and provided a decent family-friendly mystery that was somewhat enjoyable.

The heart of "The Hidden Staircase" lies with Nancy Drew herself, as the mystery itself seemed to be on the peripheral.  We have to get to know this sleuth all over again, as the times have obviously changed (the book "The Hidden Staircase" was written back in 1939), and while this would've been more appropriate for a Disney Channel original, it still showed some amazing production values, character development, and a thrilling mystery.

All of this would've fallen apart if the wrong actress was chosen to play Nancy, but thankfully they chose the excellent Sophia Lillis for the iconic role, and she absolutely imbued the essence of Nancy with the millennial edge that made her enjoyable and actually fun to watch.  Lillis is best known for stealing the show in the hit film "It," and here she once again shines on screen as Nancy, who mixes supreme intelligence and wisdom with youthful wit, charm, and confidence.  While others would've shied away from entering a mysterious staircase, she enters with gusto and a smile, and showcases female empowerment in all its positive forms.  I wouldn't be surprised if this became a franchise, and as long as Lillis continues the role, they'll be enjoyable.

That's not to say the film is perfect - while the production values were decent, it was far from award-worthy (although the set designs were marvelous, especially Flora's eccentric house), the dialogue was crisp and funny but not very thought-provoking (obviously, since it's geared for a younger audience), and everything gets wrapped up a little too nicely - but it was still fun to watch, something I wasn't expecting.  I wasn't anticipating to see anything remotely decent, and what I got was a surprisingly enjoyable mystery that's not too scary for the young ones, and yet not too complicated for them to understand.

Encompassing Lillis is a standout supporting cast, all of whom really owned their performances.  As Nancy's friends George and Bess, Zoe Renee and Mackenzie Graham serve as the world's most amazing sidekicks who get their feet wet as much as Nancy does.  Andrea Anders plays Hannah, who is at first Nancy's enemy due to her embarrassing Hannah's mean boyfriend, but there's more to the character than just pretty hair, and proves that even pretty people have problems.  The lovely Linda Lavin shines as the eccentric aunt who offers some of the best one-liners, and Sam Trammell gives a great performance as Nancy's single father who has to deal with a somewhat rowdy teen (rowdy for the right reasons at least) and dealing with the death of his wife, as well as trying to prevent a company from building a train through the town.  The cast builds the film, and makes it better than it should've been by all logic - and I wouldn't be surprised to see a sequel in the works.

The Summary:
With a charming lead and a thoughtful script, "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" manages to surprise and entertain audiences old and young alike, and while it doesn't tread any new ground or provide anything lasting, still manages to provide you with a good time for the short run-time.

The Score: C+