Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

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Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sara Sugarman
Produced by	Robert Shapiro Matthew Hart
Written by	Dyan Sheldon (book) Gail Parent
Starring	Lindsay Lohan Adam Garcia Glenne Headly Alison Pill Eli Marienthal Carol Kane Megan Fox
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh
Cinematography	Stephen H. Burum
Editing by	Anita Brandt-Burgoyne
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	February 20, 2004
Running time	89 min.
Country	United States of America
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Gross revenue	$29,302,097

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Sara Sugarman and starring Lindsay Lohan. It was written by Gail Parent and is based on the book by Dyan Sheldon. It was filmed in various locations, primarily south-central Ontario.

[edit] Tag Line

So much drama, so little time.^[1]

[edit] Plot

Fifteen-year-old Mary "Lola" Stepp (Lindsay Lohan), who is desperate for attention, moves with her family from New York City to the suburbs of Dellwood, New Jersey, much to her chagrin. Her new attitude then gets a reality check as she begins to realize she must become best friends with the most popular girl in school, Carla Santini (Megan Fox). Lola makes friends with an unpopular girl named Ella Gerard (Alison Pill), as they share a love for the band Sidarthur (spelling as in script, however sometimes interpreted as Sidartha or Sid Arthur), whose lead singer, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), is the object of Lola's crush; Ella has a crush on Steve, the bassist. Lola also meets Sam, a cute guy who takes a liking to her. Later she tries out for the school play, a modern version of Pygmalion named "Eliza Rocks" because the teacher wanted to base it on a modern-day New Yorker with "modern, hip" music. The play uses David Bowie's song "Changes" as its main theme. After getting the part of Eliza over her brand-new enemy Carla, the resentment between the two grows. Later they hear an announcement over the radio that Sidarthur has broken up and that Stu Wolf does not ever want to work with the band again. Lola and Ella are devastated. After school, Lola and Carla end up challenging each other on the dancing machine at an arcade. While there, Carla reveals that she already has tickets to Sidarthur's sold-out farewell concert due to her father being Stu Wolf's lawyer (mentioned earlier in the movie). Lola tells Carla that she and Ella have tickets, too, based on a connection of her mom's. Lola then wins the dancing machine game and earns some respect from the others.

Lola tries to get tickets as well in the hopes of upsetting Carla. But because she's grounded and has no allowance, Lola asks Sam to "borrow" Eliza's dress. He nearly gets caught when Miss Baggoli, the drama teacher gives the performers a break from training and goes to the drama room, but she is distracted by Lola while Sam hides as a mannequin, behind a mirror, and eventually exits behind Miss Baggoli's back. Ella offers to pay for both of their tickets at first. After failing to obtain tickets legally, Ella and Lola take a train to New York City in order to buy tickets from a scalper. But things don't go as well as they hoped because Lola had left her bag behind the sink on the train, and now doesn't have the money to pay for new tickets at the box office. Lola and Ella finally give up, and they walk through the city to find Stu's after-show party.

Lola's dad, Calum, and his dog follow them; he promises Lola that he'll back off, but threatens to come in if he sees anything wrong. He tries to tail them from further away. They finally get in after finding a drunken Stu passed out in an alley and taking him to a diner, where he throws a doughnut at a police officer. Stu is taken to the station, where Ella finds out Lola told a lie about her father being dead. When they arrive at Stu's house, Ella is still angry, but when they are dressed in Stu's clothes and in his room, she forgives Lola and the two have some fun. Later, Lola and Stu see each other and hug one another. Lola tries to discuss his music with him, but ends up confronting him with the fact that he is a drunk after he rambles the whole time giving silly answers. Lola and Ella return to school the next day, eager to boast to Carla about their antics at Stu's party, but are confused when Carla succeeds in convincing everyone else they never attended (even though she saw them attend). In a drama rehearsal, Lola breaks down after Carla interrogates her and causes everyone else (including Miss Baggoli) to laugh and believe that everything Lola says is a lie.

Afterwards, Lola goes home, upset, and decides not to go to the performance, but she is spurred on by Ella's encouragement. Meanwhile as Miss Baggoli questions the absence of Lola, Carla confirms that she knows Eliza's script and that she will take the part. Just in time, Lola arrives and goes on stage as her part. Just as she is about to go on stage, Lola's mother wishes her good luck and finally calls her by her nickname "Lola". Then she goes on stage and gives a great performance and then the scene focuses on the after-party at Carla's. Stu Wolf shows up on the doorstep to see Lola and return her necklace but to save herself from humiliation, Carla attempts at saying he is here to see her, but is promptly proved wrong when Stu sees Lola and gives her the necklace, in front of everyone. As Carla's lies become apparent to everyone, she somberly backs away from the crowd and falls into the fountain, greeted by everyone's laughter. In pity, Lola helps her up and the two resolve their issues. After dancing with Stu, she dances with Sam and they eventually share a kiss, ending the film.

[edit] Cast

• Lindsay Lohan as Mary Elizabeth "Lola" Stepp
• Megan Fox as Carla Santini
• Alison Pill as Ella Gerard
• Eli Marienthal as Sam
• Glenne Headly as Karen Stepp
• Adam Garcia as Stuart 'Stu' Wolf
• Carol Kane as Miss Baggoli
• Sheila McCarthy as Mrs. Gerard
• Tom McCamus as Calum
• Richard Fitzpatrick as Mr. Gerard
• Alison Sealy-Smith as Sgt. Rose
• Ashley Leggat as Marcia
• Barbara Mamabolo as Robin
• Maggie Oskam as Paige
• Rachael Oskam as Paula

[edit] Filming locations

Most of the movie was filmed in Canada. Scenes at the high school were filmed at Birchmount Park C.I., in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. The scene in front of the concert venue was filmed at Toronto's Elgin Theatre on Yonge Street. As well Montreal was the filming locations for many of the scenes. Scenes were also filmed in King City Secondary School in King City, Ontario.^[2]

[edit] Reception

[edit] Reviews

Based on 87 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an average 13% overall approval rating.^[3] Parent Previews gave the film an overall grade of C+.^[4] Dennis Harvey of Variety magazine commented in his review that "Based on Dyan Sheldon's popular youth fiction, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen emerges a strained showcase for up-and-comer Lindsay Lohan as a sophisticated Big Apple teen unhappily relocated to New Jersey. Minimally funny comedy feels like a Disney Channel pic that got boosted to theatrical after Lohan scored a hit opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the "Freaky Friday" remake. Nonetheless, it should have a lock on the 7- to 12-year-old female demo for a couple weekends before finding longer tube/tape shelf life."^[5] Ultimate Disney reviewed the DVD saying that it "doesn't garner a recommendation as a film, and its DVD special features are as breezy and shallow as the movie itself. Lindsay Lohan fans and teenage girls are bound to be the most interested, and they might well enjoy it on the surface as light entertainment. But for others, one viewing may be more than enough."^[6]

[edit] Box office

Despite mostly negative critical reception, the film grossed a modest $9.3 million in its opening weekend (February 20-22, 2004), debuting at #2, right behind Adam Sandler's 50 First Dates. The film did fairly at the box office, grossing $29 million domestically and $30 million worldwide.^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen at the Internet Movie Database
• Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen at Allmovie
• Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen Disney site, with suppressible music and voice.