Μύ For some reason Katie Holmes chose to headline the "stupendously trite" First Daughter. Even more confounding is that Forest Whitaker chose to direct this charmless romance focussed on the daughter of the US President. After the similarly pitched Chasing Liberty bombed at the box office, this stayed on the shelf for a few months, but the wait didn't do much to help. Ironically this was a bigger flop than the Mandy Moore vehicle, scraping just over $9m worldwide.
We Demand A Recount!
Two deleted scenes don't add anything new to the plot. In fact these are actually extended scenes and it would take another Holmes - namely Sherlock - with an industrial strength magnifying glass to spot the differences between what appears here and in the final cut of the movie. We're not sure, but there seems to be a little more walking involved in Katie Holmes' visit to the family planning clinic and a couple more suggestive wiggles in her dance atop the college bar.
There's more hoofing in the Fox Trot featurette that sees Holmes and co-star Marc Blucas in rehearsal for the ballroom scenes. It's a bizarre addition to the disc since overall there isn't much dancing in the film. Still, choreographer Miranda Garrison insists that her contribution was integral. She waffles on about working to "emotional cues" and "using music like a signpost" while Holmes and Blucas flatter each other on technique.
First And Last
Veteran composer Michael Kamen died during filming and was replaced by protΓ©gΓ© Blake Neely who offers a brief tribute in The Final Score. Neely makes no mention of his work on 90 other films including Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas and Mr Holland's Opus. Also, given that he dedicated the film to Kamen's memory, it's surprising that Forest Whitaker makes no contribution whatsoever.
In fact Whitaker is nowhere to be seen or heard from in this meagre selection of extras. Apparently words just cannot explain how bad this movie is. On DVD as it was in theatres, First Daughter represents the very bottom of the barrel.
EXTRA FEATURES
