Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Lindsay Lohan plays a 15-year-old who has a lot to be dramatic about, or at least she thinks she does. First of all, her parents had the bad judgment to name her “Mary,” when she was born to be a “Lola.” No one seems to understand the importance of her dream of being an actress. In her family, she is “a flamingo in a flock of pigeons,” fighting not just against gross injustice, but also against “ordinariness.” But what is really devastating is that she has to move from New York City, which she thinks is the center of the planet, to New Jersey, which seems like the farthest end of the universe. At least, if you’re a drama queen. And there’s more stress to come. Her favorite rock band is breaking up. And she has to compete with a mean and snobbish alpha-girl for the part of Eliza in an updated version of “Pygmalion” called “Eliza Rocks!”

Lola copes with all of this and more, but sometimes she resorts to more than drama, including some real misbehavior that the movie does not take very seriously. She tells her best friend a terrible lie about her father “to seem more interesting.” She gets another friend to help her steal a costume so she can wear it to a party. She lies to her mother and tries to sneak into a concert and a rock star’s party. She almost lets down the “Eliza Rocks!” cast and audience by refusing to appear. She learns some lessons and faces some consequences, but parents will want to talk to kids who see this movie about how they see her choices.

The best part of the movie is Lohan. She is a delight. Kids will enjoy identifying with her as she tries to both fit in and be different, and as she tries to follow her dreams while coping with New Jersey and other obstacles. Parents may be more willing to put up with the movie’s logical loopholes than its casual treatment of behavior they would not want their children to imitate.

Parents should know that the movie has a couple of PG-level bad words. Of greater concern is that Lola lies, steals, and takes risks with very mild consequences, though she learns some lessons. She wears very skimpy clothes more revealing than even a free-spirited mother who throws pots for a living would permit. A character has an alcohol abuse problem. We see him drunk, and later he says he is getting treatment. In a very odd moment, Lola’s big triumph comes when he returns her necklace to her in front of her friends, seen merely as proof that she told the truth when she said she had been at his party. No one questions why she was taking her necklace off at his apartment or whether she was doing anything risky or improper there.

Families who see this movie should talk about Lola’s comment that she lied to make herself seem more interesting. Why does Carla pretend that she got the part she really wanted? Are there girls like Carla in your school and how do people feel about them? Why was Ella so surprised that her parents would let her go to the concert? How does Lola feel about Stu after she meets him?

Find out about the story of Pygmalion and see if you can figure out what it has in common with Lola’s story. If you were going to pick a new name for yourself, what would it be? Who in your family is a drama queen?

Families who enjoy this movie will enjoy Never Been Kissed and a classic movie about teenage girls who have a crush on a musician, The World of Henry Orient. They might want to watch Camp (some mature material) about a summer camp for kids obsessed with theater. Families will also enjoy Lohan’s performances in The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. And they should see Pygmalion and the musical version My Fair Lady.