Based on characters from the popular books of the Nancy Drew Mystery Series, written by Carolyn Keene (pen name of Mildred Wirt Benson, during the 1930s through the ‘50s), the teenage detective finds herself transplanted to Hollywood from her beloved East Coast hometown of River Heights.  

Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts, kid and teen favorite from TVs “Unfabulous” and the movie Aquamarine) has a knack for solving crimes that the local police force can’t, much to their embarrassment. After all, she is just a teen in high school. Nancy and her boyfriend, Ned (Max Thieriot of The Astronaut Farmer), make about the cutest young couple since Diane Lane appeared in A Little Romance.  

Nancy’s mother died when she was young and her father (Tate Donovan of Shooter) is doing a better job raising her than with his own life and career. He sees what he thinks is a great opportunity in California and they move there. She enrolls in Hollywood High (a perfect name for a school with kids just this side of Thirteen or Mean Girls).  

Before moving to LA, her father makes Nancy promise to take a vacation from sleuthing. Unfortunately, Nancy selected the house they are renting, which is an old mansion right out of Sunset Blvd. She picked the house largely because of its history, and because a famous movie star, Dehlia Draycott, died there and the mystery has never been solved. 

Things don’t go quite as planned at dad’s new job and the kids at Hollywood High see penny-loafer wearing Nancy as a freak, not just from the other Coast, but another world. True, Nancy’s prim wardrobe and fresh-scrubbed look does contrast with the boldness and bling of Hollywood High. These kids are an interesting and funny bunch though, when they’re not being mean. Nancy’s new best friend turns out to be a guy named Corky (Josh Flitter). 

There are more than a few mysteries for Nancy to solve here. The caretaker at the Hollywood mansion pops up often, seemingly out of nowhere. Who is the mysterious man seen in photographs with the dead actress? What secrets may unlock a new life for Jane Brighton (Rachael Leigh Cook), a young single mom?  

There are the expected and predictable personality clashes, but while we have seen them before, most youngsters, at whom the movie is aimed, have not. The comfort zone this movie provides for family viewing requires it to stay within certain bounds. A good, edgy family movie does not have to be equated with the R rated family in Little Miss Sunshine.  

It’s been quite a while since we enjoyed a PG film that was not animated and can hold the interest of both teens and adults. The ending of the movie was particularly effective with how it spoke to single mothers. Nancy Drew has an edge that young teens will like while reminding adults of the TV crime stories we saw on “Colombo” and “Murder She Wrote.” We hope this film does well enough to justify more stories of Nancy Drew making the world a better place.