When they were young blue blood Henry Dashwood (Colin Firth) and free spirit Libby Reynolds (Kelly Preston) met and fell in love, of course fate and Henry’s “evil” advisor saw to it that their love didn’t last, and the couple were torn apart.  Unbeknownst to Henry, of course, Libby was pregnant, I’m sure you can see where this is going. Needless to say the baby grows up to be feisty out spoken and very American Daphne (Amanda Bynes) who has a keen desire to finally meet her British politico father.  And so What a Girl Wants begins as Daphne travels across the pond to England to meet her long lost father, fall in love, and generally cause havoc wherever she goes. 

What a Girl Wants is your typical fish out of water romantic teen comedy; and in that respect it works.  The cast is talented a likable, headlined by Bynes who plays Daphne with suitable aplomb, launching herself into slapstick physical comedy with gusto.  She does seem to be having fun with the role and it certainly shows up on screen, her interactions with British High Society are most amusing, if not dreadfully cliché.   

Colin Firth goes through the motions playing the stiff upper lip Henry Dashwood, a character that has become his stock in trade since Bridget Jones Diary.  Bynes and Firth do have a good chemistry together as father and daughter, it is just a shame we also have to contend with a young love plot between Daphne and Ian “cool British rebel musician with blue blood guy” Wallace (Oliver James) which is more forced than romantic.  You get the impression that the romantic subplot was included to appease the teen audience and to cast the inevitable parallel between Daphne’s mother and father.  Unfortunately Preston is forgettable as Daphnes “hippy” mother Libby, of all the cast her performance comes off the most phoned in – which may be a result of her character being quite underdeveloped – though she is necessary for the unavoidable happy ending. 

What a Girl Wants is loaded with special features including 2 audio commentaries, one with star Amanda Byrnes and the other with Director Dennie Gordon and writers Elizabeth Chandler and Jenny Bicks.  Also included is a making of featurette, additional scenes and the obligatory trailer; quite a solid package.  What a Girl Wants is by the numbers stuff, and will most likely appeal to a teen girl audience, and an older female audience who will be watching, no doubt, for Colin Firth.