No mystery here

A classic detective turns hearts of young girls—and their mothers—to an old heroine | Megan Basham

"I like old-fashioned things," Nancy Drew says to the girls making fun of her in her first big-screen incarnation since the '30s. After watching her sleuthing antics for an hour and 40 minutes, a great many tween girls may surprise themselves by thinking, "I do too!"

Bringing the classic Nancy back to life in a new millennium with cell phones, iPods, and the internet poses obvious challenges. But rather than reinvent the heroine for modern times, screenwriter Tiffany Paulsen highlights her nostalgic appeal by moving her from River Heights (better known as Anytown, USA) to good ol' La La Land. Once arrived, Nancy finds that she not only has the mystery of film star Dehlia Draycott's death to solve, but also the mystery of where the modesty, courtesy, and common sense of the teenage girls of Los Angeles disappeared to.