First Daughter DVD reviews are starting to appear following its release today. Below is a selection from a variety of sources. :) First Daughter Fox // PG // $29.99 // January 25, 2005 Review by Aaron Beierle The Movie: The second of two "first daughter" pictures, "First Daughter" distanced itself from the similar "Chasing Liberty", but the picture probably was shuffled off even further into the distance when "Liberty" revealed itself not to be a very formidable contender. "First Daughter" is a bit better and a bit less ridiculous, but still rather lightweight and PG-forgettable. The picture stars Katie Holmes as Sam, a girl who's grown up in the White House, and now finds herself going off to her first year at college. Turned into some sort of fantasy by storybook-esque opening credits, the picture turns college life into something sweet and harmless. After getting away from her secret service detail (in one of the funniest lines, one of the agents hopes that "we're majoring in something fun...light on the math."), she gets a little bit of fun with roommate Mia (Amerie Rogers) and finds romance with James (Marc Blucas, looking oddly like "Newlyweds" Nick Lachey). A little bit of non-naughty fun at a frat party gets Sam a picture in the New York Post and the irritation of her presidential pop (Michael Keaton). The "rebellion" continues a bit, and the White House finally relents and backs off with the secret service a little. The picture is cute and sweet and its intentions seem good, but where's it going? "Daughter" doesn't have enough to sustain its nearly two hour running time, making the picture feel slow in the middle. Given the picture's PG rating, there's also nothing remotely edgy or potentially offensive about the picture. A fairly big twist towards the end may be one of the main reasons why the picture was moved away from "Chasing Liberty" as much as it was. The performances are generally good, as Holmes does a fine enough job leading the way (side note: it must be said - the girl needs to eat something.) Blucas and Holmes have inoffensive, nice chemistry, and Keaton is satisfactory in his few scenes as president. The only low note is Amerie Rogers as the roommate, who overdoes her sassy roommate performance. It calls even more attention to itself in a movie where everyone else is generally pretty low-key. "First Daughter" is sweet and pleasant in that "like me!" way some movies are, and the performances and look of the picture are perfectly fine. However, the story is thin and unremarkable - it's a teen picture, but a little bit of inspiration (the whole fairy tale aspect doesn't work) shouldn't be too much to ask. The DVD VIDEO: "First Daughter" is presented by Fox in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full-frame across a dual-sided/single-layered disc. The anamorphic widescreen presentation presented somewhat above-average image quality, with sharpness and detail that remained very good, but not extraordinary, as fine object defintion wasn't strong. Still, the picture maintained a pretty consistent appearance, with no noticable softness. Brief, slight edge enhancement appeared a couple of times during the proceedings, but wasn't enough to be really problematic. Some minor pixelation was spotted a few times, but also wasn't enough of an issue to cause distraction. The print seemed to be in fine condition, aside from a speck or two and a couple of instances where grain was present. Colors looked fine throughout, with nice saturation and only a couple of instances where they seemed a bit smeary. Black level seemed solid, while flesh tones looked natural and accurate. SOUND: "First Daughter" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The fairly unambitious sound design delivers exactly what one would expect from this kind of material. The surrounds do kick in to deliver the songs/score on the soundtrack, but otherwise remain essentially silent. Audio quality remained fine, with clear dialogue and music. EXTRAS: The main supplement is a cast commentary by Katie Holmes, Marc Blucas, and Amerie Rogers. I like Katie Holmes a lot (and she does have a very devoted following), but I knew I was in for some trouble after a few fairly lengthy spots of silence passed in the first several minutes. When the three do chat, they really just make small talk - I didn't make it through this whole commentary, and didn't learn much from what I heard. Rounding out the disc are two featurettes ("The Final Score: Remembering Michael Kamen" and "Fox Trot"), as well as two deleted scenes. Final Thoughts: "First Daughter" is sweet fluff, offering a few good performances and some pleasant moments, but no lasting impression. Those in the target audience might want to give it a spin as a rental. Fox's DVD edition provides fine audio/video quality, and a few okay supplements. Thanks to DVD Talk for review. First Daughter Twentieth Century Fox Reviewed by: Fusion3600 The Plot Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes) has always wanted to be a normal girl with a normal life, though she has never been able to have that. But then, as the daughter of a politician with lofty goals, she knew that the road to a normal life would be tough. When her father (Michael Keaton) was elected President of the United States, her hopes were dashed one again. But when college arrived and she was about to head off to a school three thousand miles away, she thought at last, a normal lifestyle could surface. Instead, she was still surrounded by cameras, onlookers, and of course, Secret Service agents. This makes it tough on Sam to succeed, as even her showboat roommate Mia (Amerie Rogers) has had enough of the limelight. When she snaps and demands less spotlight from her father, he resists at first, but agrees to cut her agents in half. So now only two guards follow her and even then, they keep a reasonable distance. The new privacy makes all the difference in the world, as Sam has more fun, maybe a little too much fun. But she is able to make a connection with fellow student James (Marc Blucas), who is a guy she falls for right from the start. She can be herself, relax, and have fun, all while enjoying the spark of a potential romance. But when a secret is revealed and Sam feels betrayed by James, will Sam's newfound freedom feel more like a prison? Not all movies provide the same experience, that much is obvious. In the case of romantic comedies, we should all know about what to expect, though some do shake up the formula. First Daughter is not the kind of movie that breaks rank however, instead the picture follows a standard romantic comedy paint by numbers, with predictable results. I am by no means a fan of this kind of film, but in this case, I expected an above the cut movie, given some of the talent involved. I like to watch Katie Holmes (Tv's Dawson's Creek), who has charisma to burn, while Forest Whitaker, a very talented worker, sat in the director's chair. Even so, First Daughter never strays from the genre formula and while there are twists, we see them coming from a mile off and have seen all these tricks before. So no new ground is broken, but chances are, if you're a fan of romantic comedies, you don't expect to see much genre evolution. Holmes is likable, as always, but fails to spark the high level of charisma I expected, which is one reason the film comes off on the bland side. Even so, fans of the genre will find First Daughter to be more than watchable, to be sure. I'd recommend this as a decent choice if you want a brisk, harmless rental, but a blind purchase would be a mistake. If you liked the movie, be sure to look into Chasing Liberty, a film that tackles the same premise with a little better results. The Video Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes) has always wanted to be a normal girl with a normal life, though she has never been able to have that. But then, as the daughter of a politician with lofty goals, she knew that the road to a normal life would be tough. When her father (Michael Keaton) was elected President of the United States, her hopes were dashed one again. But when college arrived and she was about to head off to a school three thousand miles away, she thought at last, a normal lifestyle could surface. Instead, she was still surrounded by cameras, onlookers, and of course, Secret Service agents. This makes it tough on Sam to succeed, as even her showboat roommate Mia (Amerie Rogers) has had enough of the limelight. When she snaps and demands less spotlight from her father, he resists at first, but agrees to cut her agents in half. So now only two guards follow her and even then, they keep a reasonable distance. The new privacy makes all the difference in the world, as Sam has more fun, maybe a little too much fun. But she is able to make a connection with fellow student James (Marc Blucas), who is a guy she falls for right from the start. She can be herself, relax, and have fun, all while enjoying the spark of a potential romance. But when a secret is revealed and Sam feels betrayed by James, will Sam's newfound freedom feel more like a prison? Not all movies provide the same experience, that much is obvious. In the case of romantic comedies, we should all know about what to expect, though some do shake up the formula. First Daughter is not the kind of movie that breaks rank however, instead the picture follows a standard romantic comedy paint by numbers, with predictable results. I am by no means a fan of this kind of film, but in this case, I expected an above the cut movie, given some of the talent involved. I like to watch Katie Holmes (Tv's Dawson's Creek), who has charisma to burn, while Forest Whitaker, a very talented worker, sat in the director's chair. Even so, First Daughter never strays from the genre formula and while there are twists, we see them coming from a mile off and have seen all these tricks before. So no new ground is broken, but chances are, if you're a fan of romantic comedies, you don't expect to see much genre evolution. Holmes is likable, as always, but fails to spark the high level of charisma I expected, which is one reason the film comes off on the bland side. Even so, fans of the genre will find First Daughter to be more than watchable, to be sure. I'd recommend this as a decent choice if you want a brisk, harmless rental, but a blind purchase would be a mistake. If you liked the movie, be sure to look into Chasing Liberty, a film that tackles the same premise with a little better results. The Audio As with most romantic comedies, this one has a solid audio presence, but never rises much beyond the basics. But the material is well served, so I can't complain too much about the soundtrack, as it does sound solid. The film is driven by dialogue, so sound effects aren't often high impact or dynamic, but as I said, the material doesn't need those elements. The music comes through well, with a rich presence that engages the surrounds and in the process, opens up the mix a little and that's very welcome here. No complaints with the dialogue either, which sounds clean and easy to understand at all times. This disc also includes French and Spanish language options, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish. The Extras If you like audio commentaries from cast members, then you'll love the session here with stars Katie Holmes, Marc Blucas, and Amerie Rogers. The track has minimal technical information, but tons of humor and behind the scenes stories. So you won't get the nuts & bolts of the production, but you will find a brisk, soft take on how First Daughter was created. If you want to know more about the ballroom dances shown in the film, then you're in luck. A brief, though worthwhile look at the film's choreography is included here. I do think a more general look behind the scenes was also in order, but the commentary track helps compensate. This disc also includes a tribute to composer Michael Kamen, as well as a selection of deleted sequences. Review from DVD Authority First Daughter Reviewed by Karyn L. Barr Last winter, Fox bumped the release date of its border-line-intolerable romantic comedy, to prevent any inevitable comparisons to Mandy Moore's nearly indistinguishable Chasing Liberty. Too bad the tactic didn't work: Both films feature an unconvincingly rebellious teenage daughter of the president, who discovers forbidden love; both up the cheese quotient with their forced dialogue and flimsy flings. The only difference? While Moore seemed content with her unchallenging role, Holmes barely conceals her disdain for such a prissy political pain-in-the-butt, giving First Daughter a microscopic boost in the polls. The lackluster EXTRAS include an unenlightening commentary from Holmes and onscreen love interest Marc Blucas, deleted scenes, and a making of the choreography featurette. Zzz... Review from EW Katie Holmes is the kind of young woman who appeals to everyone. Girls relate to her and find themselves rooting for her, whatever role she's in. Guys think she's the hot girl next door whom any mom would welcome with open arms. She's beautiful, grounded, classy and fun. And she's the star of the film First Daughter, in which she plays the daughter of the president of the United States. Though the film may be predictable, Holmes still manages to shine and to resonate with audiences. The DVD, about $28, is in stores today. Also available on VHS. Star_Telegram

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