Movie Review: Material Girls

By Jane Boursaw

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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie makes some weird editorial choices, such as having one of the lead characters dress like a prostitute to get information, which lands her in jail with real prostitutes. There's brief drinking, smoking, and plenty of bad attitudes. Some profanity (s--t). There's lots of products advertised in the movie, not to mention that Hilary Duff's new perfume is handed out in a scratch-and-sniff card with the movie tickets. The sisters' father dies, and their mother abandons them to move to Europe with an Egyptian prince (although we don't see this). The sisters' maid fills in as their "mom."

Families can talk about this movie's themes: growing up, taking responsibility, and dealing with loss. The sisters also have to learn how to ask for help, rather than expecting everything to fall in their laps. How do you handle it when your world falls apart? Also, is it more important to have "things" or family and friends who love you? What are some of the signs to look for when you're not sure someone is acting in your best interest?

Common Sense Media Review
From girl-power director Martha Coolidge ( The Prince and Me ) and the Material Girl herself ( Madonna) comes this fluffy teen comedy.

It tells the story of Tanzie and Ava Marchetta ( Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff), a pair of "celebutante" sisters who spend their days shopping and their nights clubbing (yeah, it's a real stretch). Their dad was the late, great Vincent Marchetta, founder of the famous Marchetta Cosmetics Company.

As you might imagine, the girls aren't hurting for lip gloss and nail polish. They're spoiled, rich kids who excel at partying. But they were hit hard by their father's death, and Tanzie grieves by watching the shows that Vincent's TiVo still records for him. Now that he's gone, the girls are the face of the Marchetta Cosmetics Company, even if their only connection is attending the frequent social events and occasional meetings. Let the grown-ups do the work -- they've got better things to do.

Then one day, Tanzie and Ava attend a meeting to determine which non-profit organization will receive a donation from the charitable foundation bearing their father's name. On the way out, Ava meets Henry ( Lukas Haas), a lawyer who works with a free legal clinic. Ava blows him off, but you get the feeling there's romance in their future.

Meanwhile, Marchetta bigwig Tommy ( Brent Spiner, forever known as Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation") is scheming to force the sisters to sell the company to a rival company owned by Fabiella (Anjelica Huston). If the sale happens, Tommy will be rich, famous, and, more importantly, finally get that office in Century City he's been coveting.

At a party introducing the Vincent Marchetta Foundation to the world, the girls give an emotional speech about their father, but it's cut short when a news story is displayed on the big screen behind them. It seems that Marchetta cosmetics have been causing horrible skin problems for people.

It's a huge scandal, and the public isn't happy. They pelt the girls' house with fruit, and the press turns vicious, hounding them relentlessly. Not only that, the girls end up losing everything -- home, cars, money and reputation. They're forced to -- gasp! -- get a job and take public transportation. Will they survive the scandal and bring honor to their father's name again? They're helped along by maid Inez (Maria Conchita Alonso) and cute lab technician Rick (Marcus Coloma).

You have to think this movie was made for the sole purpose of selling Hilary Duff's new perfume, handed out in a scratch-and-sniff card with the movie tickets. The storyline, dialogue, and characters are brain-numbing. What were they thinking?! Even the music is lame, which is surprising considering the movie was produced by Madonna's Maverick Films. And between her role in Daddy Day Care and this movie, you have to wonder where Anjelica Huston's head is at these days. In short, skip it.

Teens who enjoy coming-of-age movies will prefer Mean Girls and Cow Belles .