What a Girl Wants
2003 · 105 min · Director: Dennie Gordon
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
Loosely based on The Reluctant Debutante (1958) starring Sandra Dee, this family-friendly comedy features popular Nickelodeon teen star Amanda Bynes in her first feature-starring performance after her debut in Big Fat Liar (2002). She plays teenager Daphne Reynolds, who lives in New York City with her musician mother, Libby Reynolds (Kelly Preston). After she turns seventeen, Daphne is undecided about her future, so she takes off by herself to London in search of her father. She immediately meets cute musician Ian Wallace (Oliver James) before sneaking in to her father's estate to surprise him. He turns out to be Lord Henry Dashwood (Colin Firth), a fabulously wealthy aristocrat who doesn't even know that she exists. He had met her mother in Morocco and the two were married in a tribal ceremony. Upon their return to England, she left him and went back to the U.S. without ever revealing that she was pregnant. The uptight Henry is already flustered by his campaign for election, advised by doting aide Alistair Payne (Jonathan Pryce). His no-nonsense fiancée, Glynnis Payne (Anna Chancellor), and her bratty daughter, Clarissa Payne (Christina Cole), are threatened by Daphne's presence, thinking that she will hurt Henry's political aspirations by causing a scandal. However, family matriarch, Jocelyn Dashwood (Dame Eileen Atkins), takes a liking to her and she soon finds herself trying to liven things up at several stuffy aristocratic parties. Meanwhile, the evil Glynnis and Clarissa conspire against her by trying to sabotage her appearance, leading up to the conclusion at Daphne's coming-out party.
Emotional fingerprint
What a Girl Wants (2003) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Humor 30%, Joy 25%, Love 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Humor30%
- Joy25%
- Love20%
- Empathy15%
- Satisfaction10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Humor, Joy, Love. Genres: Comedy, Drama, Family. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Humor, Joy and Love. Its IMDb rating of 5.8/10 suggests a mixed audience reception; consider how well the emotional profile suits you. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 59/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Love
- Joy
- Sadness
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Love
Dominant emotion: Humor
Dominant emotion: Tension
Dominant emotion: Joy
Dominant emotion: Sadness
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Love | Joy | Sadness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 3′ | Love | 42 % | 37 % | 28 % | 27 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 8′ | Love | 43 % | 32 % | 25 % | 29 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 13′ | Humor | 43 % | 20 % | 18 % | 23 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 18′ | Humor | 45 % | 13 % | 10 % | 23 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 24′ | Tension | 46 % | 14 % | 10 % | 25 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 29′ | Humor | 48 % | 13 % | 14 % | 18 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 34′ | Humor | 53 % | 13 % | 16 % | 14 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 39′ | Humor | 51 % | 19 % | 18 % | 18 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 45′ | Tension | 48 % | 25 % | 20 % | 19 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 50′ | Humor | 48 % | 26 % | 23 % | 13 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 55′ | Humor | 48 % | 26 % | 25 % | 10 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 60′ | Joy | 50 % | 29 % | 26 % | 18 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 66′ | Tension | 53 % | 30 % | 26 % | 20 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 71′ | Joy | 51 % | 30 % | 28 % | 23 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 76′ | Sadness | 51 % | 29 % | 23 % | 35 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 81′ | Sadness | 57 % | 30 % | 16 % | 48 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 87′ | Sadness | 64 % | 32 % | 11 % | 55 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 92′ | Sadness | 66 % | 43 % | 23 % | 45 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 97′ | Love | 70 % | 57 % | 51 % | 20 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 102′ | Joy | 72 % | 60 % | 65 % | 5 % |
Cinderella
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about What a Girl Wants. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Ian Wallace
Young Daphne
John Dashwood
Staff Member
Libby's Band Member
Libby's Band Member
Libby's Band Member
Libby's Band Member
Bride
Details
- Directed by
- Dennie Gordon
- Written by
- Elizabeth Chandler, William Douglas-Home, Jenny Bicks
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 2003
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Country
- United States, United Kingdom
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Humor
- Data updated
Where to watch
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Rent
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