DVD Release Date: January 22, 2008
Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content)
Genre: Comedy
Run Time: 95 min.
Director: Scott Marshall
Actors: Jessica Simpson, Luke Wilson, Rachel Leigh Cook, Andy Dick, Drew Fuller, Penelope Ann Miller, Larry Miller, Willie Nelson
Small-town Okie girl Katie (
Jessica Simpson) and Billy (
Drew Fuller) have been together forever, so when Billy goes to New York to become a hand model, Katie is devastated. Fortunately, her sweet "Pap Paw" (
Willie Nelson) comes to the rescue. Katie heads to the big city, only to find Billy in bed with another woman.
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With nowhere to turn, she calls her actor-wannabe cousin Haley (
Rachael Leigh Cook), who is working as a bike messenger. So she can go to an audition, Haley forces Katie onto her bike. During her first delivery, a corporate vice president (
Penelope Ann Miller) and her lackey (
Andy Dick) take Katie out for lunch, as part of a plan to replace the company CEO. Debra then transforms Katie, Eliza Doolittle style, with hair extensions and a designer wardrobe. She lands a job as executive assistant to the CEO (
Larry Miller). Soon, Katie has zoomed to the top of the corporate ladder. Meanwhile, she falls for mail boy Ben (
Luke Wilson).
Director
Scott Marshall (
Keeping up with the Steins), son of
Garry Marshall, clearly doesn’t understand the importance of coaching actors—or perhaps that was simply impossible in
Blonde Ambition. No one will be surprised that Simpson’s acting skills haven’t improved since
Employee of the Month, but she doesn’t even get very upset when she learns that Billy is cheating on her. She acts not just naïve but stupid beyond belief, such as when she rebukes her mentor by saying, “Where I came from, that’s a lie,” only to then tell dozens of lies to her beloved Pap Paw, without any reason. If Simpson has a hope of a career in film, someone really needs to tell her to drop the petulant six-year-old act. And while they’re at it, could they also ask her to stop pursing her lips so much? She looks like a fish. A fish with scary red lipstick.
I’m not a fan of Luke Wilson, but this film is surprising, even for him. Maybe that’s the reason he didn’t wash or shave for his role. He fumbles and mumbles his way through the film, as if he’s just realized where his career is heading. Willie Nelson and Rachel Leigh Cook are the only ones who can hold up their heads without total shame, but even they are headed for the Oscars. Not so for Penelope Miller or Larry Miller, who are embarrassing with their overacting. Dick is absurd, and extremely annoying—despite Jessica and father Joe Simpson’s fawning over his “comedic” abilities in a DVD extra.