Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (PG, 2004)

common sense media says

Enjoyable movie about the trials of being a teen.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie has a couple of PG-level bad words. Of greater concern is that Lola lies, steals, and takes risks with very mild consequences, though she learns some lessons. She wears very skimpy clothes more revealing than even a free-spirited mother who throws pots for a living would permit. A character has an alcohol abuse problem. We see him drunk, and later he says he is getting treatment. In a very odd moment, Lola's big triumph comes when he returns her necklace to her in front of her friends, seen merely as proof that she told the truth when she said she had been at his party. No one questions why she was taking her necklace off at his apartment or whether she was doing anything risky or improper there.

Positive messages: Lola lies, steals, and takes risks with very mild consequences, though she learns some lessons.
Violence: Car crash.
Sex: Very skimpy clothes for a 15-year-old.
Language: A couple of mild bad words.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Character abuses alcohol.

More on Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about Lola's comment that she lied to make herself seem more interesting. Why does Carla pretend that she got the part she really wanted? Are there girls like Carla in your school and how do people feel about them? Why was Ella so surprised that her parents would let her go to the concert? How does Lola feel about Stu after she meets him?

What's the story?

What's the story?

Lindsay Lohan plays a 15-year-old who has a lot to be dramatic about, or at least she thinks she does. First of all, her parents had the bad judgment to name her "Mary," when she was born to be a "Lola." No one seems to understand the importance of her dream of being an actress. In her family, she is "a flamingo in a flock of pigeons," fighting not just against gross injustice, but also against "ordinariness." But what is really devastating is that she has to move from New York City, which she thinks is the center of the planet, to New Jersey, which seems like the farthest end of the universe. At least, if you're a drama queen. And there's more stress to come. Her favorite rock band is breaking up. And she has to compete with a mean and snobbish alpha-girl for the part of Eliza in an updated version of "Pygmalion" called "Eliza Rocks!"

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Lola sometimes resorts to more than drama, including some real misbehavior that the movie does not take very seriously. She tells her best friend a terrible lie about her father "to seem more interesting." She gets another friend to help her steal a costume so she can wear it to a party. She lies to her mother and tries to sneak into a concert and a rock star's party. She almost lets down the "Eliza Rocks!" cast and audience by refusing to appear. She learns some lessons and faces some consequences, but parents will want to talk to kids who see this movie about how they see her choices.

The best part of CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN is Lohan. She is a delight. Kids will enjoy identifying with her as she tries to both fit in and be different, and as she tries to follow her dreams while coping with New Jersey and other obstacles. Parents may be more willing to put up with the movie's logical loopholes than its casual treatment of behavior they would not want their children to imitate.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Director: Sara Sugarman
Cast: Andy Garcia, Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 96 minutes
Theatrical release: February 20, 2004
DVD release: July 20, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: mild thematic elements and brief language

This review was written by Nell Minow
 
 

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What parents & educators say

12

Most useful reviews by all members

Trinity507
teen, 17 years old
 
Hated this movie from start to finish!
Ridiculous messages and no consequences made this movie unbearably annoying for me from start to finish. Lola doesn't learn anything and never seems to change, and yet is constantly accepted for "who she is" by friends and family. I don't mind the lying and stealing as long as it's a believable part of the character, but there was no story arc and it seemed to be played just for laughs. Like Mean Girls but not even funny. I wish I hadn't wasted my time.

Sara_diamonds
teen, 16 years old
 
An awesome girly teen movie!
Very enjoyable teen girly movie! Alot of teenages can relate to the movie because of lifes little dramas and issues with students and fake popularity in schools. A couple of bad words used, but genrally language isn't too much of an issue. In this movie Lola lies about herself to make her life seem more interesting but learns her lesson in the end. I think this displays messages to be yourself and people will love you for who you really are.

PoundCakez1010z
kid, 12 years old
 
HATED IY
WORST MOVIE EVER NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANY AGES!!!

 
Another stupid chick flick
Are teenaged girls supposed to be stupid or something? 95% of all teen chick flicks are really dumb & revolve around some nobody trying to get a boy to like them or achieve stardom, & guess what, this movie fits into that spot perfectly. Make a teen movie with a real plot, PLEASE! She's panicking over her loser band breaking up, get a life. Plus in this she insults her name 'Mary Elizabeth', can you guess who also has that exact same name? Me! Last, she's lies about her parent dying & acts like it's so cool & romantic, but guess who really did have a parent die! It is not fun & not romantic, & not something to joke about!

galsmom
adult
 
Disney and Lohan are big disappointments
I took my two girls to see this because we had all enjoyed Lindsay Lohan in Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. Unfortunately, in this film her breasts become one of the main characters. She shows bouncy cleavage and wears a dress so tight that it's impossible to imagine how she could move. It absolutely sends the wrong message to girls about their body image and how they should dress. The moral message of the movie is totally convoluted. Although the dialogue expresses the consequences of lying, the action reveals that she got everything she wanted by being deceitful. They showed a trailer of Lohan's next film - I forget the name -but it was a clone of this. No way will I let my girls see that one.

jcarole
adult
 
Breasts and Lying
A friend said this movie was okay but it wasn't. The girls are dished up as sexy throughout, the girls are mean and all the lying isn't dealt with until the end when the main character still gets rewarded for her behavior. There's so much wrong with the concert/party storyline I can't write it all here. I spent most of this movie stopping the DVD and explaining to my child why she should NEVER do the things these girls were doing. The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted - there are so many good movies out there. Kick this one to the curb.

robinpeggy
parent of 12 year old
 
Good message eventually
After months of avoiding this because of the CSM review, I gave in to my 6-year-old on a transatlantic flight and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the Lohan character does lie, but she learns that it doesn't pay, and the ultimate lesson is that you can be different (both Lohan and her best friend) and still be happy. And the alcohol message is a positive one - Lohan's character is disillusioned by the drunkenness of her former idol, and he stops drinking because she calls him on it.

 
A mind-numbing waste of time...
This was one of the worst kids movies I've ever seen. It was pointless, stupid, and idiotic from beginning to end. Mary "Lola" is overdramatic (hense the movie title) and lies to make people think she is more interesting. Ella is the only character that seems to have a moral conscience. Don't see this movie. It's boring, stupid, and has a bad message.

Samuel M.
kid, 11 years old
 
confessions of a teenage dramatic review
A good movie with a crusty shell of roughened acting and soggy drama. Apparently the movie supports alcohol use, so there's another point of criticism. The cast is 83% star studded with starlets you'd already know, from Lohan to Fox. Catchy music soundtrack, but abominable experience in general watching the movie. A good pick for tweens. No, like seriously aged tweens. Not pre-tweens, maybe post-tweens, but tweens.

96grlpowrCE
teen, 16 years old
 
A very great movie!
I've seen this movie probably dozens of times, and I've also read both of the books (one is the book that this movie was based on, and the other is a spin-off type of book about Lola's friend, Ella, which is a book worth reading as well). It's a really fun movie. The music is great, too. The only thing that should bother most parents is when Lola and Ella meet Stu Wolf, the lead singer of their favourite band, he is very, very drunk, and the three end up getting arrested. Despite that, this movie is great-- next time it appears on Disney Channel, you should watch it!

aidanqm1996
teen, 15 years old
 
Even though I'm a boy, and I like this movie, this is a movie that mostly only girls will like
Great movie. All I have to say is Lola wears a lot of clothes that reveal midriff, a rock star gets drunk, and teenage love, but nothing inappropriate.

mkalv
teen, 17 years old
 
A Girl Flick
I am a boy, and I think that all boys should stay away from this movie at all costs. The book was much better.

LikeOdette
teen, 16 years old
 
One of Lohan's worst
This movie was a great, great disappointment. I liked it when I was younger & it was a new movie, but after watching it as an older teen, I have to say this movie is pretty bad. It is interesting in some aspects, but the acting is very apathetic & seems fake.

 
Funny, great, but not as realistic as MEAN GIRLS
This enjoyable Sara Sugarman romp is in par with another one of Lohan's films, MEAN GIRLS. In a hilarity she busts through funny lines and great song and dance sequences. Over all it's great but totally unrealistic compared to MEAN GIRLS.

 
Hilarious, Cute, and Sassy Drama
Lohan's "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" was fab-u-lous! Ms. Lindsay was great as Mary-Elizabeth/Lola, and pulled off the overly dramatic teen girl wonderfully. Rent it, buy it, WATCH IT!!!

Brown11
teen, 17 years old
 
I loved it !!!

 
A cute movie
I thought it was a very cute movie. It made me laugh, epecially when Lola was daydreaming that she was Marilyn Monroe. The music was very good, too. I was singing along. Lindsay was excellent as Lola. She is proving to be a good singer too. I viewed the movie as a kid at heart as well as a parent. There are very few movies for kids, especially for preteens. The movie gives a little bit of insight as to what kids might encounter in junior or senior high school, although not as dramatic as the movie. Kids do daydream (We adults did it as kids and we were probably drama queens and kings as well.). Kids want to fit in especially when they are the new person in school. Parents, do you remember your own experiences when you were kids? Did you learn something from them? Lola did fib about her dad being dead but she did realize later that she was wrong. We all make mistakes but we need to learn from them and try to make a positive out of a negative. Also, Lola's and her friend's parents did the right thing by gorunding the girls. The only skimpy thing that I could recall was the kids were doing the final scene of the play. At least, they didn't dance around like Britney Spears does in her videos and her concerts, or touching their private parts like Michael Jackson (I would have screamed bloody murder.)Maybe the outfits that Lola and her friend wore going to the concert were a little skimpy as well. Otherwise, they dressed like normal teenagers.The rock star that Lola idolized was the only person in the movie that drank. At least Lola had the common sense and the guts to tell her idol that he was an alocholic (I was so proud of her. More kids should do that.). The good thing was that he listened (I always thought the kids were smarter than adults give them credit for. So parents, listen to your kids. They are smarter than you think thanks to some of the commercials against smoking, drinking, and drug abuse. Keep talking to your kids. They will thank you later.). If you keep drumming good values into your kids' heads (Churchgoing or non-church going) you are still doing a terrfic job either way. I see no problem with the movie. Just relax and keep in mind that you were a kid at one time.

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