The message that director Forest Whitaker was trying to get across to his audience was clear; acceptance and normalcy.
Katie Holmes played Samantha Mackenzie, daughter to the president of the United States, and she was used as the vehicle to bring Whitaker and the writers’ vision to life. The story was simple enough and it did not pertain only to the upper class, but the majority of the world’s population, as nearly everyone deals with a time in their lives where they feel excluded or in need of acceptance. The issue with the film’s delivery was that Holmes was unable to provide the audience with any true emotion. She was an empty vessel of nothingness and her inability to show any emotion caused the film to fall flat on its face without the ability to regain its balance.
Even more than the idea of fitting in, the film delves deep into the tragic anxiety that many college students face as they begin to grow up and attempt to become more independent from their guardians. They find themselves doing their best to detach themselves from the parental leash and enjoy their lives independently for the first time. This, like the story of acceptance, was quickly deflated by Holmes’ inability to act.
Whitaker did not direct much before he took the job directing this film, and he has not signed on to direct a single feature film since its release in 2004. It cannot be said with certainty that Whitaker stepped away from that aspect of Hollywood as a result of this film’s lack of success, but it is assuredly a possibility. All in all, it is safe to say that Holmes was the reason this film did so poorly and with a more worthy actor to lead the story, its ability to draw in audiences would have been much more likely.
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