DVD Reviews

Wild Child – DVD Review

By June L. Jan 4, 2010, 17:13 GMT

Sixteen-year-old Poppy (Emma Roberts) is an LA teen diva who does what she wants, whenever she wants. But after an over-the-top prank pushes her father one step too far, she finds herself shipped off to the one place where everything will change: a British boarding school. No cell phones, no designer clothes…no way. Desperate to break free, she sets in motion the ultimate escape plan involving the head mistress’ son ...more

Everyone knows one, the high school wild girl princess type who gets everything she wants.  This is the story of Poppy, a wild child who ends up in a British Boarding school, for better or for worse. 

After some cringe-worthy escapades in Malibu, Poppy (Emma Roberts) pulls the caper that gets her sent off to boarding school in England.  Completely out of her element, Poppy doesn’t give up her personality but discovers who she really is and what matters.  Without too much that is “awful” audiences get the idea that Poppy has been spoiled but that there is someone with integrity, loyalty, honor and kindness hiding under the “whatever” attitude.

 She is grieving the loss of her mother, and is at the awkward age between child and adult where she thinks she knows everything and doesn’t want to listen to authority.  She is not bad, just without any clear role model.  It takes the firm guidance of the school’s Headmistress (Natasha Richardson) and a down to earth group of new friends to make Poppy realize there is more to life than designer clothes.

As the story progresses, Poppy gives back to her school and her new friends and matures into a genuine person.

Wild Child is an enjoyable film, reminiscent of the old school stories with realistic emotions and identifiable situations of popularity, bullying, teamwork and friendship.  It is fun to see a film that doesn’t focus so heavily on angst and drama while exploring teen issues of romance and social interaction and while the set up of super-rich spoiled girl in an English school is not the norm, it is still pleasing fare.

The blended British and American cast are great fun to watch, and everyone seems committed to their roles and provide believable and interesting characters. 

Wild Child is presented on single disc in widescreen format with a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes.  It is available in English, French and Spanish for both audio tracks and subtitles. 

Bonus features for the film are very good.  Of particular interest and importance are the deleted scenes.  This is a case where one wonders about the editing of the film, as the deleted scenes are helpful in explaining some of the action.  It is good to have them available. 

The Making of Wild Child is an informative featurette, which allows the cast and production crew to speak about their experiences while filming.  It is in this featurette that viewers can see the serious nature of the cast in perfecting their roles, even to learning how to play Lacrosse properly from the Oxford Women’s Lacrosse Team. 

School Memories and Head Girl Tour round out the American audiences “knowledge” about an English boarding school. 

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