Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Poppy has everything her unlimited credit cards can buy, and a spoiled attitude to match. After a final thoughtless prank, her exasperated father ships her off to boarding school in England. There, Poppy meets her match in a stern headmistress and a class full of girls who will not tolerate her selfishness.
Cast
Emma Roberts…Poppy
Natasha Richardson…Mrs. Kingsley
Georgia King…Harriet
Kimberley Nixon…Kate
Juno Temple… Drippy
Sophie Wu…Kiki
Linzey Cocker…Josie
Shirley Henderson…Matron
Alex Pettyfer… Freddie
Jason Watkins …Mr. Nellist
Daisy Donovan…Miss Rees-Withers
Best character
My absolute favourite character out of the main girls is definitely Kate. I love Kimberly Nixon and Kate is just the best. She’s so nice, but also completely witty and hilarious.
Best supporting character
I adore Natasha Richards (mostly because of The Parent Trap) so I’m obviously choosing her for this category. Also, Mrs Kingsley does have some of the best lines. My favourite is the one about Jesus (mentioned in the best quotes section).
Favourite scenes
*I do not own the rights to any videos in this post, no copyright infringement was intended. All rights go to the production studio*
The bathtub scene, which sounds weird to say, is actually a very sweet moment. It’s the first time you really see the girls act as real friends and it’s just really nice. Apparently, there was around 30 minutes of the girls becoming friends cut from the film, which makes me a little sad as I’d love to see those scenes.
Best quotes and one liners
KATE: I’ll be your friend, a helping hand, that’s all.
POPPY: Okay, but I choose my friends, and FYI, you don’t make the cut.
KATE: I’m sure that comment would sting a lot more if I knew what FYI meant. But, for the moment, let’s just pretend it’s had the desired effect, shall we?
HARRIET: You shake the hand of the Head Girl out of respect.
POPPY: When the head girl has earned my respect, then I will shake her hand, biatch!
HARRIET: I’m sorry?
POPPY: Apology accepted.
Kate: Get up. Wait for Mrs. Kingsley and the prefects.
Poppy: Screw them! [Kiki and Kate raise Poppy from her seat and make her stand up] That is physical abuse! I’m calling my lawyer!
Kate: With what?
HARRIET: When it comes to right of way, there is a hierarchy: teacher, prefects, scholars, dogs, vermin, Americans; Kate, see to it she falls in line!
POPPY: What is this place? Hogwarts?
DRIPPY: That is butters. Better not stop me pulling at the social.
Poppy: [after Harriet and Poppy fight and seeing Freddie drive off, taunting Harriet about her crush on Freddie] Ooh! Do you love Fredster? Do you wanna kiss Fredster on the lips?
Harriet: [scoffs] Don’t be so immature!
Poppy: Don’t try to hide it, honey! [noticing Harriet’s sweaty lip] We’ve got ourselves a SULA! Sweaty… Upper-Lip Alert!
MRS. KINGSLEY: [Poppy knocks on the door] Who’s there?
POPPY: [Poppy bursts into the room, annoyed] Jesus Christ!
MRS. KINGSLEY: Oh, we were always led to believe you had a beard and sandals. Now we’ll have to change the stained glass window in our chapel.
MRS. KINGSLEY: What do you want to get out of this school, Poppy?
POPPY: To get out of this school.
MATRON: Poppy Moore. What are you wearing? You are going into town, not appearing in a window in Amsterdam.
MR CHRISTOPHER: Oh, my God. It’s Tom Cruise. [about her ridiculously dark eyebrows]
DRIPPY: Would you like to say that any louder? I need your help.
MR CHRISTOPHER: And I need a back wax and a night with Michael Buble, but we don’t always get what we want.
MR CHRISTOPHER: I’m cream-crackered. I’ll lay down and have a wee satsuma.
DRIPPY: So, Susan, do you like your new office?
KATE: I don’t know what’s worse, my job or that husband of mine.
DRIPPY: Keith from Accounts is driving me crazy. He wants that report on his desk by Thursday.
KATE: What’s the report about?
DRIPPY: Business.
KATE: What?
DRIPPY: Do you want to buy a carpet tomorrow?
KATE: Yes. After I’ve dropped
the kids off at the pool.
In my saloon car.
KATE: Two bottles of Grizinski
and one of Donmatsa, please.
DRIPPY: And two Creme Eggs, please.
MISS REES-WITHERS: You can be sick in my hands if you’d like.
HARRIET: She’s acting like she’s drunk. She should be taken to bed.
POPPY: Freddie can do the honors.
HARRIET: You really are a horridious piece of work.
POPPY: Mr. Darcy doesn’t think so.
POPPY: [Freddie refuses a kiss] Cards on the table! Are you gay?
FREDDIE: No, just English.
KATE: Sorry Mrs Kingsley, we just got a little bit carried away.
MRS. KINGSLEY: Well as I understand, Drippy was carried away by Mr Nellis and Miss Rees-Withers – after laying in a pool of her own vomit!
DRIPPY: Actually, it was Kate’s vomit, Mrs Kingsley – I was just lying in it.
DRIPPY: Poppy would never say term, she’d say samosa or something
KIKI: Semester
POPPY: What are we?
DRIPPY: A leading single-sex school admitting boarders at age 11.
POPPY: Wrong. We’re winners.
Final thoughts and fun facts
I’ve never realised before just how obvious it is that this film was written by an American. Kate and the others tell Poppy that Freddie got caught with a girl in “the third grade”. British schools refer to “years” not “grades”. I don’t even know what age third grade is.
Another instance of this is in the school dance scene, Harriet quotes the movie Pride & Prejudice (2005), saying “You may only call me Mrs Darcy when you are completely, perfectly, incandescently happy.” This quote, however, is from a final additional scene of the film which was included only with the US release to satisfy the US audience with “extra schmaltz”. As she is from the UK, Harriet wouldn’t have seen this version of the film, and so wouldn’t have known this quote.
Also, I may be wrong, but I don’t think we play lacrosse in the UK. Well, I’ve never heard of any schools playing it, I always wanted to though.
When Freddie drops his car keys, instead of simply bending down to pick them up, he gets down on his hands and knees with his face inches from the ground. Not really the correct way to pick up keys. Someone pointed this out on IMDB and it made me laugh so I had to include it.
Miss Rees-Withers the P.E. teacher dresses like ‘Sporty Spice’ (Melanie Chisholm) throughout the movie, including Sporty’s famous high ponytail, tracksuit, and even the same barbed wire upper arm tattoo.
This is another film that I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it. I’m pretty sure I went to see this in the cinema and I’ve probably watched it once a year since. It’s absolutely iconic and young me loved seeing a teen film like this set in the UK.
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