Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls — Bennett Madison
Razorbill
2005
Rating:


In any other high school comedy, Lulu would be a Heather, a Plastic, one of the Mean Girls. Lulu savagely insults beautiful new girl Berlin Silver, who admires Lulu, and Lulu accuses her nemesis Rachel Buttersworth-Taylor of being the victim of fetal alcohol syndrome since Rachel's mother is an alcoholic. But in "Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls," Lulu is the heroine.

Not your average Nancy Drew mystery, Lulu's story is set in motion after her purse is stolen and she loses the phone number for hot musician Alfy Romero. Lulu suspects Rachel and Berlin of the crime, but Rachel insists her innocence and Berlin goes missing and, after a body washes ashore with the same distinctive tattoo as Berlin, she may even be dead. There's also the matter of the girl in the sunglasses who's stalking Lulu and a girl claiming to be her who's dancing on tabletops sans underwear, infuriating Charlie, the friend who's crushing on Lulu.

"Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls" never quite lives up to its comic potential. Essentially placing "Clueless'" Cher in the role of Nancy Drew, or a wealthier, more vapid Veronica Mars, Lulu's search for her stolen purse ends up being a journey of self-discovery that suddenly switches gears to thriller territory. Not following the comedic route to its logical conclusion is a serious misstep. Lulu should be solving the mystery of her missing purse by finding clues that only someone like her could interpret in much the same way Elle Wood saved her client in "Legally Blonde." Rife with potential for humor and suspense, "Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls" could be the beginning of another great teenage girl detective if only it could delve a little deeper into its themes of identity politics and the caste system of high school popularity.

Posted Sunday, July 3, 2005

Link to this review:
http://filmzeus.pressbin.com/book/bennett.madison/lulu.dark.can.see.through.walls