First Daughter

Director Forest Whitaker's romantic comedy with a political backdrop starts off strongly, thanks to its well-cast leads — Katie Holmes, in full-on adorable mode and buff Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Marc Blucas — but its predictable conflict (particularly to anyone who's seen the Mandy Moore showcase CHASING LIBERTY) and plodding pace ensure lukewarm exit polls. Teenage Samantha (Holmes) is desperate to begin her college career so she can escape the watchful eye of her parents (Michael Keaton, Margaret Colin) and dreams of driving alone cross-country to school in California from her Washington, D.C., home. Unfortunately, that's out of the question; not only a...