I love a bad b-grade movie, but this was absolutely atrocious. Anna Nicole Smith's entire life squeezed into about 80 minutes. This movie jumped ahead so quickly you could barely keep up with it, (which actually, considering, the production, and acting, may have been doing us all a favour). I have never heard of Willa Ford before, and I don't think I'll be searching out her movies in the future, although I have to admit that bar the early scenes in the bad curly wig, she does look quite a bit like Anna Nicole. I was never especially a fan of the woman, but I was hoping for some insight into her life beyond the superficial, and this movie barely even touches on that let alone anything deeper. The older man she married is portrayed as a kindly old thing with barely a hint of the actual relationship they had, her son Daniel goes from child to depressed teen in about five minutes. Too compressed, not well written, and not even worth a watch as a guilty pleasure.
6 Reviews
Easy to watch
jfgibson736 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I didn't really expect this movie to necessarily be 100% accurate. I was a little surprised though at how unwilling it was to make anyone look bad. The movie doesn't seem to want to admit that anyone made any bad choices or had less-than honorable motives.
Anna's life is a sad story, and the best you could hope for from something like this is a brief overview. That's really all it does. I didn't assume that any of the filmmakers knew anything about Anna other than what was known to the general public. I was interested enough in seeing this movie that I was able to accept that it would only scratch the surface, so I was okay with it. I'll give it a four.
Anna's life is a sad story, and the best you could hope for from something like this is a brief overview. That's really all it does. I didn't assume that any of the filmmakers knew anything about Anna other than what was known to the general public. I was interested enough in seeing this movie that I was able to accept that it would only scratch the surface, so I was okay with it. I'll give it a four.
Scratching the Surface
refinedsugar30 March 2024
Well aware that 'Anna Nicole Smith Story' didn't have a good reputation, I was still willing to give it a chance. When I saw the director was Keoni Waxman, I did however let out a small groan. For anyone who's seen their share of bad dtv action flicks this wasn't a good sign. As the first flick to trace the late sensational woman's life, it does the bare minimum feeling ultimately like a cheap cash-in.
From her small town origins in Texas working in a fried chicken shack to an exotic dancer where she meets Howard Marshall (Richard Herd), Vickie Lynn Hogan (Willa Ford) dreams of being something bigger. An actress, a model, a modern day Marilyn Monroe. All that happens when she becomes a modelling superstar in Anna Nicole Smith, but can she keep it together? With a fondness for drinking, prescription drugs, Marshall's death and his estate battle as she drifts apart from her son Danny.
A bio pic can be fun just showcasing a person's most memorable events if done right. You don't necessarily need to inject a deeper message or even get all the facts right. This checks some obvious boxes while others are left untouched, but doesn't deliver much entertainment let alone sentiment. You walk away not learning anything more than you already knew about Anna, her son or any of the major faces. A cheap, rushed feel permeates the flick and none of the acting stands out.
Anna Nicole Smith was one of those celebrities that captured the public's attention for a bunch of reasons, but 'Story' does neither her tale justice or those tuning in to watch. There's little freshness in the rise 'n fall tale and little reward for seeing facts regurgitated that you already knew. Honestly you're much better off with 2013's 'Anna Nicole'.
From her small town origins in Texas working in a fried chicken shack to an exotic dancer where she meets Howard Marshall (Richard Herd), Vickie Lynn Hogan (Willa Ford) dreams of being something bigger. An actress, a model, a modern day Marilyn Monroe. All that happens when she becomes a modelling superstar in Anna Nicole Smith, but can she keep it together? With a fondness for drinking, prescription drugs, Marshall's death and his estate battle as she drifts apart from her son Danny.
A bio pic can be fun just showcasing a person's most memorable events if done right. You don't necessarily need to inject a deeper message or even get all the facts right. This checks some obvious boxes while others are left untouched, but doesn't deliver much entertainment let alone sentiment. You walk away not learning anything more than you already knew about Anna, her son or any of the major faces. A cheap, rushed feel permeates the flick and none of the acting stands out.
Anna Nicole Smith was one of those celebrities that captured the public's attention for a bunch of reasons, but 'Story' does neither her tale justice or those tuning in to watch. There's little freshness in the rise 'n fall tale and little reward for seeing facts regurgitated that you already knew. Honestly you're much better off with 2013's 'Anna Nicole'.
Hard to watch...
jenniferlynn-495557 May 2019
It's hard to watch a movie when the star is so cringe worthy. Every time she opened her mouth it was awful. It also felt like a fluff piece. I mean I didn't expect much but there is absolutely no depth in the characters at all. The soundtrack was like off a bad 80s tv show, like club music where everyone is dancing slow and off beat. The movie felt rushed, you feel like you must've missed some scenes. The only way I knew how much tine went by was by the rapid aging of Daniel. I mean she tries to be Anna but she was a characture of the real Anna. Her husband wasn't potrayed right either, in real life he wasn't just old, he really looked it. It was visually odd and disturbing, seeing their "love" in real life. Here he was an average old guy, not the crypt keeper on wheels. Most importantly her Voice!!! In case you forgot.
Nope not Anna
propeller-9248123 September 2021
I barely know anything about anna Nicole Smith's life apart from the very basics, kinda expected the movie to fill in some gaps with some insights but no. This movie is all 90's corny and shallow. The acting is horrible, the photography is a'la your typical run if the mill TV show and the research work on her life is zero and it shows. The story is full of inconsistencies and for Pete's sake her husband in real life was 100 years older than the guy who portrays him here, I mean really old as in disturbingly huge age difference. Truly bad movie. Don't waste your time on this.
CUTE MOVIE
EskimoChain14 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I SAW THIS FILM ON AMAZON PRIME TODAY. I THOUGHT IT PORTRAYED ANNA NICOLE SMITH IN A GENEROUS LIGHT. WILLA FORD'S IMITATION WAS PLEASANT. I THOUGHT I HAD SEEN THIS FILM BEFORE YET I HADN'T. IT HAS A RELATIVELY SAD ENDING SINCE SHE APPEARS TO DIE FROM A FEVER. PERSONALLY I THINK SHOULD HAVE CHOSEN SIMPLE WHEAT TO EAT, INSTEAD OF WHATEVER ELSE SHE WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH. ALTOGETHER A GOOD ONE I BELIEVE DEFINITELY A DVD WORTH KEEPING.
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