MovieChat Forums > The Parent Trap (1998) Discussion > Did anyone else feel like Meredith wasn'...

Did anyone else feel like Meredith wasn't given much of a chance?

posted 4 years ago by FilmStar (405)
1 reply | jump to latest

I know she was a gold digger considering she told her friend that she plans on sending Hallie to boarding school as soon as she marries Nick, but I feel like Annie didn't like Meredith right off the bat without getting to know her. Already she acted like she hated her because of how young she was and because she wasn't her mother. Maybe if Annie could have given Meredith more of a chance in that scene when they're talking after finding out about the engagement, Meredith could have warmed up to Annie.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12341) 4 years ago

The trouble with both this and the old "Parent Trap" movie is, the gold-digger character is very one-dimensional. She is an attractive, 2-faced bitch who managed to catch the twins' dad's eye, and just wants him for his money. Her sole purpose is to be the villain of the story, someone the girls can team up and vanquish in order to get their parents back together.

The reason the gold-digger is not made sympathetic is because one, most gold-diggers are not nice, so that's not realistic; and two, the girls trying to destroy and get rid of a nice woman would have painted them as mean little shits who wanted to destroy their dad's happiness, as well as drive this woman they saw as an intruder away. It might have also motivated their mom to encourage the marriage between her ex and his new girlfriend, which would have totally ruined the premise of the story; which was two long-lost sisters, bringing their divorced parents back together.