Characters / My Date with the President's Daughter

Hallie Richmond

"I don't wanna look nice. I wanna look...HOT!"

Portrayed by: Elisabeth Harnois

• Allergic to Routine: One of the reasons she hates being the President’s daughter. Every aspect of her life is decided for her down to how she is dressed, where she goes, and the people she gets to interact with. All she wants is the freedom to choose how to live her life.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Hallie is clearly attracted to Steve when she first sees him driving past her and Duncan on his motorcycle. Later, she runs into him at Club Alien while Duncan is making a phone call, and is easily persuaded to join him on the dance floor. Near the end of the film, she goes off with Steve after dumping Duncan, though she would quickly regret this once Steve showed his true colors.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Hallie becomes more invested in exploring the city nightlife than actually going to the dance with Duncan as the film progresses.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: She is in a few chase scenes and actually gets pushed to the ground in one scene. And yet, she is never depicted with any sweat or dirt on her body after these scenes.
• Becoming the Mask: While she did use Duncan as a means to escape her confined life, Hallie does start to develop genuine feelings for him as the film progresses, and by the end of the film, she agrees to go out with him on a proper first date.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Despite her frustrations over the high demands of being the President's daughter, Hallie is a nice girl who has friendly interactions with a majority of the characters she interacts with in the film. That said, she has quite a vicious side whenever guys try to hit on her when she is clearly not interested. When push comes to shove, she will retaliate with verbal insults or physical harm.
• Big Entrance: While at the clothing store, Hallie dramatically pulls back the curtain as she seductively steps out of the changing room to show off her new pink mini-dress to Duncan.
• Blinded by Rage: She goes off with the shady biker Steve to spite Duncan after learning about the bet he made with his friends, all while ignoring the clear signs that Steve was bad news.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Hallie has shades of this, but with good reasons, since she has never been able to live like a normal teenage girl.
• Bullying a Dragon: When a group of rednecks start to throw lecherous lines at her while at a stop light, Hallie lashes back at them with some insensitive redneck slurs, while also bringing Duncan into the mix by saying he could beat them up. She clearly did not consider that the rednecks would call her bluff, as she watches the leader get out of his truck to confront them.
• Catholic School Girls Rule: She bemoans that the nuns at her school wear hotter clothes than her.
• Combat Stilettos: During the date, Hallie wears a pair of high heeled sandals. While she never uses them to fight, they get a nice Pedal-to-the-Metal Shot when Hallie floors the gas on Duncan's car, speeding away before a bunch of rednecks confront them.
• Counting to Ten: Fed up with his obnoxious behavior, Hallie gives this ultimatum to Reid when he won't remove his hand from her shoulder. Upon reaching ten, she stomps on his foot. Reid takes the hint and walks away in pain.
• Damsel in Distress: Becomes this when Steve refuses to let her leave his house after rejecting his advances.
• Deadpan Snarker: She mostly converses with Reid, the vice president's son, in a sardonic tongue, even going as far as calling him a "mutant spawn" in front of Duncan. Reid, unsurprisingly, doesn't seem to mind...except when she physically abuses him.
• Didn't Think This Through: She has several of these moments.
  • During the date, she has Duncan make a quick stop at a local clothing store, as she wants to get an outfit that makes her look hot. After trying on dozens of outfits, she settles on wearing a sexy pink colored mini-dress. Predictably, her skimpy new look attracts some unwanted male attention, which ends up getting her and Duncan into trouble a few times during the film.
  • She clearly did not think that the rednecks would actually call her bluff after she threw some offensive slurs and insults at them while also telling them that Duncan could beat them up.
  • After dumping Duncan, she goes off with Steve, despite his very shady behavior and Duncan's warnings. Once at his house, Hallie quickly begins to see Steve's true colors when he keeps making advances at her without her consent. When she finally decides to leave, he gets aggressive and attempts to force her to stay.
• Drives Like Crazy: She has a few moments when she is driving Duncan's father's car. In one scene, she is shown flooring the gas in high heels sandals.
• Dude Magnet: She ends up attracting a few unwanted attention from several male characters throughout the film. The vice President has been hitting on her for some time now, much to her disgust. She spends a majority of the night wearing a skimpy pink minidress. This almost immediately attracts the attention of the Bad Boy Steve. While at a stop light, she gets catcalled by a truck full of dirty looking, middle aged rednecks. And of course, Duncan obviously had a clear attraction to her when he first saw her at the mall.
• Dumb Blonde: While she is not dumb, Hallie does have very poor sense of judgment. Combine that with her lack of real world experience, she can come off as being clueless and naive.
• Establishing Character Moment: The movie opens with an annoyed Hallie being awaken by the maid, complaining about how normal people get to sleep in on Saturday. After looking at and hating the clothes she is expected to wear, she looks out her window, saying to herself, "Another day as the President's Daughter."
• Everyone Has Standards: While she wants to go out on dates like a normal teenager, she rejects all of Reid's attempts to ask her out, as she views him as Slimeball for constantly hitting on her while invading her personal space.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: When she leaves with Duncan to go to the dance, Hallie wears her hair in an updo hairstyle. After ditching the Secret Service, and getting a whole new sexy wardrobe,she removes her hairpin to undo the bun before shaking her hair loose, now embracing her rebellious and adventurous side.
• The Fashionista: She sees herself as this when she is deciding what clothes she and Duncan should wear for their date.
• Fatal Flaw: Hallie has very poor judgment. She chooses to wear a sexy pink minidress on the date, which draws the wrong kind of attention to her. She believes almost anything that anyone tells her, which almost lands Duncan in trouble with some rednecks. And after leaving Duncan, she goes off with a shady biker who she was warned was bad news.
• Fearless Fool: She describes herself as being quite an outspoken person. This is best shown when she taunts a couple of big rednecks who harass her.
• Forced into Their Sunday Best: She is expected to wear proper and modest attire during her father's public appearances, much to her annoyance. Even the outfit she wears when she leaves on the date is very much a bland dress instead of something more casual.
• Forgetful Jones: When she agrees on being Duncan's date to his school dance, she doesn't tell him she's the President's daughter. When he confronts her about this when he arrives, she says that it must have slipped her mind. Near the end of the film, she confesses that she didn't actually forget to tell him. Rather, she withheld the truth as she feared that he wouldn't go out with her if he knew just how crazy her life was, being the President's daughter and all.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: The pink minidress she wears for the majority of the film is quite tight fitting on her body. ^note The actress has gone on record saying that the dress was so tight on her body that she couldn't wear anything underneath it. However, a Freeze-Frame Bonus shows that she was in fact wearing bottoms underneath the dress.
• Fury-Fueled Foolishness: In a moment of impulse, she chooses to go off with a complete stranger simply to get back at Duncan for lying to her.
• Girly Skirt Twirl: After stepping out of a fitting room wearing a sexy pink minidress, Hallie lets Duncan get a real good look at her new sexy attire by doing a 360 twirl.
• Going Commando: While wearing the pink minidress, Hallie doesn't appear to be wearing a bra underneath it, as there aren't any visible shoulder straps. ^note  This is confirmed by the actress, who stated she wasn't able to wear any undergarments due to how tight fitting the pink mini-dress was on her body.
• Grass is Greener: How she views the life that Duncan lives. Even if it is a boring kind of life, Hallie would rather have that instead of having a life where everything is planned and scheduled for her.
• Hartman Hips: Her hips are more prominent when she is wearing her tight fitting pink minidress.
• Hates Wearing Dresses: Averted. It's more that she hates wearing dresses that are picked out for her, which she thinks are bland. She has a strong liking for mini dresses.
• Head-Turning Beauty: Duncan's speechless reaction to seeing Hallie wearing a sexy pink minidress screams this.
• High Heel Hurt. Averted. Despite wearing high heeled sandals, Hallie is in a number of chase scenes where she is able to outrun the trained Secret Service without suffering any feet fatigue.
• Horrible Judge of Character: She goes off with Steve after dumping Duncan, despite barely knowing the former that long and the clear signs that he was bad news.
• Hypocrite: She gets angry at Duncan upon learning that he only asked her out as a part of a bet and that he was seemingly lying about liking her. This coming only minutes after she had admitted to Duncan that she only agreed to go out with him so she could escape her confined life.
• Iconic Outfit: Hallie's sexy pink velvet spaghetti strap minidress has been recognized as one of the most sought after outfits from the 90s.
• Idiot Ball: She has a couple of these moments throughout the film, which include throwing insults at a gang of tough rednecks and going off with a shady guy she just met.
• I Just Want to Be Beautiful: Played with. Hallie is an attractive sixteen year old girl, but she insists on wanting to look hot during her date with Duncan. After ditching the Secret Service, she has Duncan drive her to a clothing store to get some new clothes to wear. After trying many different outfits, she ends up choosing a sexy pink minidress.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: The whole premise of Hallie's character is that she despises her life as the President's daughter. All she wants is to simply be a normal teenager who can go to the mall or on a date without Secret Service watching her 24/7.
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: Downplayed. Hallie always had to dress conservatively in public due to her status as the President’s Daughter. While on her date with Duncan, she wants to get some new clothes before they get to the dance, insisting that she wants to look hot. After stopping at a clothing store, she ditches her bland outfit for a sexy pink spaghetti strap minidress. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize that dressing herself like a Ms. Fanservice tends to attract some unwanted male attention, which lands her and Duncan in trouble a few times during the film.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Fashionable: After showing off her new mini-dress, Hallie believes she needs to work on Duncan’s wardrobe, which she thinks lacks a “cohesive element.”
• It's All About Me: During their date, Hallie keeps roping Duncan into taking detours on their way to the dance, like shopping for new clothes (while taking a long time trying on outfits) and going to Club Alien. She later admits that part of the reason she agreed to go out with Duncan was a means to escape her confined life for just one night.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Even when she is wearing her pink minidress, Hallie goes to attack Steve when the latter tries to beat up Duncan.
• Letting Her Hair Down: When she leaves for her date with Duncan, Hallie wears her hair in a tight updo bun, showcasing. After ditching the Secret Service and getting a sexy new wardrobe, she removes her hairpin, literally letting her hair down. From then on, she embraces her wild and more adventurous side.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: Hallie lets her hair hang loose during the date.
• Ms. Fanservice: For a majority of the film, Hallie wears a sexy pink velvet mini-dress with spaghetti straps, a pink butterfly necklace and a pair of black high heel sandals with no pantyhose. This inevitably attracts the wrong attention to her.
• Naive Every Girl: Growing up in a protected environment, Hallie is almost completely oblivious to how things work in the real world, which forces her to learn the hard way that there are real consequences for her actions.
• Naughty by Night: As the President's daughter, Hallie is presented as the Seemingly-Wholesome '50s Girl, which she despises. During her date with Duncan, she wastes no time in finding the sexiest minidress to wear, and acting like the wild teenager she has always wanted to be.
• Not a Morning Person: She is quite annoyed that she has to get up early on Saturday, whining that normal people get to sleep in.
• Oh, Crap!: She has this moment when she sees the lead redneck step out of his truck to confront her and Duncan after she threw back insults at him.
• Pedal-to-the-Metal Shot: She gets one when she floors the gas on Duncan's car, speeding away before the leader of the rednecks confront them.
• Pink Is Erotic: Hallie's pink minidress. Not only does wearing it allow her to let out her wild and adventurous side, but also makes her a target for a few unwanted attention throughout the film.
• Pink Means Feminine: For a majority of the film, Hallie wears a hot pink velvet mini-dress. ^note  This was a deliberate choice for the character by the costume designer.
• Playing Sick: She pretends to choke on her food at breakfast to get out of having to attend her father’s campaign speech. Her parents don’t fall for it.
• Prim and Proper Bun: When she leaves for her date, her hair is styled in a sophisticated bun. After ditching the Secret Service and getting a sexy new wardrobe, she undoes the bun and lets her hair loose, embracing her wild side.
• Princesses Prefer Pink: Or in Hallie's case, the President's daughter. She chooses a hot pink minidress to wear on her date with Duncan.
• Proper Lady: The role Hallie has been forced to be for most of her life, much to her annoyance.
• Rebellious Princess: Or in Hallie's case, rebellious President's daughter. The moment she gets the chance, she provides an opening for her and Duncan to slip away from the Secret Service.
• Secretly Selfish: Near the end of the film, she confesses to Duncan that part of the reason she agreed to go out with him was so that she could have a chance to escape her confined lifestyle, even if it was just for one night.
• Sexophone: Hallie gets a sexy jazz tune when she emerges from a fitting room wearing her sexy pink minidress.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl: She feels no shame wearing such skimpy clothing. This is reflected in her decision to wear a sexy pink minidress on the date. She even does a sexy grand entrance, complete with a dramatic pulling back of the curtain as she steps out of the changing room, shaking her hair loose, and doing a 360 twirl so Duncan can get a good look at her.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: For the first act of the film, Hallie fits the bill with her very regal and conservative attire as the President's daughter. She deconstructs this in the second act, when she ditches her bland and modest outfit in favor of a sexy pink mini-dress. Played straight in the end when she goes on her second date with Duncan, this time wearing a conservative, yet casual outfit.
• Skewed Priorities: She agreed to be Duncan's date at his school dance, but becomes more focused on having fun and exploring the city nightlife as the film progresses.
• Spirited Young Lady: Duncan has trouble keeping up with her antics throughout the film.
• Super Gullible: Downplayed. She buys Duncan’s lies about him being into sports and being a karate expert. This gets her and Duncan into trouble later when Hallie insults a group of rednecks who hit on her by saying Duncan could kick their butts.
• Teens Love Shopping: The first thing Hallie does after slipping away from her father's fundraiser is go to a nearby mall, where she spends her time trying on hats. During the date, Hallie has Duncan make a brief stop on their way to the dance so she can get new clothes to wear at the dance after they ditched her Secret Service. Sometime later, Duncan is shown impatiently waiting for her to pick out a new outfit, but she insists that she can’t just pick one, as she wants to look good. As she tries on the last outfit, she hands Duncan dozens of shirts and dresses to return to clothing racks, much to his annoyance.
• Womanchild: Downplayed.
• Women Are Delicate: Despite what her father thinks, she is anything but delicate.
• You Look Familiar: Invoked in-universe when the store clerk says she looks like the President’s daughter. Not wanting to draw any attention to herself, Hallie laughs it off, saying she always thought the President’s daughter looked prettier than her before making a hasty exit.

Duncan Fletcher

Portrayed by: Will Friedle

• Bad Liar: During the date, he makes stuff about himself being a rock climber, a bungee jumping, and a black belt in karate to impress Hallie. And that the car they were driving belonged to him. Duncan would later confess these lies to Hallie during their date.
• Be Yourself
• Becoming the Mask: He starts to develop feelings for Hallie, despite only asking her out as part of a bet.
• Big Damn Hero: When he fights off Steve when the latter won't let Hallie leave.
• Cassandra Truth: he tries to warn Hallie that Steve is bad news.
• Chekhov's Skill: In the beginning of the film, Duncan is doing some basic magic tricks, which his friends think is lame. Later when he is confronted by a group of bikers, he shows them his magic tricks to avoid getting beaten up. The entire gang and Hallie are very impressed by his skills.
• Compulsive Liar: He feels the need to lie about himself to impress Hallie.
• Digging Yourself Deeper:
• Extreme Doormat: During the date, he finds himself in several situations after letting Hallie talk him into it. He lets her drive the car, goes to Club Alien because she wants to, buying expensive clothes for them both. He does try to take control once the car is stolen.
• Fatal Flaw:
• Give Geeks a Chance:
• Just the Way You Are: He says this about Hallie's outfit when she insists on getting a new one that will make her hot.
• Only in It for the Money: In truth he asked Hallie out as part of a bet with his friends and even raised the stakes when his friends don't believe his claim that his date is the President's Daughter. By the end of the film, he doesn't care about losing the bet, as he actually developed genuine feelings for Hallie.
• Stage Magician: Duncan uses his magic tricks to get him and Hallie out of trouble with a few bikers. Bonus points for Hallie actually being impressed by his magic.