Material Girls

Two blithely shallow cosmetic-company heiresses (sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff) have to grow up in a hurry when a scandal over their late father’s business surfaces just in time for a hostile takeover attempt from a rival tycoon (Anjelica Huston, channeling Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada). Three writers (John Quaintance, Jessica O’Toole and Amy Rardin) and 15 producers (including Hilary and mom Susan Duff): All those cooks, and the movie is still only half-baked. Director Martha Coolidge keeps the pace sprightly, and the supporting cast (Brent Spiner, Lukas Haas, Maria Conchita Alonso and Obba Babatundé) has fun, but the film has “vanity production” written all over it. The Duff sisters are pleasant personalities, but the vapid bimbosity of their characters quickly becomes grating.