Ok, when I said that she's like the lights are on but there's no one at home I did not mean it in the most common connotation of the idiom, ie that she's stupid. Like you pointed out - she has the papers to prove that she is one smart girl. There is no doubt about that at all.
What I meant was that for such a bright girl she sure makes a less than spiritual impression in talk show interviews. Sure, this can be because the talk show is so vacuous she doesn't even try, but still, to me she gives this impression of being a good girl who is going through the motions of being successful and intelligent like her parents taught her. She has been so successful and had such a good time that she has not yet had time to rebel against her parents - perhaps - I'm speculating - but it is pretty common among good girls (this is first hand knowledge). The side effect of this is that she seems to lack personality - and she's not very fetching. Unless when she's acting - when she is TO DIE for. I think she might be shy and young, that's the whole thing. I'm just not used to seeing such a perfect successful creature being shy like a normal teenager...
Actually, when I think about it, I really appreciate her for being such a non-wannabe. She's just been blessed by nature with all these wildly improbable qualities - one of the most beautiful girls in the world (no flaws whatsoever), who is a great actress (at 18!) and an IQ of over 140...how often does that happen?!? Not in the last 20 years, anyway.
Thanks for the recommendations! I will go get hold of Nola, which to me seems to be the most interesting. I thought TDAT was entertaining enough but...well...Emmy was the most striking feature of the film
