100 Girls

Starring: Jonathan Tucker, Emmanuelle Chriqui, James DeBello, Katherine Heigl, Larisa Oleynik, Jaime Pressly, Marissa Ribisi
Directed by: Michael Davis
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2000

Times Seen:
Tim: 2


Summary: A college student (Jonathan Tucker) has a romantic encounter with a girl in an elevator during the blackout. He immediately falls in love with her, but she leaves before he can get her name or see her face. Now, he must search through 100 girls in the dorm to find his true love.

Review:

Tim: These types of movies- on the surface- feel like they are a dime-a-dozen. And yet, Michael Davis' 100 Girls manages to stand apart because it is about so much more than a guy trying to find a girl. Yes, that is the basis of the movie, and this compelling mystery keeps us engaged. But, as much as this is a movie about a guy and girl, it is really about a college boy growing into a man. This transformation is not always easy- it is difficult, hilarious, awkward, and silly- but it gives this movie some unexpected substance. This is a movie as much about the search for wisdom as it is the search for a girl. For that reason, I liked it more than I expected.

Michael Davis also assembles a fairly impressive cast. Jonathan Tucker is very good in the lead role. He manages all the different emotions he's called upon to show quite well, and is engaging as the main character. He is a bit goofy, but has a good heart, and so, we become invested in his character. He has a few everyman qualities, which help his performance. The supporting cast of females is pretty good, too. Emmanuelle Chriqui gives a good performance. I was actually surprised I liked her as much as I did. It was good to see Katherine Heigl and Larisa Oleynik as well (what ever happened to Oleynik?) and I thought they gave good performances. Jaime Pressly wasn't terrible, but I am generally not a fan of her.

While the movie does feature some very funny moments, it also has some bizarre, unfunny ones as well. I like the surreal, imagined moments, but not all of them work. One of this film's strengths is that it is not a straightforward, predictable movie, but things come out of left field, keeping the movie interesting and unique. However, Davis needed to show a bit more restraint with some of these. The almost-rape-tongue scene was not really needed, neither was the video about the female body. Moments like these prolong the main story, and detracted more than helped the film. Still, I like the different quality of this movie- it made it unique, and gave me the impression that I hadn't seen this story a dozen times already.

Romantic comedies need to separate themselves from the legion others in the genre to be really successful. This movie is a teen sex comedy, but it is also much more. It is a movie that has both heart and brains, which is pretty rare in Hollywood these days. I know this is not a perfect movie, and it certainly has its faults, but 100 Girls was at least an attempt to do something different and unique, and I really appreciated that. I enjoy watching this movie (maybe more than I should), and I am willing to overlook some of its flaws.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Eight Days a Week, Girl Fever, 27 Dresses, Knocked Up, 10 Things I Hate About You