She's All That

Starring: Freddie Prinze, Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard, Paul Walker, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Kevin Pollak, Anna Paquin, Kieran Culkin, Usher Raymond, Lil' Kim, Gabrielle Union, Elden Henson, Tim Matheson, Sarah Michelle Gellar (cameo)
Directed by: Robert Iscove
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: After being dumped by his girlfriend (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), the most popular guy (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) in school makes a bet with his friend (Paul Walker) that in six weeks, he can change any girl into the Prom Queen. They choose Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook), an awkward, unpopular art student. As the transformation begins to take place, however, unexpected feelings begin to arise.

Review:

Tim: She's All That is probably a movie I should hate. Sure, it is incredibly easy to point out this film's flaws, to make fun of its absurdities, and to call it a failure. However, I don't think that is true. I agree that this is not exactly a good movie- but it is much, much closer than most people give it credit. If it were not for a few big flaws, this could have been a very, very good movie. While this modern update of Pygmalion doesn't exactly work as planned, it is still fairly entertaining, and all in all, a decent high school romantic comedy.

I admit I am a bit puzzled as to why I enjoyed this movie. As I mentioned, it is easy to point out the flaws. We could talk about the wooden or over-the-top performances, about the ridiculous, hard-to-believe events, or some of the worst scenes in recent memory. However, despite all of this, there is something to this movie. Perhaps it is because of the original source material, but this movie feels like it has a bit more substance than similar films in the genre. No, this isn't as good as films like Varsity Blues or Can't Hardly Wait, but there is something to it as well.

I admit I go against my better judgment in actually liking both Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. Prinze isn't exactly a talent thespian, but I bought his performance here. He came across as a good guy, and I found myself intrigued by his character. I didn't love him, but I vested in him and I was rooting for him. I also really liked Cook. Her transformation is fairly impressive, and again, while not the best actress, I think she brought some heart to the film. I genuinely enjoyed Prinze and Cook together. I think they had some good chemistry, and I had fun watching their relationship (however predictable it might be).

The supporting cast was fairly good as well. Matthew Lillard is way too over-the-top, but he makes it work because of his personality. Paul Walker was a bit bland, but believable in his jerk manner. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe was actually one of the worst aspects of this film- I thought she was terrible and her acting atrocious. I didn't believe her as a real person at all. I did love seeing Kevin Pollak and Anna Paquin in small roles, and Kieran Culkin also had a few strong moments. The rest of the cast is populated with familiar faces, which helped this movie.

While I somewhat liked this movie, I have to admit there are many flaws as well. The whole film is horribly predictable. Trust me, there are no surprises here, from start to finish. Everything is basically a cliche, and rolls out exactly as you would expect. Plus, there are some mind-boggingly awful moments. The bullies-eating-the-tainted-pizza (I have to use a euphemism here) is one of the worst moments in the history of film. It is such a stupid, absurd, needless moment, and it hurts the film. The bizarre choreographed dance scene at the Prom was also completely ridiculous and unnecessary (and only added to make the film a few minutes longer.... bad choice). It is moments like these that prevent this film from actually being good.

However, I can somewhat (but not completely) forgive these sins. No, She's All That is not a good movie, I admit that. However, I also admit that in a very guilty way, I enjoyed long stretches of this film. I liked it far better than I probably should have. This isn't a good movie, and it isn't a particularly strong high school romantic comedy. However, it is agonizingly close.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Varsity Blues, Not Another Teen Movie, Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, Can't Hardly Wait