As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I am not a fan of the teen genre. Many of the films contain a stereotypical premise: "The jock/hunk, the big-breasted blonde everyone wants, the token ethic kid, the nerdy boy/girl, etc." Many of the teen flicks produced in recent years have capitalized onthis formula. for some reason though, "She's All That," while containing some of these elements, works.
Zach Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr., in his breakthrough role) is a guy that has guys wanting to be him, and girls wanting to nail him: He's rich, smart, athletic, has a popular girlfriend, and is student body president. Everything is going great for Zach, although he hasn't chosen a college yet. The film begins when Harrison High School is gearing back up again after spring break. Zach is looking for girlfriend Taylor Vaughn (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe), who is no where to be found. All of a sudden, she breezes into his prescence--with a tatoo, no less--and dumps Zach. It so happens that she has fallen for Brock Hudson, the "dyslexic volleyball player" (who is also fictional) from "The Real World" (played brilliantly by Matthew Lillard) that was ultimately kicked out of the house. Zach makes a bet with friends Dean (Paul Walker) and Preston (Dule Hill) that he can make over any girl and make her the Prom Queen in six weeks. The "lucky" girl is none other than Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook), a misfit art student. Zach slowly wins over her trust, and begins to show her a good time. Laney, who put up a wall to avoid all of the popular kids, begins to trust Zach. When Zach begins to fall for Laney, he has to remember that this was all a bet. What will he do?
I wasn't all for seeing "She's All That" originally. I saw this film in January 1999 after a grueling week of high school midterms (I was a sophomore) as a means to hang out with my friends. I didn't know who Freddie Prinze Jr. was, and had unknowlingly seen him in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" the year before. After seeing this film, I fell in love with the lanky dark-haired teen heartthrob that girls have lusted over for several years now right then and there, and have liked him ever since. Since I am not a teen movie fan (with minor exceptions--I like "Breakfast Club," "Fast times @ Ridgemont High"--my all-time favorite, and "Down to You"), I wasn't drawn to this film. After seeing it though, I pushed past that conception to allow this to be a treasured film. The acting in it is decent, and each character pulls his or her weight. I have to admit that while Zach is my favorite character in this movie, the scenes that Matthew Lillard did truly stole the show! Lillard is so funny, and he really acts like a doofus, obviously something he's good at. I remember Jodi Lynn O'Keefe from "Step By Step," but I had never heard of Rachel Leigh Cook (I heard she was in "Carpool").
My favorite scenes are the opening scene with Taylor dumping Zach and her explanation, which goes into a flashback scene at MTV's spring break celebration, where she meets Brock Hudson (Zach: Brock Hudson?! What kind of a name is "Brock Hudson"? Taylor: And what kind of a name is "Zach?" Besides, Brock is from "The Real World." Zach: What, like Resceda? Taylor: No, "The Real World," second season), the "Real World" nightmare scene, Brock Hudson's crazy dance to Rick James' "Give it to Me Baby," the prom with the cool "Rockefeller Skank" dance, the scene where Laney comes down the stairs before going to the party, the beach scene, and the end (I won't give this away, but its a treat for the ladies!) My favorite line has to be the one that Taylor says to Zach--"You didn't really think I was going off to college and still be dating you, did you? Oh, you did?. How sweet!" and the reversal of this line when Brock was breaking up with Taylor--"You didn't think I was going to leave for All Star Road Rules and still be dating you, did you? Oh, you did. How sweet!"
I own the DVD of this movie, and quite frankly, it was worth the $19.99 I paid for it. This was a great film, and I am disappointed that more people didn't give it a chance. Kudos to those who did, this film was worth watching. This is a great "chick flick" or date film that's sure to appeal to both guys and girls. With a great cast of young talent and a story that sure to invoke plenty of "Ohhh, how cute!" moments from gushing teenage girls, this is a teen film that is sure to be a favorite for years to come. See this film and find out why it's "all that!"
Zach Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr., in his breakthrough role) is a guy that has guys wanting to be him, and girls wanting to nail him: He's rich, smart, athletic, has a popular girlfriend, and is student body president. Everything is going great for Zach, although he hasn't chosen a college yet. The film begins when Harrison High School is gearing back up again after spring break. Zach is looking for girlfriend Taylor Vaughn (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe), who is no where to be found. All of a sudden, she breezes into his prescence--with a tatoo, no less--and dumps Zach. It so happens that she has fallen for Brock Hudson, the "dyslexic volleyball player" (who is also fictional) from "The Real World" (played brilliantly by Matthew Lillard) that was ultimately kicked out of the house. Zach makes a bet with friends Dean (Paul Walker) and Preston (Dule Hill) that he can make over any girl and make her the Prom Queen in six weeks. The "lucky" girl is none other than Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook), a misfit art student. Zach slowly wins over her trust, and begins to show her a good time. Laney, who put up a wall to avoid all of the popular kids, begins to trust Zach. When Zach begins to fall for Laney, he has to remember that this was all a bet. What will he do?
I wasn't all for seeing "She's All That" originally. I saw this film in January 1999 after a grueling week of high school midterms (I was a sophomore) as a means to hang out with my friends. I didn't know who Freddie Prinze Jr. was, and had unknowlingly seen him in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" the year before. After seeing this film, I fell in love with the lanky dark-haired teen heartthrob that girls have lusted over for several years now right then and there, and have liked him ever since. Since I am not a teen movie fan (with minor exceptions--I like "Breakfast Club," "Fast times @ Ridgemont High"--my all-time favorite, and "Down to You"), I wasn't drawn to this film. After seeing it though, I pushed past that conception to allow this to be a treasured film. The acting in it is decent, and each character pulls his or her weight. I have to admit that while Zach is my favorite character in this movie, the scenes that Matthew Lillard did truly stole the show! Lillard is so funny, and he really acts like a doofus, obviously something he's good at. I remember Jodi Lynn O'Keefe from "Step By Step," but I had never heard of Rachel Leigh Cook (I heard she was in "Carpool").
My favorite scenes are the opening scene with Taylor dumping Zach and her explanation, which goes into a flashback scene at MTV's spring break celebration, where she meets Brock Hudson (Zach: Brock Hudson?! What kind of a name is "Brock Hudson"? Taylor: And what kind of a name is "Zach?" Besides, Brock is from "The Real World." Zach: What, like Resceda? Taylor: No, "The Real World," second season), the "Real World" nightmare scene, Brock Hudson's crazy dance to Rick James' "Give it to Me Baby," the prom with the cool "Rockefeller Skank" dance, the scene where Laney comes down the stairs before going to the party, the beach scene, and the end (I won't give this away, but its a treat for the ladies!) My favorite line has to be the one that Taylor says to Zach--"You didn't really think I was going off to college and still be dating you, did you? Oh, you did?. How sweet!" and the reversal of this line when Brock was breaking up with Taylor--"You didn't think I was going to leave for All Star Road Rules and still be dating you, did you? Oh, you did. How sweet!"
I own the DVD of this movie, and quite frankly, it was worth the $19.99 I paid for it. This was a great film, and I am disappointed that more people didn't give it a chance. Kudos to those who did, this film was worth watching. This is a great "chick flick" or date film that's sure to appeal to both guys and girls. With a great cast of young talent and a story that sure to invoke plenty of "Ohhh, how cute!" moments from gushing teenage girls, this is a teen film that is sure to be a favorite for years to come. See this film and find out why it's "all that!"