SHE'S ALL THAT
** (out of 4) - a fair movie
Release Date: January 29, 1999 Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Matthew Lillard, Usher Raymond, Anna Paquin, Elden Ratliff Directed by: Robert Iscove Distributed by: Miramax Films MPAA Rating: PG-13 (sexual content, crude humor, brief strong language, teen drinking) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1999/shesallthat.htm
For the first time since June of 1998's CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, a large collection of Gen-X talent masses together to produce something other than a slasher-horror flick. The change is a welcome one, if perhaps a bit awkward for Hollywood, for their talent is half a generation ahead of their target group. Now, formulas which have worked for the last five years must be revised for application to a new generation of youngsters born after 1980. SHE'S ALL THAT, the first bigscreen feature from veteran TV director Rob Iscove, tentatively tests the waters of teenage fanship before risking all on a muddled strategy.
The strategy is to borrow from other sweet-hearted romances -- most explicitly PRETTY WOMAN -- and mold them into the teenager/high school setting. This works initially, until the movie falls into a repetitive cycle. The end, which barely breaks from this cycle, is unsatisfying.
The repetitive feeling comes after the novelty of our characters has worn off. Zack Siler (Freddy Prinze Jr.) -- Harrison High soccer star, honor roll student, and heartthrob to every girl in his class -- comes back from Spring Break to find that his girlfriend Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) has just dumped him for Brock Hudson (Matthew Lillard), star of MTV's "The Real World." The break-up is a wooden stake to the heart for Zack, since Taylor is the most popular girl in school, but on the rebound he bets his friends that he could make any other girl just as popular. The guinea pig is Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook), recessive art student extraordinaire, and Zack has six weeks to turn her into the prom queen.
The R. Lee Flemming Jr. script seems worthless because the character types are so overused. Although Flemming goes to all lengths to paint Zack as a likeable guy -- which he accomplishes to some degree -- both Taylor and Laney become predictable. Neither of the three leads do anything substantial with their roles, and all are there simply for visual appeal. The supporting roles, as well as their interactions with the main cast, manage to add some humor which helps to break the monotony.
For the most part, the movie has a surreal or unrealistic feeling to it. Teenagers are likely to eat it up, though, and that's what counts. SHE'S ALL THAT works on its level, just not anywhere else.
all contents © 1999 Craig Roush
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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