I have a little motto in life. If the preview for a movie shows up on MTV, then it's a bad movie. Unfortunately, I didn't have cable so I ended up wasting money and time on the clunker "She's All That". But why is it a clunker, you ask? Isn't it just good family fun? Read on and see.
The story has Zach Siler (Freddie Prinze, Jr. - a VERY disappointing role for him) presented as the coolest guy in school. A smart jock who has it all, including Taylor Vaughan (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), the heartthrob of the school. That is, until she dumps him for Real World alumnus Brock Hudson (Matthew Lilard, his usual mugging self). Knocked from heaven's skies into an all-time low, Major Tom (ahem, I mean Zach) makes a bet with two-faced pal Dean Sampson (Paul Walker) that he can transform arty, nerdy Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook - whom I found attractive for some damn reason) into the prom queen. The wager is not important (in my opinion). Anyway, you get the idea - it's Pygmalion time. Boy changes girl and then falls in love with girl, lots of roadblocks tossed in, and all that tripe.
But I think this movie should not be seen by impressionable teens. Why? The number one reason is that the message of this movie is terrible, terrible, terrible! Laney does some token resistance before allowing Mr. Siler to make her over completely, and then everyone stands behind her, a.k.a. "Inner beauty can only take you so far" (my quote of the week, from a Maidenform ad). That and the fact that Taylor (whom is undeniably the bad girl) trashed Laney in front of the school at a party, a.k.a. "Victimology works".
There's some other reasons. This movie is racist! Yes, it's set in Beverly Hills, but there are Asians and Latinos in Beverly Hills! There's even some black people who don't act like white people! The characters are shallow as hell, they can be defined by simple phrases, and even nouns. Zach's the jock with a heart, Taylor is the bitch, Laney is the wallflower with a secret (her mother died when she was young - pity her), and Brock Hudson is a freak. And there's also what could be the stupidest dance sequence in history. At the prom, the students perform what appears to be a moving Macarena to Fatboy Slim's inescapable and irritating "Rockafeller Skank". I think I had a seizure in the movie.
"She's All That" is not all that. It's a bad, bad, bad movie. Don't watch it. Don't recommend it for any teenage relatives you might have. And do NOT do that Rockafeller dance. [ 0 ]
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