GET OVER IT By Pete Croatto Copyright 2001 filmcritic.com filmcritic.com
Get Over It at least has one thing that a lot of other high school movies don't: earnest, affable leads. It also has all of the key flaws that make going to teen movies so risky: an almost unbearable goofy streak, a plot with the strength of a newborn fawn, and bland supporting characters.
The movie makes the same mistakes over and over and eventually drains one's patience, but yet I stuck around because the leads played kids I would have liked to know.
Kirsten Dunst (Bring It On) plays an intelligent, friendly musical talent, who for reasons never explained in the movie, helps a schoolmate (Ben Foster) win back the girlfriend (Melissa Sagemiller) who dumped him. Dunst coaches him through an audition for the school musical, which stars Sagemiller.
But nothing comes easy. Dunst and Foster start falling in love, while Foster still has the hots for Sagemiller, who is seeing her co-star (Shane West). Meanwhile, events conspire to force Foster to star opposite the two girls he has feelings for.
Dunst and Foster (a real-life couple) are perfect for the leads. He has a very appealing, laid-back charm, while she displays a sweet, concerned demeanor that makes her such a good pal here. Together, they're fun to watch.
Unfortunately, most of their (and the movie's) appeal gets lost among the stupid activities that dominate the plot--a chronically humping dog, punch spiked with vomit, a trip to a sex club. Screenwriter R. Lee Fleming seemingly wants his teenage audience constantly occupied, an insulting and disrupting tactic.
By going the crass route, Fleming neglects developing most of the supporting characters. Foster's friends (Colin Hanks and "Thong Song" crooner Sisqo) don't have personalities. They're just extras with more face time. Dunst's friend (Mila Kunis from That 70's Show) appears to have been cast simply because they needed at least one more attractive girl to get the green light from Miramax.
Foster's sex therapist parents (Swoosie Kurtz and Ed Begley Jr.) are also poorly written. They readily accept their son's sexual/social adventures. Boring. It'd be funnier if the parents were completely shocked at everything their son did. The only effective supporting actor is Martin Short, who plays his typically unhinged self as the school musical's obnoxious director.
Here he's doing a variation of his flamboyantly blunt talent agent from The Big Picture, but it's still fun to watch him dance like a Backstreet Boy and to perkily tell Dunst of her performance: "Yes, it's just not very good."
Short's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (think Grease meets Shakespeare) is one of the movie's bright spots, as is a musical number featuring Foster walking in lovelorn shame as singer Vitamin C and an array of characters dance to "Love Will Keep Us Together."
Those moments of bubbly charm come in fits and starts, and the wait requires lots of patience. Either that or a predilection for watching dogs hump objects.
RATING: **1/2
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Tommy O'Haver Producers: Michael Burns, Marc Butan, Paul Feldsher, Richard Hull, Louise Rosner Writer: R. Lee Fleming Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Shane West, Martin Short, Sisqo, Colin Hanks, Mila Kunis, Swoosie Kurtz, Ed Begley Jr.
http://www.alloy.com/getoverit
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