She's All That Review
by Joe Barlow (jbarlow AT earthling DOT net)February 5th, 1999
SHE'S ALL THAT
A movie review by Joe Barlow
(c) Copyright 1999
STARRING: Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Paul Walker
DIRECTOR: Robert Iscove
WRITER: Lee Fleming
RATED: PG-13
RELEASED: 1999
RATING: ** 1/2 (out of a possible ****)
I'll preface my comments on Robert Iscove's new
teen comedy "She's All That" with a disclaimer: I am definitely not the film's target audience, and my review
will probably reflect that. It's been nearly a decade since I graduated from high school, and in the intervening years I've been forced to learn about finances, insurance and responsibility. Wondering how the rent is going to be
paid and when I'll have the money to get the car fixed,
the once burning issue of "Who am I going to the prom
with?" no longer seems quite so important. I, along with
the rest of the people in my age group, have moved on to other things; as such, the characters in most high-school comedies seem alien to me. Anxiety over the prom? I
simply can't relate. Afraid of not getting into the college of your choice? Sorry, that's too far in my past for me
to empathize with you.
With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to
find myself enjoying much of "She's All That." Slick and humorous, the film has a lot of fun with its well-worn
plot; watching it, we get the sense that everyone involved with the movie is having a good time. Their enthusiasm
is contagious, and it's a good thing: this agreeable tone
of goofiness is largely responsible for the film's charm.
As is required by the plot of all teenager-themed
movies, our hero, Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.) has it
all: a handsome face, a beautiful girlfriend, the adoration of his classmates, and so many universities banging on
his door that he can't decide which one to attend. But things soon begin to unravel when his girlfriend Taylor
(Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) breaks up with him to date TV star
Brock Hudson (played with pleasantly obnoxious gusto by SCREAM's Matthew Lillard), who she met at a beach
party. (The program that the Brock character stars on
is none other than MTV's "The Real World," a great
satirical wink to modern teen culture. The phony clips
of Brock appearing on the show generated some of the
film's biggest laughs.)
Zack's friends offer their condolences over the
breakup, but he shrugs it off. His ego is such that he believes all the girls in the school will be lining up to
go out with him; after all, being Zack's girlfriend is a
free ticket to popularity. His friend Dean (Paul Walker) expresses doubt about Zack's claim, which leads to a
bet: Dean will select one of the girls in the school, and Zack will try to turn her into the next Prom Queen.
Dean eventually selects the shy, introspective Laney
Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook), a timid artist who seems
to have little interest in anything other than painting
and spending time alone.
Zack wastes no time in trying to get to know
Laney; although she's wary of his intentions at first ("What is this, some kind of dork outreach program?" she accuses), she gradually begins to warm to him. Their relationship begins, although Laney doesn't know that Zack is merely trying to win a bet. Will Zack fall in love with her by the end of the story? Does the Pope wear a goofy hat?
As I said, nothing about the plot is the least bit
original; it's the spiritual descendent of "My Fair Lady," but without the music. The charm of the story stems
not from the subject matter, but from the playful nature
of the performances and writing. The film's wit is surprisingly sharp, allowing the characters to throw
zingers at each others like refugees from a Kevin Smith
film. (Taylor, determined to beat Laney in the race for
Prom Queen, gets the funniest quip: "I could win this
contest in fluroscent lighting, on the first day of my period, clothed in T.J. Max.") And another scene features
an art show, where astoundingly deep poetry is recited:
"My soul is an island. My car is a Ford." That's the
sort of ridiculous dialogue that we're dealing with.
Smile. Go ahead. You know you want to.
The characterization isn't bad either, even for
those with limited screen time. Laney's father, played
with warmth by Kevin Pollack, is fascinating in his
own right; I liked his clever "warm-fuzzy" speech about living one's life to the fullest. And Laney, as played by Rachael Leigh Cook, has a wide range of conflicting
thoughts and emotions over the events which unfurl in her life during the course of the film. Only Taylor and Brock feel like one-note characters/villains (though I'm sure it was intended with Brock; Matthew Lillard's performance
is too much fun for me to call it "shallow.")
One scene does much to counteract the pseudo-
intellectual tone of the film, however: a gratuitous scene which involves a pizza topping you won't find on any
menu. I'll say no more, except to lament the sudden shift
in both the tone and IQ of the story. It's a shame that
a movie which is surprisingly smart for so much of its duration felt the sudden urge to cater to the lowest
common denominator, a criticism I also leveled at "There's Something About Mary." Other scenes are nearly as
painful, including a gag in which an elderly man invites Laney, who works at a fast-food restaurant, to "supersize
his balls." (They're meatballs, see. Har har.)
The movie also hits one of my personal pet peeves,
as those of you who've been reading my reviews for awhile
can attest: beautiful actresses playing characters who are supposed to be ugly. The lovely Janeane Girafalo began
this unfortunate trend in "The Truth About Cats and Dogs"; Rachael Leigh Cook continues it here. Are we really
supposed to believe that someone this attractive has been oblivious to her beauty for so long? And that the instant she takes her glasses off, she, a social outcast, is immediately loved by everyone?
Never mind. "She's All That" is pleasant enough entertainment, if hardly a masterpiece. I'm not sure that I can go so far as to actually recommend it to anyone over the age of eighteen, but I do commend director Iscove and screenwriter Fleming for coming so close to the mark. I admit, I had a good time. It seems there may still be
some life in the teen comedy, a genre I had long since dismissed. Semper fi, Zack and Laney.
******************************************************* Copyright (c)1999 by Joe Barlow. This review may not be reproduced without the written consent of the author.
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