She's All That (1999)

Directed by: Robert Iscove

Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard, Paul Walker, Kevin Pollack, Kieran Culkin, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Dule Hill, Gabrielle Union, Usher Raymond and Anna Paquin

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Teen Comedy, Romantic Comedy

Zack Siler (Prinze Jr.) thinks he has it made. He’s a soccer star, the most popular guy in school, has his choice of Ivy League colleges, and the hottest girlfriend. When Taylor (O’Keefe) dumps him for reality TV star Brock Hudson (Lillard), Zack is shocked and hurt. This doesn’t stop him from making a bet with his friend Dean (Walker) that he could take any girl in school and turn her into the prom queen. Enter Laney Boggs (Cook), the solitary art freak who is more interested in the world’s problems than prom. Will Zack stick to the bet, or will he realize there’s more to Laney than meets the eye?

While this movie is cute, it has always struck a negative chord with me. It’s never been a personal favorite of mine, even when I was a young teen. I don’t know why, exactly. Maybe it’s because Zack doesn’t really seem to fall for Laney until after she’s made over to fit society’s idea of beautiful. Maybe it’s because Laney can’t seem to stand up for herself when she needs to most. I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason this movie never charmed me.

For one thing, the characters are all rather clichéd, not seeming to have any true personality. The only character who is the least bit different from the usual is Laney. She’s an artist, a feminist, someone who cares about world issues. These are the reasons kids her age avoid her – because she focuses on things that they don’t want to think about. They just want to kick back and have fun, not worry about real world issues (unless it is the latest episode of the MTV reality series). Zack could easily be interchanged with half the other romantic lead male characters of the 90s teen comedies. Then, of course, there’s his jerkwad best friend (Dean), his nice guy friend (Preston), the bitchy, self-involved popular girl (Taylor), her lackeys, and the comic relief (Brock). None have distinct personalities; they all kind of blend together.

The acting is decent. Normally, I rag on Freddie Prinze Jr.’s acting, but the male lead in romantic comedies is all he seems to know how to do. In these films he’s cute and charming; it’s when he tries to be serious that I feel he falls flat. Rachael Leigh Cook is adorable and she brings the right amount of attitude to Laney Boggs – well as much as the script allowed, anyway. I could see Laney punching Taylor in the face or shoving her into the pool at Preston’s party, but apparently the screenwriters didn’t see that fitting her character. Matthew Lillard was hilarious as Brock Hudson, and honestly his dance scene is the only reason I’ve watched this film more than once. The other characters are really too minor to note.

I think the plot itself may be what bothers me the most about this film. The audience finds itself rooting for Zack and Laney to get together, even though it’s known that Zack is spending time with her to win a bet. Yes, we are aware that he’s falling for her, of course he is, that’s the formula of the genre. Still, he doesn’t really see her for her until she changes to fit his ideal. After her make over, she may still wear her paint spattered clothes, but her style is more tuned in to popular fashion. She also fixes her hair every day, wears make up when she never did before, and stops wearing her glasses. Worst of all, he gets her to open up to him, when there’s still a good chance he’s using her to win the bet. As someone who is a lot like Laney, opening up to new people terrifies me, especially since I’ve been hurt so many times. I feel for her, and understand why she doesn’t trust easily, so when she opens up to him, I fear for her.

The ending is fairly predictable, but if you’ve seen one teen romantic comedy, you’ve seen them all. Also, am I the only one who finds the choreographed Senior Class Dance a little awkward and unrealistic?

There are a few things I noticed in the film that, as a Buffy fan, made me geek out a little. Sarah Michelle Gellar can easily be spotted in the cafeteria scene. The prom photographer was a villain in the episode “Anne.” Also, the high school where this film was shot is the same high school that was used as Sunnydale High.

Overall, it’s not a bad flick, but it is clichéd and predictable. Laney is the only character I really like, and even she could use some work. The film is cute, but nothing special.

6/10

The Switch (2010)

Directed by: Josh Gordon and Will Speck

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis, Thomas Robinson and Patrick Wilson

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Drama

Wally Mars is shocked by the news that his best friend, Kassie, has decided to have a baby on her own. Having had little luck in relationships, she has realized her biological clock is ticking and has decided to take matters into her own hands. Unable to admit his true feelings for Kassie, Wally gets blackout drunk at the party she has to celebrate her insemination. Kassie moves back home to have help raising her child, leaving Wally in New York. Seven years later, she returns, and Wally comes to the realization that he very well could be the father of Kassie’s son, Sebastian.

The plot is fairly original, even if, in places, it is gross. It mixes the best friend’s unrealized love, a drunken mistake, and a love triangle into something a little fresher than we’re used to. It is still a formulaic romantic comedy, following the same path they all do – everything going great, big bump that breaks up the couple, and climactic ending – but at least the story is good enough that it doesn’t really matter.

The cast is great. If there’s one thing that Jennifer Aniston knows how to do, it’s comedy – even if she’s often the straight woman to everyone else’s quirks. She’s believable as a woman unlucky in love and she plays a great mother. Jason Bateman is hilarious, bringing all of Wally’s neuroses to life and making him sympathetic despite what the audience knows he has done. Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis are fun as the best friends of Wally and Kassie respectively. Patrick Wilson probably had the least to work with, and his character was boring, but I think that was the point. He’s bland, he talks too much, and he’s in the way of Wally and Kassie’s potential love.

The story managed to combine comedy and drama very well. I could laugh along with the silly things like sperm shaped confetti, pretty much anything coming out of Jeff Goldblum or Juliette Lewis’s mouths, and the neurotic tendencies of both Wally and Sebastian. There are also very touching moments, such as Wally and Sebastian’s bonding time, Sebastian’s explanation for his picture frame collection, and the moment he and Wally are ripped apart. It could have just been my hormones, but I was almost crying in a couple of these scenes. Bateman and Thomas Robinson (Sebastian) have a great chemistry.

Overall, I thought it was a cute flick with a nice balance of comedy, romance, and drama. The plot is something we haven’t seen before and the cast really brings it to life.

7/10

Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

Directed by: Ron Underwood

Starring: Melissa Joan Hart, Mario Lopez, Timothy Bottoms, Markie Post, Kyle Howard, and June Lockhart

Genre: Made for TV, Romantic Comedy, Christmas

Rated: Not Rated

Trudie Chandler is having a terrible day. Everything seems to be going wrong, from her Do-It-Yourself perm frying her hair to missing an important job interview. On top of that, the handsome, successful boyfriend she was bringing home for Christmas breaks up with her. In the midst of a nervous breakdown, Trudie kidnaps David Martin, a customer at the diner where she works, and drags him off to spend the holidays with her equally crazy family.

I have a soft spot for this movie, and I’m really not sure why. It’s a cheesy ABC Family Christmas movie that seems to promote Stockholm Syndrome and kidnapping as the new dating. Yet, it’s so silly, I can’t help but enjoy it.

Melissa Joan Hart is quite funny as the mess that is Trudie. The poor girl can’t catch a break, and she is sick of disappointing her parents time and time again. She kidnaps David and forces him to play along as her boyfriend, Nick, so her parents won’t think she’s a failure yet again. Her desperation does make the viewer pity her, and seeing the way her parents treat her, one can almost sympathize with her temporary insanity. Even David sees this, which is why he begins to care for her on some level.

David’s character is very sweet and charming. He’s more than just the pretty rich boy she thinks he is. It's sad to me that she kidnaps him, and he is more loving toward her than her own family is – with the exception of her brother. Her mother keeps saying Trudie is “trying to ruin Christmas” and her Dad is on her case about the missed job interview. No one has faith in her first true love – art, so they push her to marry rich so she’ll have someone to take care of her. I wanted to knock her parents’ heads together for the way they treat all three of the kids.

The highlights of the movie for me are the horny gas station attendant, David’s girlfriend’s maid, and June Lockhart as Grandma. All made me laugh with their antics. The gas station attendant giving her free fuzzy handcuffs and grumbling about how David was a lucky bastard, Maria torturing her boss and Grandma pulling a gun on the cops all had me giggling.

The ending is predictable and cheesy the way all romantic comedies are, yet I still find it cute. Trudie gets a taste of her own medicine and her family stops being jerks. Happy endings are a must for a romantic comedy.

Overall, it’s a fun little movie if you can suspend disbelief and just go with it. It does have a lot of adult humor, so it’s probably better suited for ages twelve and above, despite it being a part of the ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas countdown. It is a cute film, despite the sexual innuendo, and is a bit of light-hearted fluff to get viewers into the Holiday spirit.

6/10

12 Dates of Christmas (2011)

Directed by: James Hayman

Starring: Amy Smart, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Jayne Eastwood, Benjamin Ayres, and Laura Miyata

Genre: Made for TV, Romance, Comedy, Christmas

Rated: Not rated

Following in the same vein as Groundhog Day and Christmas Every Day, 12 Dates of Christmas is about a young woman named Kate who is stuck in the past. She is successful in her career, but her love life is a mess. She is still hung up on a guy she dated a while ago, and can’t seem to let go of him when he has clearly moved on. Meanwhile, her stepmother has set her up on a blind date with a sweet, handsome, successful man, and Kate continues to screw it up. Luckily for her, a mystical force has intervened and she will relive Christmas Eve over and over until she gets it right.

I really did not like Kate at first. She was rude to everyone and so stuck in the past that I wanted to slap her. She was rude to her neighbor, who is just lonely and trying to be nice. She treats her stepmother like crap for no other reason than she is not Kate’s mother. Not to mention, she shows up on her date with Miles and practically ignores him for two minutes before rushing off to meet up with her ex. Eventually, she does begin to change things, and gradually becomes more likable, but that isn’t until about the halfway point, so until then the audience has to suffer through her idiocy.

Miles is the compilation of perfection that can only exist in a romantic comedy – handsome, successful, sweet, intelligent, and genuinely loving. Yet Kate turns her nose up at him time and again in her quest for perfection. She is so hooked on the idea of her ex that she can’t see the wonderful man before her.

I began to get frustrated with the plot after a while. She has the cutest date with him about sixty percent through the movie, but obviously the film can’t end there, so she has to relive another six days until we get to the end of the movie. There was so much she seemed to have to do to end the cursed repetition that it was a little overwhelming.

There were also some scenes that were unnecessary and/or confusing. I didn’t think her shopping spree on one of the days did anything for the film and could have easily been cut. She also seemed to have her ex’s dog on all of the days, even when he doesn’t show up at her apartment and give her the dog for the evening. Somehow the dog is just magically there. Also, I want to know what happens with Michael’s puppy.

What I did like about this movie was its message about trying to control the world around you. Life doesn’t work on a schedule; you cannot plan out every major event. Love happens, death happens, friends come and go; all you can do is make the most of each day. Don’t close yourself off to new relationships whether they be neighborly, friendly, familial or romantic, because you’ll never find your way to happiness. It is a very true message, and a lesson the main character desperately needed to learn.

Overall, it’s a fairly predictable, cute little romance, with some character development. It does have a few unanswered questions, and the leading lady is incredibly annoying at first. It’s a little cheesy and could have used some more editing, but it’s not a bad little movie and it has a nice message.

5.5/10

Spooner (2009)

Directed by: Drake Doremus

Starring: Matthew Lillard, Nora Zehetner, Shea Whigham, Kate Burton, and Christopher McDonald

Genre: Independent, Romantic Comedy, Comedy

Rated: R

Socially awkward Herman Spooner (Lillard) is facing eviction from his parents’ house on his 30^th birthday. The closer he gets to the big day, the more he tries to stall. With a job he’s not very good at and no friends to speak of, his parents’ home is a comfort to him. Then he meets Rose (Zehetner), a pretty, goofy girl willing to go after what she wants, and he realizes he has to do the same if he wants to keep her.

This is a cute little indie romance. Both of the lead characters are quirky, though Spooner definitely is moreso than Rose. She’s carefree and willing to follow her dreams, wherever they may lead her. He has a rough time communicating with anyone and is something of a joke to his colleagues. Yet she finds his social awkwardness charming, and the audience can’t help but feel the same.

What makes this film work is the chemistry between Lillard and Zehetner. They seem to really be enjoying each other’s company, and are almost kids again when they’re together. Burton and McDonald (who also played Lillard’s father in SLC Punk!) really feel like loving but fed up parents. They want to maintain a strong relationship with their son, but feel that it really is time for him to leave the nest and get on with his life. The only unlikable characters are the knuckleheads that Spooner works with – because they are meant to be obnoxious jerks, especially his boss (Whigham).

It was nice to see Lillard play the lead in a romance for once. Back in the ‘90s, he was always a secondary character to hunks like Freddie Prinze Jr., despite the fact that he is far more talented. It was great to see him have his turn to shine, and his performance made you root for his character despite the stupid things he does. Like his parents, the audience wants to see Spooner land on his own two feet and make it on his own.

The film doesn’t follow the traditional romantic comedy formula either, which I really liked. Neither character sacrifices something they want to be with the other one, both just live their lives and hope to make it work. It’s not a typical romance, but these aren’t typical characters, and I feel their relationship is grounded more in reality than those in many other films.

Overall, this is a cute indie romantic comedy that slightly breaks tradition, with quirky likable characters and a simple plot. The performances and chemistry between the actors make this film a fun, feel-good flick.

6.5/10

Killers (2010)

Directed by: Robert Luketic

Starring: Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Winnick, and Kevin Sussman

Genre: Action / Adventure, Romantic Comedy

Rated: PG-13

Jen (Heigl), recently single, is on vacation in Nice, France with her parents when she meets handsome Spencer (Kutcher) in the elevator. The two swiftly strike up a romance and marry. Three years later, the two are on the run from a seemingly never-ending number of assassins intent on ending Spencer’s life.

The exact timeline of Jen and Spencer’s premarital relationship is fairly vague. The vacation apparently lasted three weeks, though we only see them together in France twice. Then suddenly he’s home with Jen and her family telling her father he wants to marry her. I also wondered if he just decided to move across the Atlantic to live with her when her vacation ended, or if they had carried on a long distance relationship before he dropped everything and moved to the United States to be with her. I was thinking, “Wow, everything is happening so quickly…” We never see the wedding, and then the plot skips ahead three years (thankfully it lets the audience know this with lower third text) to the happily married couple preparing to celebrate Spencer’s birthday. The relationship felt very rushed to me, and I could not find it believable.

I really thought the writing could have been a lot better than it was. The story was not well-thought out. The person who sent the assassins was pretty predictable, especially since they pretty much tell the audience who it is maybe fifteen minutes before the climax. The characters were fairly stupid in places, and some felt entirely useless. For example – Jen’s mother was nothing but a comedic device, redundantly shown drinking lots of alcohol (multiple glasses of wine, Bloody Marys with the pitcher as a glass, etc.) It made me wonder how Jen could possibly have the “amazing relationship” with her mother that the film claimed she had when her mother was clearly an alcoholic. The ending leaves the biggest question of all: how do you explain away all the dead bodies?

The acting left something to be desired. I never considered Kutcher as an action star, and after this I don’t think he should pursue another job within the genre. He was fairly wooden and hard to believe as a spy. Heigl really didn’t seem to care for her character at all – she’s played in so many romantic comedies, this is old hat for her, and she really didn’t seem to put forth the effort. Both she and Kutcher are talented comedic actors but it really felt like neither one was invested in this project whole-heartedly. Also, the two didn’t have any chemistry together – and that alone can make or break a film. Selleck and his trademark mustache had the best acting as Jen’s overprotective, seemingly paranoid father. As stated above, O’Hara (most notably known for her role as the mother in the first two Home Alone films) was underutilized as her character was little more than a lush.

After all that running around, being shot at, crashing cars, physically fighting with other people, the clothing and actors look pristine. There are no rips, stains, stray threads or lint on these clothes and not a scratch on either of our title characters – highly unlikely. Also, did they really expect us to believe that a woman on the run from assassins would remain in high heels the entire time? Especially when the two stopped off at a K-mart and she could have easily grabbed a pair of cheap flip flops at the very least. At that point, I doubt she was thinking how dorky comfortable shoes would look with her outfit, and probably would have thought that it would not be logical to remain wearing shoes that high. If they didn’t want her to buy shoes, at least have her kick off the heels and run barefoot. So ridiculous.

There are a few things I did like about the movie, however. The scenery in the beginning of the film was beautiful. The fight scene between Kutcher and Kathryn Winnick (“Hannah” from Season 6 of Bones) was fun and it was nice to see her kicking some butt. I also liked the fact that the film seems to be pushing the message that you should always be yourself in a relationship – if you’re meant to be with that person, they will love you for who you are, past actions included. They also push the message that honesty is key. It’s just too bad the film was so poorly written and acted.

Overall: This could have been a fun film, but it was dragged down by a script that wasn’t thought out well and actors that really didn’t seem to care. There are some positive elements that keep it from getting a much lower rating, but overall, I was not impressed.

5/10