She's All That (1999)

As i watch this movie all i can think about is 'Not another teen movie' and it's brilliant parody of it. Which makes it hard to take seriously. But that isn't the only reason i can't seem to take it seriously because it is a mass of cliche's and while these cliche's can feel very cute in some films, this movie's attempts at breaking its mould (the whole scene in the art place) see it fall on its face because quite simply: the acting skill just isn't there.

I hate tell people about the plot (i'm not sure why, i just do) so lets just get right into it. Good things first:
Rachael Leigh cook is likeable but not believable as the ugly duckling Laney Boggs, because quite simply: giving someone glasses, a ponytail and paint on her overals doesn't make them ugly- besides she looked better before she had her makeover. Freddie Prinze Jr isn't a good actor, but his performance doesn't require a good actor, it just requires one that will stand there, say the lines and look good doing it. Which he does. The movie also boasts some occasional funny parts, which distracts from the predicability.

The films lack of believability (although if you just view the movie as a teenage fantasy isn't all that bad) discredits it but what the movie truly lacks is the mean queen. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe is so extremely weak at what should be the easiest role (she literally has years of teen movies that she can watch in order to study 'the bitch'), everyone knows that a movie is made and lost in it's villain, this is the films greatest folly.

Overall the movie isn't bad, it's a cute, occasionally funny and painfully cliche'd 90s teen fare. The movie deserves no awards and most of it's criticisms are valid but if you want to switch your brain off and watch a movie you may have seen as a teenager- watch it.

"I feel just like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. You know, except for the whole hooker thing." Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook), She's All That