Product Description
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Soccer team captain Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr) is one of the most
popular guys at his High School, and he's a little upset when his
girlfriend Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) dumps him so she can go out
with a TV star (Matthew Lillard). Nevertheless, he insists that
she is replaceable and makes a bet with his best friend Dean that
he could turn any girl at the school into a Prom Queen. Dean
takes the bet and nominates miserablist wierdo Laney (Rachael
Leigh Cook) as the lucky girl. Undaunted, our hero sets to
work...
.co.uk Review
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This charming update of Pygmalion (by way of the John Hughes
oeuvre, most notably Pretty in Pink) rode the crest of the
late-1990s wave of immensely popular teen films (Varsity Blues,
etc.), thanks primarily to the immense charisma of its two leads,
Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. When school star Zach
(Prinze)--who's a jock, smart, and popular--gets dumped by
vacuous Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) after spring break, he's left
dateless for the all-important prom. With a little goading from
his less-than-sensitive best friend (hunky Paul Walker), he bets
that he can make any girl into prom queen a mere eight weeks
before the dance. The object of their wager: misfit Laney (Cook),
a gawky art student too busy with her paintings and taking care
of her brother and dad to worry about school politics. However,
after a couple of looks from Zach, and a few dates that reveal
him to be a hunk of substance, Laney's armour begins to melt--and
her stock at school soars. Soon enough, she's the lone candidate
for prom queen against the bitchy and relentless Taylor.
What elevates She's All That above the realm of standard teen
fare is its mixture of good-natured fairy-tale romance and
surprisingly clear-eyed view of high school social strata. The
lines of class are demarcated as clearly as if in a Jane Austen
novel, but the satire is equally deflating and affectionate.
Sure, high school can be bad sometimes, but it can be lots of fun
too; this is a movie good-natured enough to take time out for an
extended hip-hop dance number at the prom. Director Robert Iscove
(who also headed the Brandy-starring TV adaptation of Cinderella)
has also assembled a great young cast, including a scene-stealing
Anna Paquin as Zach's no-nonsense sister, Kieran Culkin as
Laney's geeky brother, and a stupidly goofy Matthew Lillard as a
Real World cast member whose arrival shakes things up a little
too much. And amidst all the comedy and prom drama, you'd be
hard-pressed to find two teen stars as talented, attractive, and
appealing as Prinze and Cook. Prinze is an approachable and
sensitive jock, though it's Cook who's the true star, investing
Laney with confidence, humour, and heart. Like Zach, you'll be
hard-pressed not to fall in love with her. By the story's end,
both Cook and the film will have charmed the socks off of you.
--Mark Englehart, .com
On the DVD: While the cast and director interviews are enjoyable
and quick-paced, they offer few behind-the-scenes revelations.
The "Shooting the Movie" sequence can hardly be called a
documentary as it's just a backstage amateur camera filming the
crew in action (it doesn't even have a presenter), but at least
it offers an idea of the day-to-day routine of filming. As for
the yearbook photo library and the trailer, they are very
middle-of-the-road fare. The only redeemable point in this
package is the picture quality in an excellent 16:9 anamorphic
format and the 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, although it is only
offered in English with no subtitles. --Celine Martig