She's All That (1999)

 

So in this round in The Teen Classic Literature brigade, we have She's All That, based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and George Cukor's My Fair Lady, which starred Audrey Hepburn. Although I had fond memories of watching this during my childhood, I can't help but say that this movie hasn't really aged very well along with some problematic tropes that I'll point out later in the review. Sure, I was still entertained, no problems there but, in hindsight, the movie isn't that great. However, there is some potential if it had a better script. 

Believe or not, this is a tale as old as time. It dates back to Greek Mythology, which tells the story of Pygmalion, a legendary figure of Cyprus, who fell in love with the statue he carved. The origin of Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion came from British playwright W.S. Gilbert's Pygmalion and Galatea. This along with basing the character Eliza Dolittle on a local flower girl, George Bernard Shaw debuted his play Pygmalion, at Hoftburg Theatre to great success and have since opened from London to New York during the mid 1910s. 

There was a film version in 1938 penned by George Bernard Shaw himself and starring Leslie Howard, best known as Ashely from Gone With The Wind, as the role of Professor Higgins. But I think people are more familiar with the 1956 Broadway version, My Fair Lady and it's 1964 film version. The role of Eliza Dolittle was originated by Julie Andrews, a Disney favorite of mine, but in the film version the studios decided to cast Audrey Hepburn because she was the bigger star. There was this huge controversy surrounding the film because the filmmakers dubbed over Audrey Hepburn's singing voice as opposed to casting Julie Andrews who can actually sing. But that's not the real topic at hand here. Anywho...

Some thirty-odd some years later, after the success of Clueless and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, Miramax Films had the idea to adapt Pygmalion and My Fair Lady into a modern teen rom-com with Robert Iscove attach to direct. And here we have She's All That. 

So the premise of these three movies always involves a bet. There is always a girl involves with these so-called bets and that's what sets the plot in motion. 

So the story starts off like this: Big Man on Campus Zach Siler have just broken up with his girlfriend Mean Girl Taylor Vaughn. Anxious to find a prom date and not look like a complete doofus in the entire school, Zack makes a bet with his fellow Jerk Jock buddy Dean to make the most unappealing girl into a prom queen. They eventually spot fellow high school "outcast", Laney Boogs as a potential candidate. Zach is reluctant at first, but he gives in and tags Laney along. But when Laney gets that "magical" makeover and Zack sees her as a real person and not just some plaything, romance ensues. Da Da Di Da Day Dum, I've heard this song before. As you can see, the premise is very cliche and very predictable, so there's really not much to elaborate on but let's focus on the characters, shall we?

I’d classify Zack Siler as a Vanilla Protagonist. This protagonist is exceptionally ordinary when contrasted with the more interesting and distinctive supporting cast. Sure, Zack is the guy that every girl wants and every guy wants to be, but he lacks depth. His character development probably involves the struggles of maintaining perfection and pleasing his father, but his personal difficulties remain underexplored.

The art performance scene is a demonstration of that, but I still wanted more. Maybe there should’ve been more scenes with him and his dad to give off more of their dynamic. Zack mentions to Laney that his father has always pressured him to go to Dartmouth, but Zack feels torn because he’s thinking of other options. 

Throughout the film, his dad only has at least two scenes with him. If there were more scenes of his dad showing signals he should join Dartmouth or Zack showing interest in art like Laney, maybe there could be a semblance of development that the character lacked.

 Besides Zack being a bland main character, Freddie Prinze Jr. did a surprisingly decent performance without phoning it in. He has the natural charisma of a romantic leading man to where he actually made Zack bearable, and despite the script being rather pedestrian, Freddie Prinze Jr. pulled through just fine. 

Now we get to Laney Boogs, who's a lot much more of interesting main character than Zack. She is perceived as the School Freak but, in my eyes, she's a normal teenage girl. It does show that she has somewhat of a social life, having one best friend and is part of an ensemble art performance group outside school, so no problem there. Then there's mention of her fashion sense paired with the painted overalls, but when you look at it through a modern lens, her clothes aren't half-bad either. Teenagers these days would consider her fashion sense cool or edgy. Lastly, when it comes to her appearance as a whole, she looks totally fine. Besides the obvious hair extensions, her skin is flawless, she's well-groomed and even one character makes mention of her nice body. As far as her economic status compared her more opulent peers, Laney is at the top of the middle-class food chain. She actually lives in a nice house in the suburbs. Hell, I wouldn't mind living there. So in spite of all this, what is really Laney's damage? 

Some people would point out that its not so much about Laney's appearance but its more so her struggles of opening up. If that's the case, then why not make Laney the main character? What if bullying during her youth and her mother’s untimely death contributed to her isolating herself? I feel like there's a whole like going on with this character that needed exploring but I guess the studio execs thought it would be too complex for teen romantic comedy.

So, Laney gets the obligatory makeover and, like I said, she really didn't need that much work done. All she needed was a trim, contacts, flattering clothes and presto! You have a supermodel in the making. But before I go on, there is one pivotal scene I like to point out in the movie.

Before Laney's "fabulous" makeover and newfound popularity, she has encounter with these two so-called goth girls. They make a comment about a dead artist and they make a suggestion of Laney killing herself so that she could be remembered more. This was less funny and more triggering for me. Back in high school, I dealt with girls like this. They pride themselves for being these outsiders when, in actuality, they copy the same behavior as the mean girls they hate. Hypo-critical. When you compare these two, the popular girls (with the exception of Taylor), come off like total sweethearts. Telling someone to kill themselves is one of the worst insults you could say. Sure, Taylor is obviously obnoxious and hate Laney's guts, but I don't think she would say something like that. It could be because the girls are jealous of Laney's talents, but still, was that even necessary? Laney has another encounter with the main girl of the two, who's drunk off her ass. Laney, being the sweetheart that she is, helps her up but the girl is an ungrateful bitch and insults her yet again. So, to get back at her, Laney does what any art prodigy would do....

This girl is definitely deserving of the clown makeup because she's a clown herself. I guess her partner in crime was too embarrassed to be seen with her. She deserves it, no doubt.

So once Laney rises up her popularity status after her face-off with Taylor Vaughn, she still stays the same. So, the inner character thing is still missing here. Sure, Laney gains a bit of confidence this time around but even before the transformation, she haven't had a problem with social anxiety. So if the script did a bit of rearranging, made Laney the main character instead to give us more insight into her insecurities, wants, needs, and goals, maybe the film could've been way much better than it is. 

Fun Fact! The name Laney Boogs is a mixture of two characters portrayed by Winona Ryder: Kim Boogs from Edward Scissorhands and Laney Pierce from Reality Bites. I definitely get a Audrey Hepburn/Winona Ryder vibe from Rachael Leigh Cook, which is why I think she makes a more effective lead in my opinion. She totally outshines Freddie Prinze Jr. by a mile a minute and I actually consider her to be a stellar underrated actress. I especially loved her as Josie in Josie and The Pussycats, a misunderstood classic that should be re-evaluated. But that's a story for another day. 

The real selling point of the movie is the chemistry between Rachael Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr. Despite the movie's faults, their chemistry is extremely palpable, and they also have this witty banter that elevates the material. Its without a doubt that you can't help but root for them in the end.

The supporting cast is stacked with a lot of recognizable faces from the 90s and 2000s. You have Dule Hill, best known as Gus from the TV series Psych. Gabrielle Union, who would later star in 10 Things I Hate About You (which I will get to soon) and the iconic Bring It On. And I had no idea that Lil Kim was in this movie. Yes, I'm talkin' the Notorious K.I.M. But I'm not done yet. You have Kieran Culkin (yes, that is Macaulay Culkin's brother), who would be best known in movies like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and TV shows like Succession. Not to mention, he's also a recent Oscar Winner. Then you have Anna Paquin who played Rouge in X-Men and would be forever immortalized as Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood. And lastly, there's Elden Henson who starred in a number of Young Adult films in the 2000s such as O and The Butterfly Effect and would later star in the Marvel TV series Daredevil. Fun Fact! Josh Harnett was considered for the role of Zack and Jordana Brewster for the role of Laney. Both have starred in The Faculty, which also starred Clea Duvall and Usher Raymond who, you guessed it, starred in this movie as well. Even Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar (who would also star in Cruel Intentions and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s real life wife), makes a cameo.

I think the one supporting cast member that stands out among the rest is Matthew Lillard as Brock Hudson who may or may not be based on Puck from The Real World. He actually is the catalyst for the events of the movie as Taylor breaks up with Zack after hooking up with Brock at an MTV Spring Break block party. Remember those?

The concept of Brock is still relevant today. You have these reality stars and social media influencers that have such an inflated ego to the point where they think they're the most important person in the room.

This is further demonstrated in the Brock dance scene. Matthew Lillard is comedy gold in this and I never laughed so hard. Although his appearance was brief, Matthew Lillard was by far the best part of this movie.

Now we get to the antagonists, Taylor Vaughn and Dean Sampson Jr.

Taylor Vaughn played by Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, is your typical mean girl: spoiled, self-absorbed, competitive, and obnoxiously arrogant. The main joke of the movie is that she's not as well-liked or special than she think she is. Just as soon as Taylor breaks up with Zack for Brock, Brock breaks up with her out of nowhere, implying that Brock only saw her as a fling and nothing else. Then there's the incident at the party where she tries to humiliate Laney but it becomes a boomerang effect and Laney is just as popular as she is, and it turns out that basically half the school can't stand her, including her friends. There's another implication that the reason why Taylor is popular at all because she dated Zack. So, she tries to get back on his good graces, however, Zack has already moved on and doesn't pay her any mind. He even stands her up on Prom Night. Taylor is eventually crowned Prom Queen but the school could care less. There's also a funny bit where the school principal cuts off her mike mid-speech. So after that, Taylor realizes her fate as she sits alone on graduation day. In Taylor's case, her whole entire story arc highlights that one cannot indulge in cruelty simply because of their wealth and beauty.

 Then we have Paul Walker as Dean Sampson. This was the movie where I formed a major crush on him to the point where I almost forgot how despicable his character is. He's the one who initiates the bet with Zack but, out of pure jealously, he's the one who spills the beans to Laney, which prompts her to take him to the prom instead. However, he's only playing the part of the upstanding guy just so he could have his way with Laney then dump her. He boasts about this on prom night with his buddies and I like that they're not on board with his misogynistic bullshit and blows him off, which shows that Dean is a dumb jerk jock and everybody sees him as dumb jerk jock. Eventually, Laney gives the upper hand and blows a really loud horn in his ear, rendering him almost deaf. This all happens off-screen by the way but what really bothers me is how the movie plays off of what seems to be a sexual assault as light comedy. Considering that Miramax was founded by Harvey Weinstein makes it even worse retrospectively. 

Now it's without a doubt that the soundtrack is absolutely fire. I feel like it gives the movie a personality, particularly in the Prom Night scene. Fatboy Slim's The Rockafella Shank has been stuck in my head for a while and although it's impossible that every one of these high school students are professional dancers, at least the scene gives the movie a musicality to it. Then there's the penultimate song, Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer. It was originally released in 1997 to moderate success but it was this movie that made it one of the most recognizable songs of the 90s. I'm talkin Prom Nights, Graduations, Birthdays, and Weddings, this song will live on till the days on end and I'm not afraid to admit that this is one of my favorite songs since childhood.

Like I said before, the screenplay is unoriginal and largely set the trend for teen movies in the 2000s. I dare you to play a drinking game for every cliche that's been done by the book. You'd probably be in a coma by now. As far as the directing, it's fine. Nothing really special, just fine for what it is. 

In 2021, Netflix did a remake titled, He's All That starring TikTok star Addison Rae and Tanner Buchanan from Cobra Kai with special appearances by Rachael Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard. Now I never thought I would say this, but this remake was kind of unnecessary. It mostly follows the same beats as the original but worse. This was basically just a starring vehicle for Addison Rae and nothing more. I've watched some clips of it but from the cheap Netflix look combined with acting, I'll give it a pass. Not worth my time.

But when it comes to the original, it's definitely on the safe side. Once you turn your brain off, it's a fun watch, especially though a nostalgic lens but it's not a classic either. 

Without the two leads, the comedic genius of Matthew Lillard, and the amazing soundtrack, nobody would be talking about this movie today and even consider remaking it. It's run-of-the-mill 90s fluff and not much else to it.

My last word: Watchable but forgettable.