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Then there’s me, the guy that believes
there’s an audience out there from everything – well,
except perhaps Basic Instinct 2 and Chicken Little,
and those two definitely don’t play as a good double feature
either – and if there isn’t, there will be. (Case 1 : The
only action that the seats in the theatre showing, say, Mallrats or Tommy Boy,
back in the day, saw was the whisk of a candy wrapper from the previous
session of a more appealing movie. And look at the audience the films
have now – they’re sell-out cult DVD hits. Both of them.)
Not that this Teenage Tootsie is ever going to live onto cult status – though I have been wrong about such things before, hello Showgirls!
– But there’ll be definitely a teenager girl (or boy
– after all, the lead is quite a cutie) just hurting to dive into
the first-class fluff on offer.
When Viola (Amanda Bynes) is informed that girls
aren’t allowed to try out for the soccer team, she’s pretty
bummed out. Fortunately, she comes up with a way to get around the fact
that she’s without twig and berries, and win a place in the team.
With her twin brother Sebastian out of town, Viola’s convinced
she can effortlessly take his place – thanks to a shockingly deep
voice, long shirts, stick-on sideburns and a bowl cut toupee - for a
couple of weeks. Cue the ‘falling in love with male
roommate’ subplot, ‘school slime ball with mounting
suspicions’ part, and ‘scenes where Viola comes dangerously
close to being exposed’. Oh, and let’s not forget
‘the big reveal’ at the end.
Growing up, I was front row centre for a lot of
these films – the ones where the girl dresses up as a guy, or the
guy dresses up as a girl – and as a fourteen-year-old, I tell ya,
I had a better time with them than curious cats have with plastic bags.
To anyone else, they (films like Just One of the Guys, He’s My Girl, Tootsie)
would’ve been complete garbage – and to a large part,
they’re probably right, there’s not a lot of artistic merit
here – but to a youngster and his choc-top, who’s
essentially just out for a good time not a history lesson, it was
cinematic Christmas.
The only way to review a film like She’s The Man
is, needless to say, back in the mind frame of that young punk again.
Would he have got a kick out of it? Would today’s teens get a
kick out of it? Are the youngster surrounding you laughing? And the
answer: a resounding (which pretty much means that even the
thirty-year-old hiding inside, enjoyed it too – just don’t
tell anyone) Yes. As a syrupy teen comedy with a lineage as steadfast
as a hot water bottle in winter, it kicks goals. Not the type
you’d want to watch on replay, but it still kicks ‘em.
It isn’t because of the template either.
That’s as old as the cracks on the footpath. The real reason to
watch is adorable teenage superstar, Amanda Bynes. Just as she proved
in her last couple of films, Big Fat Liar and What A Girl Wants,
Bynes is a pin-up princess that’s more interested in getting
laughs than looking good. Power to her too. Byrnes is an absolute
delight – just as she was in those previous films – and
you’ll be hard-pressed keeping a straight face whenever she opens
her mouth. Her delivery is ‘tight’. Hilary, Jessica,
Ashley….they’ve got nothing on AB.
At the end of the day, She’s the Man
mightn’t have been worth the $24 this reviewer spent on city
parking to see it when it was playing in cinemas, but the target
audience won’t much care for any post-teen’s opinion now
it's on DVD, anyway, because they’re all too conscious that
it’s a club that only they know the secret password for.
EXTRAS
Extras include several deleted scenes (some are actually pretty funny),
an OK commentary, an extended cheerleading sequence, and more shots of
dudes kicking around soccer balls. Not a bad offering - for the
youngsters.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 65%
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