She's All That is a teen version of My
Fair Lady. I'm not a teen, so I didn't expect to
like it -- surprisingly, I didn't hate it. In fact, I
very much enjoyed this very rich scene in which,
GQ-prep Freddie Prinze Jr., is forced to improv at an
avant-garde poetry/performance "event" (presented
tongue-in-cheek). For the first time in his life he's
unprepared, slightly intimidated, and liking it. He
drops a bean bag on his foot: "Hack-e-Sack, Don't let
it drop. Hack-e-sack, Don't let it drop." As he
juggles the sack with his feet and repeats the line
to dizzying background projections, his character
conflict is subtly and cleverly revealed.
After being dumped by blonde cheerleader and prom
queen shoe-in, Freddie bets his best bud that his
mere presence can convert any woman into a
prom queen. The bud chooses Rachael Leigh Cook ...
the dorkiest art geek he could find. Personally, I
don't think he tried too hard, even with glasses Cook
is still pretty cute. From then on, Freddie moves in
on Rachael attempting to glamorize her with his
popularity.
Cook's father, a pool guy, is a warm and wonderful
side character. I particularly like a scene in which
he talks back to the TV during Jeopardy, "Which
Medieval printer copied the Bible without using his
name?" Alex asks. Cook's Father replies... "Hewlett
Packard." That's funny.
If you're a teen and you like MTV's The Real
World, I think you might enjoy this picture. If
you're not a teen, there's probably better pictures
out there for you.
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