She's the Man (2006)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Andy Fickman

Writers (WGA):

Ewan Leslie (screenplay) and
Karen McCullah Lutz (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 March 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

If you wanna chase your dream, sometimes you gotta break the rules.

Plot:

When her brother decides to ditch for a couple weeks in London, Viola heads over to his elite boarding school, disguises herself as him, and proceeds to fall for one of her soccer teammates. Little does she realize she's not the only one with romantic troubles, as she, as he, gets in the middle of a series of intermingled love affairs.

Plot Keywords:

Soccer | School | Twin | London | Roommate

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Amanda Bynes	...	Viola
Channing Tatum	...	Duke
Laura Ramsey	...	Olivia
Vinnie Jones	...	Dinklage
David Cross	...	Gold
Julie Hagerty	...	Daphne
Robert Hoffman	...	Justin
Alexandra Breckenridge	...	Monique (as Alex Breckenridge)
Jonathan Sadowski	...	Paul
Amanda Crew	...	Kia
Jessica Lucas	...	Yvonne
Brandon Jay McLaren	...	Toby
Clifton MaCabe Murray	...	Andrew (as Clifton Murray)
James Snyder	...	Malcolm
James Kirk	...	Sebastian

Also Known As:

Dude Looks Like a Lady (USA) (working title)
L'homme c'est elle (Canada: French title)
Walk Like a Man, Talk Like a Man (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual material

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:12A | Ireland:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate no. 42397) | Malaysia:U | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:Atp | Philippines:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Granville Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

When they first started filming, Amanda Bynes couldn't play soccer at all. Nevertheless, Bynes does most of her own playing in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Viola/Sebastian and Duke are in the gym, the Coach comes up to give viola/Sebastian his jersey for the Cornwall game. In the next shots Viola/Sebastian doesn't have the jersey any more.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Justin: Oh! She shoots, she scores! Goal!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Drake & Josh: Josh Is Done (#4.11)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Carmen Suite No. 1 - Les Toreadors

First Rate Teen Flick

I saw this movie today (opened yesterday here) and was simply delighted.

I saw a review that said something to the effect that the reviewer thought this would be just another teen movie, but then found it was based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night ... and then started trying to justify liking this flick on Shakespearean grounds. I really think this is going way overboard: the only connections I could see with Twelfth Night are (a) the basic conceit of a girl masquerading as a man; (b) the extensive male-female humor arising out of that basic conceit; and (c) some of the names (including Viola & Duke).

Aside from those names, the thematic commonalties (a & b) are really great themes for any script, and this movie's script is no exception. Beyond that, though, this really is a simply delightful and very contemporary/traditional teen flick. And that's a perfectly legit genre even if highbrows have to find an excuse to like it ... like alluding to Shakespeare.

The movie is bright, fast-paced, emotive, stylized, funny ... full of teen hormones and teen humor and male/female humor suitable for all ages. And that's really the best part IMHO: really just about every male stereotype and every female stereotype is depicted in roundly appealing over-the-top fun. Those stereotypes are parodied relentlessly but affectionately, with such a complexity of invention that I'm still a little bewildered ... but really don't feel at all disappointed in that regard, it's not that kind of a movie: things come at you fast and fun and you get a laugh and a groan and then move on to the next split-second happening.

Amanda Bynes really is just delightful as Viola / Sebastian; Channing Tatum makes a wonderful Duke; David Cross does a wonderfully over the top Principal Gold. All of the acting and characterizations were fine and on target. Cinematography was excellent.

Wonderful entertainment from beginning to end ... check it out!