SHE'S ALL THAT
Zach Siler (Prinze) is the class president who is dating Taylor
(Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Halloween: H20),
the hottest girl in school. The couple seem destined for prom
king & queen-dom, until Taylor dumps Zach for Brock (Matthew
Lillard, Scream), who is marginally famous from being on
the pretentious teen show The Real World. But Zach brags
that it doesn't matter; with his charm and clout, he could elevate
any girl to the height of popularity — even get her elected
prom queen. Seeing this as a challenge, Zach's friend Dean (Paul
Walker, Varsity Blues)
bets him he can't do it. So the deal is made: Dean will pick the
geekiest, least popular girl in school, and Zach has 6 weeks to
establish a relationship with her that will result in her becoming
the belle of the ball.
After some speculation involving the few less-than-attractive
girls at the school, Dean picks Lainie Boggs (Cook), art student,
introvert, and geek extraordinaire. Of course, it is patently
obvious the moment we lay eyes on Lainie that she will become
a full-fledged hottie the moment she takes her hair down and loses
the Buddy Holly glasses and the bib overalls — we've all
seen it before on The Brady Bunch. After her transformation,
Zach discovers his growing — uh — feelings for her (which,
by the way, transform him into a mature, caring human being).
Along with this, we follow Taylor's insipid relationship with
Brock, and Dean's increasing concern that he'll lose the bet.
The acting in this film is almost as bad as the script —
with the possible exception of Lillard, whose openly conceited
character, wallowing in self-importance, pokes a jab at the Real
World TV show which is famous for such wallowing. When Cook,
with tears eye-droppered onto her cheeks, said, "I feel like
Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman," I couldn't help thinking,
you wish. Prinze's character has no foundation; nothing below
the surface layer. Since the rest of the characters are not even
intended to be any deeper than the movie screen on which they're
projected, I fault director Iscove, who has plenty of experience
(but only in TV), as much as writer Fleming, who has no experience
anywhere.
There are a few saving graces to this thin piece of celluloid.
About halfway through the film, there is a cool rap by three students
about Lainie's new position as the most sought-after girl in school.
And a spectacular dance number during the prom sequence earns
a star all by itself. Dancing to the music and calls from the
school DJ (Usher Raymond), the entire student body does a complex,
well choreographed Bob-Fosse-meets-Michael-Jackson number that
exudes energy unseen since the "hand jive" bit in Grease. Few of the principals are clearly
recognizable, of course; this was where the regular cast went
on break while the dance pros stepped in.
But the dance stops eventually, and then those darn kids start talking again. Way to ruin the mood. **