Quick Movie Review: She's All That (1999)

These types of story lines are always so painful from the very beginning. The whole movie, you can't get it out of your head that everything's going to end up very bad for everyone. The protagonist is always afraid to do the right thing. Even though failure to blurt out 2 sentences could fix everything. 

Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Zack, the most popular kid at his high school, whose equally-popular girlfriend just breaks up with him. They were a sure-fire bet to win prom king and queen. With prom coming up, Zack makes a bet with his friends that he can turn any girl into a prom queen. Even the nerdy and unpopular Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook). 

Upon looking at Cook, it seems like she's just a good-looking girl who will, undoubtedly and easily, turn into a swan as soon as you take her glasses off. And she does. But upon seeing her personality, she really does know how to act quirky and uncool. 

The filmmakers do a great job with Laney, for the most part. She stays away from the damsel in distress archetype for almost the whole movie. She falls into it once, and it's disappointing. Cook does well playing Laney as a one dimensional character, but when she gets the chance to show off her acting chops, she fumbles hard.

Her character does go through the obligatory transformation to become popular, but Laney never lets this change her as a person. She looks different, but never acts different. And she never lets the popularity go to her head. Unlike, say, characters in the movie Grease.

But the ugly duckling trope isn't what makes this movie likable. You can't help but feel like She's All That is more than just the corny teen movie it should be--with the help of solid comedic sensibilities and great out-of-the-box characters to show them off. Standouts are faded, yet self-absorbed reality TV star, Brock Hudson (Matthew Lillard), and Laney's eccentric father and brother played by Kevin Pollack and Kieran Culkin, respectively.

The film still does things like dedicating an entire scene for exposition, and trying to cram a bunch of depth into 3 minutes. But the actors go all out. They're truly convinced of the truth behind their characters, and it shows. 

This story has been done a bunch of times, and it would've been nice if this version deviated from the expected, even though I never thought for a second it was going to.

She's All That is definitely a guilty pleasure film. Which means, in this case, that we like it despite how cliche and predictable it is. Maybe because it's organically cool. Or deceptively hilarious. Or maybe because we can tell that the actual end product is exactly what the filmmakers had in mind--which is probably the most impressive thing of all.

Twizard Rating: 78

Quick Movie Review: Varsity Blues (1999)

If you want to witness James Van Der Beek attempt to don a Texan accent for 106 minutes, you may not get another chance. While fun, it has all the signs of a stereotypical late-'90s teen movie. It's cheesy, telegraphed, cliched, crude--yet meaningful.

It follows a successful high school football team coached by Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight)--a man who basically runs the community. The small Texas town has already erected a bronze statue made in his likeness. The guy even controls the police to the point that his players can get away with stealing cop cars. That's how obsessed this community is with their high school football. It's all they have.

Mox (Van Der Beek) doesn't see it that way. He's the 2nd string quarterback and has plans to go to Brown University and put the sport behind him. But as soon as he's forced into the starting role, he enjoys soaking up all the attention.

Varsity Blues doesn't take too many risks--if any--but it has a lot to say. The script is deceptively good. It may be platitudinous in its dialogue and outcomes, but under the surface it makes some seldom-touched upon points.

The football scenes are some of the more realistic we've seen in movies up to this point, and it organically showcases the importance of football in some small towns in this country. It then proceeds to question that very importance, along with the aggrandizing of athletics in our schools altogether.

Subtly juxtaposing these ideals, we see Mox's little brother, who has an obsession with religions and practices a variety of them throughout the movie, much to his parent's disapproval.

It isn't perfect, but Varsity Blues holds up well. Voight gives us a compelling villain to despise and the film more nuanced that meets the eye. It made me nostalgic and I was entertained.

Twizard Rating: 83

Quick Movie Review: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

We all know Matt Damon can act. But if someone were to disagree, you'd have to show them this film. His, along with every single performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley, is top notch. Everything he does is so subtle, yet so calculated, that you believe it all. Or you're not sure what to believe. You see the brood amidst the confidence.

Here, he plays Tom Ripley, a brilliant sociopath who uses his deception skills to fake his wealth. But the thing is, we the audience see every move he makes. It's the other characters who are being tricked.

In fact, Damon is so convincing that it's not until after the film is over when you realize there's nothing to like about his character at all.

Beautifully shot with authentic set design, The Talented Mr. Ripley leads us in the direction of a truly Hitchcockian feature in every way--the experimentation of narrative, the pseudo-protagonist, and even the signature blonde.

You have to applaud this film for keeping the audience on their toes. The story is constantly changing. Resetting its goals. Much like when our brains shift a bit when Janet Leigh dies half way through Psycho. We feel like it should end there. Wouldn't most movies?

Leaving us sitting up in our chairs, it becomes reminiscent of The Master of Suspense, himself. But then, all of a sudden, things change, and it no longer seems that way at all. You realize it keeps avoiding some sort of conclusion. Dancing around it, actually. And usually when films continue on like this, you expect a redeeming ending. However, without giving anything away, we don't get one.

When the movie is constantly showing us its hand, we are left wondering why. Maybe something bigger and better is around the corner. Maybe they're saving the real twist for the very end. The story has so many chances to give us something grand, but they all fall by the wayside.

Director, Anthony Minghella, definitely has the creepy and suspenseful tone down. And he pulls the best performances from his actors. He does a very good job, given the source material. But his the biggest impression he's left here may be how he gets us to look at Damon in a much different way.
 

Twizard Rating: 84

Quick Movie Review: Cruel Intentions (1999)

Looking back on this movie, it holds up really well. It may have been deemed mediocre in 1999, but in 2014 it's better than many similar films we get nowadays. It narrates itself well through a plot which is, in fact, quite intricate and could have been complicated if executed incorrectly. Fortunately, it moves briskly along the plot points and never leaves us confused or anxious.

The only criticism I have with this film is the speed at which Sebastian and Annette fall in love with each other. It's almost too quick to be believable. It's not obvious, but for the over analyzer, like myself, it seems odd. Nonetheless, you can't get mad at this movie because of its alacrity--otherwise it would have been likely to be weighed down by unnecessary scenes. The ending was a little too "big" for the tone of the film, but I didn't hate it. You want to see Kathryn get what's coming to her, and she does. However, it would have been more effective and believable if it turned out that Sebastian was really alive in the end, driving away with Annette.

The acting is impressive and it's fun to look at. Cruel Intentions lives up to its name in the best way possible.

Twizard Rating: 90

Quick Movie Review: Idle Hands (1999)

It's Halloween time, so I've decided to watch some Halloween films of the non-scary variety. Idle Hands may not be a terrible movie, but it's also not all that memorable. There doesn't seem like too much of a purpose to it all. 

Reminiscent of the Evil Dead films, this film subtly sprinkles comedy over the horror, but still doesn't invoke many laughs. But as nostalgia, we can look back and somewhat appreciate this film for what it is. It serves as a nice addition to the cult halloween movie genre.

It's seldom laugh-out-loud, and it's also not terribly quotable. However, the cast is fun to watch and it's far from boring. Idle Hands is so goofy that it just works.

Twizard Rating: 74

Quick Movie Review: 10 Things I Hate About You

Taking pages out of John Hughes' playbook, 10 Things I Hate About You falls just short of cliche as we forget that much of what made Hughes' work so clever was that it invented its own cliches--as this film does. While it does subject to the usual idiot adults and predictable plot, there is a lot more depth here than the average teen comedy. 

Although the chemistry between the leads and their respective partners is impressive, I did ask a little bit more from director Gil Junger. While I know he is more familiar with the world of television, I still expected him to pay a little bit more attention to minute details--which resulted in a bit of sloppiness from time to time. 

The script has its ups and downs comedically, but as a whole this is a fun and enjoyable movie. It doesn't rely on one-liners to carry the weight of its humor and it doesn't waste time with subplots. 
But although the laughs slow down at times, there aren't really any eye-rolling jokes. And wisely, there are hints of self-satire carefully scattered throughout. 

With a killer soundtrack and clever bits, you tend to forget that the premise isn't groundbreaking. You have to judge a movie based off of its rewatchability, and this one is definitely one that I would watch again.

Twizard Rating: 86