(published in SB Indie 8/3/06)
This isn’t the worst movie ever made, or even close to it. In fact, it isn’t entirely unpleasant to watch. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good movie. Not by a longshot.
The premise (a player gets played) could be interesting enough if done well, and the result could’ve been either funny (ala Mean Girls), dark (ala The Heathers) or even moving (ala The Imaginary Teen Movie in My Head), if done well. The actors and actresses make good eye candy, and a couple of them can even act (though Desperate Housewives hunk Jesse Metcalfe isn’t one of them). And the dialogue — particularly the flirty scenes between Brittany Snow and Penn Badgley — leads me to believe that the screenwriter can actually write.
But instead of elevating this movie from teen schlock to Ten Things I Hate About You status, the filmmaker has taken the easy route. The plot is superficial and predictable, the characters are one-dimensional, and there is no real message (since the cad manages to get his way no matter what). This film does as much for the embattled teen movie genre as marshmallows do for the diet: it’s yummy fluff that does no harm but also does no good.
Comments