Movie Review She's the Man

She's The Man (2006) 

Directed by Andy Fickman

Written by Karen McCulloch-Lutz, Kirsten Smith

Starring Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, David Cross, Vinnie Jones, Emily Perkins 

Release Date March 17th, 2006

Published March 18th, 2006

Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes has graduated to the big screen with surprising ease. Her debut feature What A Girl Wants did not exactly set the world on fire but it was an excellent showcase for Amanda Bynes' I Love Lucy meets Sandra Bullock style. Now with her latest flick, She's The Man, Amanda Bynes takes a shot at low grade Shakespeare with a high school take on 12th Night that, like What A Girl Wants, shows Bynes in the best light of her talents, combining goofy charm and physical comedy.

In She's The Man Amanda Bynes stars as Viola who is looking forward to college on a soccer scholarship until her plans are derailed when her school cancels the girls soccer program and refuses to let her try out for the boys team. With her future on the line Viola hatches the kind of wacky scheme that only takes place in the movies.

Viola's brother Sebastian (James Kirk) is a rocker who has decided to run to Europe for a summer tour with his rock band leaving his twin sister behind to cover for him. His disappearance gives Viola the opportunity for a crazy scheme.  Viola decides that she will impersonate  Sebastian at his fancy private school and attempt to make the soccer team. Once established on the team she can reveal her true self and claim her scholarship.

Naturally, complications ensue from the first moment Viola appears on campus. Most problematic for Viola is her new roommate Duke (Channing Tatum), a real hunk who she takes an immediate liking to. Unfortunately, as a guy she cannot pursue him and meanwhile, Duke has developed a crush on Olivia (Laura Ramsey) and enlists his new roommates help in trying to get her attention. This backfires when Olivia takes a shine to Sebastian/Viola.

The story is from Shakespeare's 12th Night but the comedy is straight slapstick. Bynes and company take a beating, falling down, kicking and running into one another. That this physicality is at times quite funny is because Bynes is a skilled physical comedian. She is also quite charming and though we never for a moment buy Viola as Sebastian we enjoy watching Bynes give the role all that she's got.

If the supporting cast shared Bynes' energy, She's The Man really could have been much funnier than it is. Sadly co-stars Channing Tatum and Laura Ramsey lack Bynes talent and charisma and are really just good looking models standing in for real actors. Tatum has his moments of real likability but he never gets beyond his meathead exterior. Ramsey for her part delivers a good hearted effort but seems terribly uncomfortable with the film's physical humor.

What makes She's The Man worth recommending, to less than discerning audiences, is Amanda Bynes whose wide eyed beauty and physical comedy are a winning combination. Bynes is no great dramatist but she has real comic chops and oodles of charisma and that makes up for a lot of the problems of this outlandish take on Shakespeare.

The other reason to see She's The Man is comic David Cross who makes a surprise appearance as the clueless principle of the private school. Cross shines in his gut, twistingly creepy attempts to bond with Sebastian/Viola and even weirder when he attempts to expose the fraud in his midst. Cross is just naturally funny and while teen comedy is not his usual milieu he gives it the old college try and picks up a nice paycheck along the way.

She's The Man is not a movie you are going to remember long after watching it but while it's on it is a charming, inoffensive little teen comedy that showcases the rising talents of young Amanda Bynes. This kid has a bright future ahead of her. She doesn't have the acting chops of Lindsey Lohan or the model good looks of Hillary Duff, rather Amanda Bynes succeeds on tomboy charm and the willingness to take the fall for a laugh. That kind of moxie goes a long way.

Movie Review Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed

Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004) 

Directed by Brett Sullivan

Written by Megan Martin

Starring Tatiana Maslany, Emily Perkins

Release Date January 30th, 2004 

Published February 17th, 2004 

Why is it that so many crappy horror flicks get 2000+ screen rollouts while a number of very good horror films are sent straight to video? Films like House Of The Dead get major rollouts while brilliant horror films like May and the original Ginger Snaps were shuffled off to low-key video releases. This makes absolutely no sense and now with the release of Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, we have another example of a brilliant horror film going to video as a number of bad movies crawl into theaters.

Brigitte (Emily Perkins) is back, having survived her sister Ginger’s (Katherine Isabelle) attack, which nearly killed her. Unfortunately, she too is now fighting the transformation. Using some kind of witch's brew, Brigitte is able to stave off her inner-werewolf. However, she has other problems, another werewolf is on her tail with thoughts of mating. As she dodges the werewolf she accidentally OD's on her potion and is mistaken for a junkie. This lands Brigitte in a drug clinic where, separated from her drugs, she can't fight the beginning transformations.

While in the clinic, she meets a strange girl named Ghost (Tatiana Maslany), who is in the clinic with her grandmother who had a curious accident. Ghost helps Brigitte escape and get her inner-werewolf under control. The girls escape to Ghost's family cabin where they make a last stand against the werewolf.

The setup is quick and easy to explain but there is so much more to Ginger Snaps 2 than its plot. The genius of Snaps is the subtle humor, the dark comic atmosphere and the serious horror film gore. These are some of the genre’s best blood-soaked horror scenes in a good long while. Director Brett Sullivan was the editor on the original Ginger Snaps and clearly he learned a lot while doing it. His touch and style perfectly evoke the first film without ever seeming like a direct copy.

The script by first time writer Megan Martin is whip smart, funny and scary and as played by the terrific cast it works as straight horror and ironic, hip dark comedy. There is a lot of subtext in the script about drug use and promiscuity and such but it's played with great wit and there are no lessons learned, or morals taught. Just a great horror comedy.

What really makes Ginger Snaps 2 work is the performance of Emily Perkins as Brigitte. For a horror film, she does a lot of emotion and a lot of real acting. This is no shrinking violet, Perkins really digs into this material and makes you believe every moment she's on screen that she is serious. Perkins is playing both straight horror and deft subtext and she does both very well. Tatiana Maslany as Ghost is equally effective in a far different role than Perkins. Maslany is playing the story on two different levels, as a scared kid and fascinated onlooker. To say anymore is to give away too much.

Fans of the original will be happy to hear that their beloved Katherine Isabelle is back as Ginger, though only in a cameo as a figment of Brigitte's imagination.

The only problem I have with Ginger Snaps 2 is its ending. The ending is surprising but it's not quite the ending audiences are hoping for. It functions as a setup for another sequel, which isn't exactly a bad thing given the high quality of the franchise thus far. Still, it’s a little too modern Hollywood for my taste. Ironically Ginger Snaps 2 was shot back to back with not a sequel but a prequel which will reunite Ginger and Brigitte in the 19th century.

Ginger Snaps 2 is yet another example of the ridiculousness of the Hollywood system. Large scale releases for House Of A Thousand Corpses or Cabin Fever infest theaters to lukewarm reactions but gems like Ginger Snaps languish on video store shelves. Rent it with the first Ginger Snaps and May the next time you see a major Hollywood studio unload some lame attempt at a horror film into your local multiplex.