Hmmm...okay, let's take a
classic tale from William Shakespeare, since he's "hot" right now: "The Taming
of the Shrew" (Note: When said real fast, the title of this film may actually
sound like it too!). Toss it the kids' way by involving a couple of good-looking
leads, some hipper than thou music, a high school setting, and one of the worst
movie titles of the year, and you've got the tale of girl who nobody desired,
and who in turn, desired no one. Better all-around movie than
SHE'S ALL THAT (6/10) and
NEVER BEEN KISSED (5/10).
PLOT:
Two diametrically opposed sisters, the younger being cute and outgoing, the
older reserved and independent, live under the rule of their strict father who
will not let the young one go out on a date until the older one gets a date
herself, which she is adamantly against. But halt, alas, here is a mighty prince
being paid a hefty compensation to attempt to date the "unapproachable" girl by
a weasel who wants to "nail" the younger one. And what about the sweet kid who
really does love the younger sibling? Find out!
CRITIQUE:
Light, safe, enjoyable little tale of the teenage world, boasts a couple of
charming and utterly convincing performances from its two stars, quite a few
chuckle-as-you-go-along jokes, and a surprisingly believable component of depth
within a few well-developed movie characters. Okay, so it's not perfect, I mean
it still has a couple of the one-dimensional players that we find in all teenage
flicks, along with the proverbially boring ritual of one guy introducing another
to the various cliques in a high school (Wow, what a concept!), but overall, it
plays well because of its non-stop pace, the interesting relationship between
the sisters, and most of all, the enjoyable and engaging performances by
stars-to-be Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles.
Little sister, Larisa Oleynik,
also played her cutesy role to a tee, even managing to add some credibility to
her
first-thought-of-as-one-dimensional role. There were also plenty of romantic
scenes in this movie, which are sure to set any girl's eyes a-flutter (Mrs.
JoBlo almost fluttered her way out of her seat during the touching serenade in
the soccer field scene). Having said that, I think that I could have done
without another "prom scene" or some of the out-of-place eighties tunes playing
during a party of sixteen year olds (Do any of them even know who the Thompson
Twins are??), but all in all, this film managed to hook me into its net of
romance, fluff, comedy and teenage shenanigans. Mix that in with an utterly
entertaining presentation by the way of the overly cautious father, Larry
Miller, and the funniest teacher to hit the big screen in a long while, Daryl
"Chill" Mitchell, and you've got yourself a pleasant time at the movie garage,
or a decent nite of home video. Either way, don't forget the nachos and your
better half.
(c) 2001 Berge Garabedian