ROVIN’ AND RAVIN’ WITH MIKE

Copyright © 1999 by Michael Segers

"She’s All That" Plays with Heart

Having survived twenty years as a high school teacher, I try to avoid the presence of the pubescents. But after reviewing a war movie (The Thin Red Line) and a romantic comedy (Playing by Heart), I felt that I could handle a teenybopper flick, She’s All That. Well, bury me in popcorn—just hold the butter—but I had as much fun, as I did a week ago with Playing by Heart. If this is a teenybopper flick, then it is as much for those of us who cannot remember what it was like to be teenagers as it is for the demographic in question.

Not that I was an easy sellout. All these slick, rich teenagers in LaLa-land zones so upscale that the air must be as thin as their inevitable cell phones reminded me of their fellows in the television show, Saved by the Bell, right down to a smart aleck named Zack. The language at first is a weak stew of obscenity and valley person vapidity. Hello, I mean, like that is like sooo totally total, you %$#%^*!

But, not long into the story—prom-queen-to-be-breaks up with star athlete—there is an uncredited line from Friedrich Nietzsche, "If it doesn’t kill you, it’ll only strengthen you." Then, a bet sets us up for My Fair Lady all over again (how loverly). Zack (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), the biggest man on a big campus, takes on the task of getting the darkest of dark horses elected prom queen, an art student named Laney (Rachel Leigh Cook). The language at the same time takes on the task of contrasting these two old souls, who we know immediately are soul mates, with their peers. The newly tattooed prospective prom queen—"a C-minus GPA in a Wonderbra"—given ample physical attraction by Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, speaks valley vocabulary throughout, while Zack and Laney drop their affectations of language along with other affectations.

At first, I was hoping Zack would fail. Laney is a sweet, but bitter, hardworking artist and nonconformist, politically alert and in subtle ways, grieving the death of her mother, for me the most appealing character on campus. But, she has as much effect on Zack as he has on her. But before they live happily ever after—no great surprise endings, unlike Playing by Heart—two talented young actors get to show off a range of expression and emotion with a virtuosity that older talents might envy, although frankly Prinze, at twenty-three, is pushing his credibility as a teenager.

This is not their first outing together; they were both in The House of Yes, the quirky 1997 Sundance Festival hit by Mike Waters. As a matched pair, with their cutenesses cut by their dark, brooding presences, they could sit on a curio shelf, but what a waste of talent. Some of the best moments of the film are played without words, with Prinze and Cook cooking so hot that the celluloid starts to melt. Perhaps it was memories of My Fair Lady, but there were a couple of moments when I could see Audrey Hepburn’s porcelain mask of a face superimposed onto Cook’s. Keep your eye on this lady (a pleasure), and let’s hope that Prinze can start to act his age. (Which role would you have given him if you had been casting The Thin Red Line?)

As a former teacher, I noticed that, as in so many films about high school life, hardly any action occurs in class, except for a brief bit of dialogue in an art class in which Laney is advised to commit suicide to increase the value of her canvases. While students indulge in tobacco, booze, and sex, no illegal drugs are mentioned. Teachers are portrayed with warmth and compassion, and at least some parents are shown as being "with it"—no matter how much I may be showing how much I am without it by using such a phrase.

Something to ponder: are films getting too self-consciously self-referential? Last week, I mentioned the allusions to previous films that add an extra dimension to Playing by Heart. In the final scene of this film, Laney refers to Pretty Woman. In an earlier day, she would have perhaps referred to Cinderella (by the way, director Robert Iscove’s last effort was television’s 1997 version of that fairy tale), but it was a time long ago when the Bible, Greek and Latin classics, and tales of the Brothers Grimm were the shared heritage of an audience. Now, it is The Movies!

Much as I usually look forward to Friday afternoons, this was one that I dreaded. Since no other film was opening, I consoled myself that I could trot out some withering lines, wondered if I could write a review without watching She’s All That. Now, some hours later, I am glad I didn’t try. To my surprise, I am almost floating away, but to pull myself back to earth, a web-site full of information for movie-goers is www.eonline.com. Look especially at the search engine, which turns up all kinds of great information on entertainers.

I enjoy fishing for web-sites by improvising on "www. ----- .com." So, let me suggest you take a trip to www.hollywood.com.

Till next time, let me hear from you, let your friends know where to check up on the latest films, and keep your feet dry and your heart full of very noble thoughts.