Genre: Comedy | Romance
(14 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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Release: 17 March 2006
She’s the Man has been termed as “Just a Teen Movie” but there is much more to this film than just a teeny romance. The story is about Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) who loves to play soccer. When her school removes the girls’ soccer team, Viola decides to switch the teams completely.
As Viola’s parents share custody of her and her brother, she takes her twin brother’s space at his new school. Her brother Sebastian is played by James Kirk who runs off to London with his band. The new school is her old school’s rival. Meanwhile, their mom (Julie Hagerty) is very busy in upcoming deb ball and fails to notice anything foul. Their Dad is also very busy in his own life. The conditions perfect for Viola who is trying to pass as a boy and beat her ex-boyfriend and she does exactly that.
Thanks to her hairdresser friend and some training about how to walk like a man, Viola manages to convince everyone that she is a boy. The baby-faced Bynes makes a very convincing weirdo as a boy. But her roommate, Duke (played by Channing Tatum) who is the captain of the soccer team captain is a very sensitive guy. He is also open to weird ideas. For example, when Viola-aka-Sebastian tells him that the pack tampons in her bag is to stop the nosebleeds, he actually gives them a try.
She’s the Man is a breezy story that has been inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The debutante by first-time screenwriters Karen McCullah and Ewan Leslie, along with Kirsten Smith, who has also written 10 Things I Hate About You and Legally Blonde, has done a good job.
This is a good-natured film that makes the most unbelievable of circumstances, totally believable. The cast seems to have enjoyed itself thoroughly while making this movie.
Bynes’ loony boyishness is completely unbelievable, yet very entertaining.
But the best part of the movie starts when Viola develops a crush on Duke, who Olivia (played Laura Ramsey), who has a crush on Sebastian. This brings the whole movie to life. As a gushing teenager in love, Bynes captures it in all its loopy glory. For a change, it is refreshing to watch an intelligent girl pursuing a boy who is the object of her desire.
If you really want to enjoy She’s the Man, then you must surrender to its silliness. The movie also has David Cross who plays the clueless headmaster of the school. Hagerty as the ditzy mom is quite breathless and spaced, which works for the character.
She’s the Man is not one of those movies that try to redefine the genre of teen movies. Most of what appears on-screen feels quite familiar. But it is still a good watch.
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