DVD Review: She's The Man

Comedies are created for many varied demographics. There are comedies intended for adults. Some are aimed at teens. Still others find favor with young children. She's the Man is a comedy so dull and predictable its makers could only have had fetuses in mind as their audience. No one any older will be even mildly amused.

Despite the rather high falutin' credit, "Inspired by the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare," the movie I was most frequently reminded of was 1985's Just One Of the Guys. As with that much funnier movie, She's the Man finds a high school girl attempting to gain the respect that her male classmates seem to be awarded so easily. When her twin brother Sebastian skips the country — without telling his parents — in order to perform in a British music festival (yeah, right), Viola (Amanda Bynes) decides to fill in for her brother at school.

The reason? She wants to join the boys' soccer team in order to prove that she is as good as them. Of course, she effortlessly convinces all concerned that she is Sebastian. Even Sebastian's friend and ex-girlfriend speak to her, face-to-face, without ever questioning.

Casting Amanda Bynes in the dual-role was a staggeringly poor choice. Ms Bynes, who somehow managed to convince a surprisingly large number of people she is actually funny, is not masculine in any way, shape, or form. While not exactly the most bodacious bod in Hollywood, she never manages to evoke anything remotely resembling a high school boy. In fact, the only boy she does look like is the kid who played Sly Stallone's son in Over the Top. Her voice remains feminine, even when she affects a bizarre accent - a mixture of deep south with Jamaican patois. For a movie like this to work, we need to be at least somewhat convinced we are watching a male actor. Bynes was simply not up to the task.

Article Author: Sherry Lipp

Sherry writes mostly music and dvd reviews and on occasion she gets to do an interview. She plays the guitar, enjoys playing with her dog Pepsi and she and her husband are currently in the process of internationally adopting from Poland.

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