ah , and 1999 was going along so well , too .
” she’s all that ” has the dubious distinction of being the worst movie i’ve seen so far this year .
and quite frankly , i doubt i’ll see anything equally bad .
( at least , i * hope * i don’t see anything equally bad ) .
” she’s all that ” tells the story of the most popular guy in school ( played by freddie prinze jr . ) who accepts a bet to transform the geekiest girl in school ( rachel leigh cook ) into the most popular .
that , right there , is problem #1 .
how many times have we seen this storyline ?
as cook comments near the end of the film , ” it’s kind of like ” pretty woman ” , except without the prostitution ” .
of course , had the filmmakers attempted to try something new with this material , the well-worn storyline would have been a device to propell the movie forward .
as it is , though , ” she’s all that ” relies * completely * on the lame and overused formula to push it ahead .
there’s not one original or interesting character in the film , either , and if that wasn’t bad enough , there’s not one good performance featured .
the star of the movie , rachel leigh cook , is simply horrible .
i usually don’t like to get so personal , but in this case , i think it needs to be said .
cook wears the same expression throughout the flick and looks to be having as miserable a time as i was .
i was never convinced that she was a ” nerd ” , and her transformation was unconvincing and unnecessary .
the movie seems to be saying it’s better to be popular than to be who you are .
as for freddie prinze jr . , an actor i ordinarily enjoy , he too is quite bad here .
he coasts through the film on so-called charm , and never establishes a real character .
kieren culkin is here , too , as the brother of cook .
and for some indiscernable reason , he’s got hearing aids .
no explanation is given and they’re never brought up .
were we supposed to feel * sorry * for him just because he wore hearing aids ?
i don’t think so .
that single element of the film was one of the most offensive things i’ve seen in a movie in a long time .
” she’s all that ” sucks .
that’s what it boils down to .
it’s not entertaining , and it’s not even a good time passer .
the hour and a half running time goes by slower than a 5 minute hair-removal system informercial .
and what’s worse , it sends out a bad message to teens .
it appears to be telling them , ” hey , it doesn’t matter if you’re happy the way you are .
that’s unimportant .
if you want to * truly * be happy , dress in the latest fashions and act like a bubble-headed moron . ”
ugh .