“She’s All That” was all that in January 1999, and I recall being peeved by the film for being a generic teen message movie that takes over the grounds of Sunnydale High School (Torrance High in the real world) without “Buffy”-level insights.
I also didn’t like that it steals Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me” from “Dawson’s Creek.” Today, I’m ready – and even a bit proud — to embrace writer R. Lee Fleming Jr. and director Robert Iscove’s film as one of the core teen movies of my generation.
Silly on the surface
Granted, you have to be in the right mood to like “She’s All That.” You can’t be hoping for any wild narrative surprises, and you also have to indulge the casting director and hair, makeup and costume crew for what is at first blush one of the biggest “just go with it” roles in cinema history.
On the surface, this is the story of an outcast (Rachael Leigh Cook’s Laney Boggs) made over into a prom queen, as per a bet between decent popular kid Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and his jerk friend Dean (Paul Walker).
“Not Another Teen Movie” (2001) would later make fun of the idea of an obviously appealing girl being undesirable (“Guys, she’s got glasses and a ponytail!”), but that target is so easy that Iscove and company had to know what they were doing.
Sure, in a way, “She’s All That” is the story of cute and arty Laney being made over into cute, arty and hot Laney with the help of Zack’s sister Mackenzie (Anna Paquin), who staves off the danger of Laney developing a unibrow.
An alternate interpretation
However, “She’s All That” might not be as on-the-nose as “Not Another Teen Movie” suggests. I found a subtle second layer on this viewing: One could argue that this isn’t a story about Laney going from mousey to fashionable, but rather a story of her learning to go out and have fun with friends while she’s young.
Indeed, while Dean ends up being a jerk, and Taylor (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) is self-centered enough to take out her frustrations on Laney, this isn’t a case of a vicious student body ganging up on Laney “Carrie”-style. Zack’s friends make Laney feel welcome at their beach party as soon as they see Zack likes her.
Furthermore, a case could be made that “She’s All That” is about the inner makeover of Zack, who for the first time realizes it’s OK to be his own person, the way Laney is.
All about chemistry
Rom-coms are all about chemistry, and Prinze and Cook have the right kind. They draw out hidden depths in Fleming’s screenplay. We get wordless moments when he’s falling for her, and when she’s falling for him. That said, this can also be read as a friendship story; maybe they aren’t meant to be as a couple, but their friendship makes both of them better people.
Cook is a natural talent – I also love her in “Josie and the Pussycats” – but Prinze is especially a revelation because he’s notorious for being a bad actor. That’s a little unfair, although it’s clear his range is limited.
He’s perfect for this role, just as Walker is perfect as the a**h**** and Matthew Lillard is perfect as the absurd “Real World” star Brock Hudson, who peels Taylor away from Zack until she realizes Brock’s slovenliness is not worth the popularity points.
The broadness of this archetypal yarn – drawn from the play “Pygmalion” and the movie “My Fair Lady” – calls for these broad performances.
Coolness factor
On my first viewing, I thought “She’s All That” boringly leaned toward romance and melodrama more than comedy.
But now I notice some solid humor (“What kind of a name is Brock?” “What kind of a name is Zack?”) – although the pubic-hair pizza scene seems specifically placed to appeal to the late-’90s brand of gross-out humor. (To its credit, though, the film actually pre-dates “American Pie” in combining food with pubic regions.)
The coolness factor is hard to debate: “She’s All That” boasts a strong soundtrack, with Remy Zero’s “Prophecy” as the breakout tune and a choreographed prom dance number to Fatboy Slim’s “The Rockafeller Skank” stealing the show for a bit.
And the cast is a who’s who of 1990s young-adult stars. Sarah Michelle Gellar, filming “Buffy” at Torrance, has a wordless cameo; go deeper into the background to find future “Gilmore Girls” star Milo Ventimiglia.
Room for a fresh take
I do think a more pointed version of “She’s All That” could be made, with more of a curved arc for Laney. When Clea Duvall’s rival art student Misty tells Laney to kill herself, Laney is largely unaffected; if she was more sensitive, her reaction to bullying could be the backbone of a whole movie.
Also, I wonder if the understated arc about Laney improving Zack (which I missed on my first viewing) would play better if it was overt – if, for example, they were both covered in paint at the end instead of sparkling in their prom best.
A gender-swapped remake called “He’s All That” is in the works, and I think it could be good; even a line-for-line remake might draw out insights into gender roles, and maybe point out the absurdity of proscribed behaviors.
I think the broad beats of Fleming’s story are both timeless and flexible. But the biggest challenge for the new version will be equaling the chemistry of Cook and Prinze.