Friday, May 12, 2006

She's The Man

movie review

'She's The Man' is a teen comedy inspired by William Shakespeare's play 'Twelfth Night, or What You Will', revolving around Viola (Amanda Bynes) who is a tomboy obsessed with soccer. To Viola's disappointment, her school, Cornwall Academy, cuts the girls' soccer team, and the coach of the boys' team refuses to allow her to try out for his team, stating that girls can't play soccer as well as boys can. When her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) decides to skip his first two weeks of school at Illyria Academy to perform with his band in London, Viola disguises herself as him and goes to his boarding school, hoping to join the Illyria boys' soccer team and eventually playing against her own school.

In the process, she makes friends with her roommate Duke (Channing Tatum), the captain of the Illyria team, and this is followed by the mess which is concisely summarized in the movie's tagline: "Duke wants Olivia who likes Sebastian who is really Viola whose brother is dating Monique so she hates Olivia who's with Duke to make Sebastian jealous who is really Viola who's crushing on Duke who thinks she's a guy."

So, who will end up with whom? And will Viola's disguise hold? Will she be able to make the team? What will happen in the Cornwall-Illyria fixture? The results don't come as much of a surprise as the storyline is highly predictable (and, at times, ridiculously unbelievable), but the movie is still pretty enjoyable. Amanda Bynes is likable in her role as Viola/Sebastian, and the rest of the cast supports her quite well while bounded by the somewhat hackneyed plot. It might not be as good as '10 Things I Hate About You' (with which it shares quite a few characteristics), but as far as teen movies go, 'She's The Man' isn't half bad.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 12th May, 2006

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