What elevates She's All That above the realm of standard teen fare is its mixture of good-natured fairy-tale romance and surprisingly clear-eyed view of high school social strata. The lines of class are demarcated as clearly as if in a Jane Austen novel, but the satire is equally deflating and affectionate. Sure, high school could be bad sometimes, but it was lots of fun too; this is a movie good-natured enough to take time out for an extended hip-hop dance number at the prom. Director Robert Iscove (who also helmed the Brandy-starring TV adaptation of Cinderella) has also assembled a great young cast, including a scene-stealing Anna Paquin as Zach's no-nonsense sister, Kieran Culkin as Laney's geeky brother, and a stupidly goofy Matthew Lillard as a Real World cast member whose arrival shakes things up a little too much. And amidst all the comedy and prom drama, you'd be hard-pressed to find two teen stars as talented, attractive, and appealing as Prinze and Cook. Prinze is an approachable and sensitive jock, though it's Cook who's the true star, investing Laney with confidence, humor, and heart. Like Zach, you'll be hard-pressed not to fall in love with her. By the story's end, both Cook and the film will have charmed the socks off of you. --Mark Englehart

Product Description
The most popular hunk in high school bets his buddies he can turn their geeky classmate into the next prom queen. But this guy gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself starting to fall for his newly transformed protege. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 01/13/2004 Starring: Rachael Leigh Cook Anna Paquin Run time: 95 minutes Rating: Pg13

For DVD enthusiasts, this is not cool!

As for the movie, I enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed the dance scene during the prom. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook did a great job. Also, you can see a special small cameo of Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, Sarah Michelle Gellar in the cafeteria scene. This movie is a fun movie to watch, but as a DVD...there should have been more included.

The movie was fun to watch...but the DVD was just blah! No extras...no good rating! Hope Miramax remembers that if they want their DVD's to be bought that rented, they need to add more to their DVD releases.


One of the best teen movies out there   December 31, 2004
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr) is doing fine - he's just started his last 8 weeks of high school, he's class president, he's dating the most desirable girl in high school, and they are a shoo-in for prom king and queen. Everything's good until his girlfriend arrives at school. Taylor Vaughn (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) got a tattoo on spring break, and she is now dating Brock Hudson (Matthew Lillard), whose only claim to fame is that he's an idiot on MTV's Real World reality TV. Zack is hurt, especially when his friend Dean (Paul Walker) razzes him about it. Zack responds by claiming he can make any girl in school into the prom queen. That's the kind of statement that leads to a bet. Dean says he'll choose a girl for Zack's challenge, and he chooses Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook).
Laney is about as big an outsider as Taylor's ego. She's an artist - she has been advised that many artists are more appreciated after they are dead, so she should kill herself (we all need "friends" like that, right?). She looks after her father and her brother. She's clumsy. She wears unattractive glasses. She wears no makeup. She wears overalls. She even wears a daggy hat while she works in a fast-food joint. They've pulled out all the stops to try to make the beautiful Rachael Leigh Cook look plain (they failed, but they tried hard!).
This is the predictable My Fair Lady type of story, or so it seems at first, especially when Zack's sister Mackenzie (Anna Paquin) gets involved to do a make-over on Laney. But there are some nice little twists, and they add up to a film that's different enough to be a pleasant time. Two of the interviewees mention that this film was deliberately modelled on early John Hughes films; I'm not sure I'd agree with that, but it does capture the idea of the romantic comedy / teen comedy genre to which this film belongs.
There are some interesting lesser characters in this film. We get to see Gabrielle Union and Clea DuVall as minor characters, and Sarah Michelle Gellar in a non-speaking role (she's included in a list headed "They're all that" in the end-credits). Tim Matheson, in a single real scene as Zack's father, was haggard-looking, but convincing.
All up, this is a pleasant film, and I recommend giving it a try.



Good Movie, Great Acting, Terrible Message   November 15, 1999
 11 out of 15 found this review helpful

Good Movie and Great Acting: She's All That is much better than the bland and irritating Titanic. The actors are more down to earth, more thorough, and openly emotional compared to the couple in Titanic. The ending is also realistic. The music soundtrack is excellent. The storyline is not bad, but there is one big flaw worth noting:

Terrible Message: Laney the geek is kindhearted person, a skilled artist, and a good all-around girl, but it doesn't matter until Zack and her sister actually pressure Laney to shed her glasses, jumpers and Bermuda shirt, and put her into a scanty red dress, tight sandals, and lots of makeup, making her look gorgeous and sexually enticing. The message is that surface appearance is the only way to go around anywhere, and get any person's respect. The ugly people are given the IRS treatment every time. Laney's brother is maltreated by bullies- to the cheers of some students in the the cafeteria- until Zack comes int to stop the incident. What kind of message is that? The ending would be better if Laney had retained her geeky clothing all through the movie.

Thank You for your time.


A great feel good movie!   December 16, 1999
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I love this movie! It is great because it is all fun. Most movies have annoying parts that you just don't want to watch after you have seen it a few times, not this movie, every second is great! Not only that but it has to make you happy, sure it is a little cheesy, but it ends great. Not to mention the fact that most of us were NOT the prom queen type, so this movie is especially great!


A totally original awesome movie!   September 19, 2003
 9 out of 12 found this review helpful

This movie is great! It stars, Freddie Prinze Jr. as, like, the coolest, smartest, most popular guy in school. His girlfriend dumps him in the beginning, so you feel, toooootally sad for him. Like, who is Freddie going to take to the prom? Anyway his girlfriend dumps him for Matthew Lillard playing, Brock Hudson (which is like a totally real sounding name) and he is, like, such a jerk that you hate from the begining. Then like, one of Freddie's friends is all like "Dude, I bet, like you couldn't make any girl you take to the prom into the prom queen!" and Freddie's like "Bro, I totally could, do you want make a bet about it?" and his friend's all "Dude, totally!" Then he picks Rachael Leigh Cook, who is totally a nerd, and like uncool and stuff, and Freddie's like "Nah dude! She's like a dweeb! I can still do it though." This part is really believable because kids in highshcool make bets like this, like all the time. Then Freddie talks to Rachel and makes her take off her dork clothes, glasses and let her hair down. Then she transforms, into like pretty and stuff. And she's really hot and, "All That", because she wasn't pretty at all before. Freddie goes to his friend and he's like, "I am, like, totally going to win this bet bro!" and his friend's all, "Dude!" Anyway, then something TOTALLY originally and unexpected happens! Freddie, like falls in love with Rachel, even though she's like a dork and stuff, he find out she's like totally nice and funny and stuff. Then another plot twist happens, when Freddie and Rachel are about to go to the prom and she finds out about what Freddie did! She's like "I can't believe you made a bet about me! That's like, bad!" and then Freddie's like "But I like, totally like, love you now." then Rachel's says, like "I am not going to this prom with you, because I am like really sad about all of this." Now Freddie's like sad too and he's like "Oh no, what did I do?" He goes over to Rachel's house, and like, talks to her about how he feels, and then she's all "Even though you made that bet, like, I know you love me know, and I like tooooootally love you too." So that's, like, what happens in the movie and I think that everyone should totally see it because it's cool and believable, and like the acting's real good. This kind of stuff, like, totally happens in high school. I think Freddie should, totally, win an Oscar, because he is like sooooo hot in this movie. Or at least get a Golden Globe or whatever.