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Sick Product of a Sick System

As Good As It Gets

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

No seriously, if you think about it, its basically the legend of Mulan. She dresses like a guy to join a "group" that is fighting/competing agaisn't other "groups" (soccer). Than a boy starts going like, maybe I'm bi. Oh lol she's a girl, I'm a bit relieved. Well at least that's what the original story of Mulan was like before Disney attempted it.

She's the Man is a hysterical romantic comedy that was released in 2006. The audience was geared towards young preteen and teenage girls. As a preteen myself around the time the movie was released She's the Man was one of the first PG-13 movies I was allowed to see. The main character, Viola, is played by Amanda Bynes, who at the time was a very successful and popular actress. This created popularity for the movie before it even premiered. A well- picked cast can make or break a movie. In this movie the cast makes a huge difference by giving life to the story in ways that other actors could not. The movie also ties into a play written by one of the most famous authors in history and has a soundtrack with some songs still play on the radio today. To make the movie even more interesting it correlates with another story. According to the article "She's the Man vs. Twelfth Night" throughout the entire movie references are made to Shakespeare's play The Twelfth Night. The two stories are alike in many but also differ in a few. The main similarities come from the names of characters and places, but are also found in the plot. Some of the names that appear in both the movie and the play are Viola, Sebastian, Duke, Olivia, Malvolio, Cesario, Andrew, Toby, Antonio, Illyria, and Cornwall. In both Viola and Sebastian are twins, but they play different roles in the movie and play. Duke Orsino in the movie relates to the Duke of Illyria in the play. Duke Orsino is the captain of the men's soccer team at Illyria and leads like the Duke of Illyria does in the play. Olivia is caught in the middle of a love triangle very similar in both the movie and the play ("She's the Man vs. Twelfth"). One quote that sums up the love interests in this film is, ""Everybody has a secret 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 " ("She's the Man – Film"). Also, in both the movie and film Olivia's lover needs help to win her attention. In the end of both stories though Duke ends up with Viola and Sebastian ends up with Olivia. Cesario is the name of Viola in the play, but the name of a popular pizza joint in the movie. Other little references like this one are made in the film; such as, on a billboard at the Illyria for the upcoming production of the What You Will, which is another name for The Twelfth Night. The names Andrew and Toby are used for Duke's soccer friends in the film and as someone who love Olivia and Olivia's uncle in the play respectively. Viola and Sebastian are from a country called Cornwall in the play and move to Illyria where the play is set. In the film they transfer schools from Cornwall to Illyria to make the exact same move as in the play. All of these similarities between the two in both names and the plot create a dynamic that would add any film.According to IMDb many different writers and artists composed the soundtrack of the film. Some of the more popular songs featured on the sound track are "No Sleep Tonight", "Hey Sexy Lady", "Barbie Girl", "Dirty Little Secret", and "Move Along". "No Sleep Tonight" ("Soundtracks"). "No Sleep Tonight" plays in the opening scene to get the movie going and pumps up the viewers. The rest of the songs played throughout the movie are also used to pull at the viewer's emotions. Also Sebastian's lyrics are used in the movie and quoted a few times (She's the Man). Many of these songs have been used in other successful films trough the years and are still relevant today. "Dirty Little Secret" by The All American Rejects still can be heard on radio stations today. She's the Man is a movie I would recommend for anyone to watch. Even though the audience is aimed at a younger generation of girls I feel that most anyone could find something for him or her to get out of it. With the references to Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night it would also be a great movie to consider using in a learning environment. The casting, comedy, and soundtrack all mesh together in perfect collaboration to form a very enjoyable piece of art.

The only thing I knew about this cast was Bynes did some work on Nickelodeon and Tatum had a string of teen flicks, neither of which I've watched before. Had a pretty low expectation given the genre so it was pretty pleasant to find out it wasn't as horrible as I anticipated it to be.Bynes was amusing enough (borderline annoying if your threshold is pretty low) during the whole OTT girl went undercover as boy disguise mission. Her mannerisms were similar to that of Bullock circa Miss Congeniality although I find Bynes being better in the silly department whereas Bullock excels better in bringing the romance into romantic comedy lead.Tatum made great eye candy although 'twas pretty painful to watch him go through the more serious scenes - like him telling Viola (as Sebastian) off in treating woman badly. He fared slightly better during silly scenes - like whenever he had to act all nervous every time he talked to Olivia.The supporting cast really shone here. I've always had a fondness for Jones so I'm thrilled anytime I see him (doubly so here since I didn't know he was cast). Cross did a great job along with Torti as well as Viola/Sebastian's crew in supporting her/him with the transformation and Duke's silly frat entourage.I could enjoy this a lot more if the subplot of Duke and Viola hooking up didn't feel so artificial and forced but alas, (i) romantic (/i) comedy sells better than straight up laugh in your face humour especially whenever we have a female lead. After all, it (i) was (/i) based on the Shakespeare's Twelfth Night play

Upon approaching this film I ask the question if one were to take a Shakespearian play, change the setting to an American Prep School, scrap the dialogue, with the exception of a few classic lines, and replace it with modern English, and rework the plot so that it is appropriate to the setting, then is it still Shakespeare? The answer is a definite 'no', though it is acceptable to say that it was based on Shakespeare. When asking this question, most people immediately thought of 10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew), though this movie is inspired by Twelfth Night. I will be writing about Twelfth Night later (as I have recently watched the 1995 version of the film) so I will focus instead on this film.It is not a bad film, if one can handle the complete butchering of Shakespeare, but then again, Shakespeare is hardly original himself. To me Shakespeare's skill lies in his plots (which he borrows from multiple sources at times) and his masterful use of the English language. Turning the play into an American romantic comedy does not really do it justice, however the plot is substantially better than boy gets girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl again.The film is about a girl Viola (the name is taken from Shakespeare) who loves playing soccer, but when her school's soccer team is cut due to lack of interest, she is devastated. However, when her brother (Sebastian – Shakespeare) decides to skip the country and go to England for band practice (in the play they are separated in a ship wreck) she uses the opportunity (they are twins) to pretend to be him and start at his school (Ilyria High, which is a take off of the country in which Twelfth Night is set). At the school she bunks with Duke Orsino (the name is taken also from Shakespeare, however he is not a Duke, he is just called Duke) and has to manipulate things so that she is not discovered.Another thing that differs is the subplots. The only major subplot in this film is the principle and another student trying to uncover what Viola is up to, and attempt to expose her as a fraud. Of course they fail, but then Viola is in the end forced to come clean, especially when Sebastian returns. Malvolio does appear in the film, but he is a pet spider, so the whole Malvolio, Sir Toby Belch, and Sir Andrew subplot does not exist. Another difference, well it is not so much a difference, but a cutting of the original, is when Sebastian returns and Olivia runs up to him and kisses him. In the play the scene is drawn out a lot more, where as in the movie it is only a few seconds.The final scene, where Viola is forced to come clean, is played out on the soccer field where Sebastian finds himself playing soccer when he is hopeless and Viola is stuck on the side lines. In the end everything turns out quite well. Instead of the main characters all getting married, they all 'get together' in that they become girlfriend and boyfriend, though this does not come anywhere near to the Shakespearian everybody getting married. As for a film, I enjoyed it, and I would say that it is a good introduction to Shakespeare, as long as people know that this is what it is based upon, but as a film standing alone by itself, it is still good.