Kiss Me

A pretty good movie loosely based on the 60's musical 'My Fair Lady' where an ugly duckling becomes a swan. The only problem I saw with the casting is that the duckling (Rachael Leigh Cook) had twice the looks of the Swan (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) at the start of the movie. The acting is pretty good, although Matthew Lillard overacts as usual. A simple feel good movie.

That the IMDb score is way too low speaks I think to the fact that the intended audience for the film was ... disappointed. Perhaps expectations were too high? Perhaps this story had been done once too often. But the odd fact (and the thrust of this review) is that the film is memorable because the stars rise above the material .... before they themselves burn out and lapse into film obscurity.

It was an odd confluence of talent. Director Iscove is well respected in TV but this remains one of his only shots at a feature. Prinze, who had pretty much owned the casting niche he was in, was 23 at the time the film was made and arguably long in the tooth for a high schooler. Nonetheless the chemistry between him and Leigh-Cook was powerful and that chemistry held the movie up when the dialog and the mugging by the other actors let it down.

It's all timing. Leigh-Cook never really made the transition to films after, but kept very busy with TV. Prinze never really made the transition, period, but he's still a young guy and who knows? The Pygmalion thing has been done to death but oddly Iscove, Prinze and Leigh-Cook kept it alive for one more outing. Entertaining.

Silly but fun teen romantic comedy about a high school jock (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) who bets his friend (Paul Walker) that he can turn a geek (Rachael Leigh Cook) into the prom queen. Flimsy updating of Pygmalion is hard to hate. It doesn't take itself seriously in the least. Yeah it's absolutely ridiculous that Rachael Leigh Cook, an exceptionally pretty girl, would be considered unattractive just because she wears glasses and overalls. But you just roll with it because it's cute and fun. The cast is very likable and the script is good for this type of movie. Matthew Lillard steals pretty much every scene he's in. It's fluff but you'll be smiling when it's over. Can't see the harm in that.

There are some movies that make me just stop what I'm doing and watch. Braveheart, Clear and Present Danger, Casino Royale, Godfather I and II, Goodfellas, Top Gun are just a few that come to mind. Not all are classics, but all have _something_ to them that engrosses me. She's All That is one of those movies.

Yes, Rachel Leigh Cook is so so cute. Fuggedaboudat. Watch her. See if she delivers one line as if she memorized it, as if she's repeating what someone else wrote. There's not one unnatural act or utterance from her. She is completely believable, and because her character rings so true, you cannot help but empathize with her, and that is what makes the movie -- when she wins out in the end, you're happy she did because she makes you care about her. She's as good as Kate Blanchett was in The Aviator (completely different movies, completely different roles, by Blanchett deservedly won an Oscar). She has that character absolutely nailed, you won't see - can't see -- a better performance.

(And for what it is worth, this may be Paul Walker's best performance. I credit the director for getting the performances that he did out of cast of young actors not generally known for their talent.) As for the rest of the movie, you've seen it before, but so what? Star Wars is Battle of Britain, set in the future with a backstory, no one holds that against it. The choreographed dance scene is great, and it IS well cast and it IS well acted, clichéd or not.

Call me a cornball if you must. But this film's got the magic! Lots of little touches like the hacky sack and brief parody of modern dance. And the best song--'Kiss Me'--that's ever appeared in a romantic flick. Catch the official video with Sixpence on Youtube that features Freddie and Rachel on Youtube too.