![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/s/shesallthat.jpg)
She's All That
Zach Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is the big man on the high school campus. Girls love him, other boys want to be him. The problem is that his girlfriend, Taylor Vaughan (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) is kind of a bitch. After returning from spring break in Florida, the top candidate for prom queen dumps Zach in favor of a new romance with the annoying Brock Hudson (Matthew Lillard), who has nothing going for him except that he's one of the cast members on the current series of MTV's "The Real World." On the outs with his top babe, Zach declares that any girl at the school could be the prom queen with a little work, and thus finds himself drawn into a bet with one of his jock pals, who selects geeky Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook) as the perfect subject, leaving Zach with little option but to try and strike up a friendship with the bumbling, shy artist who doesn't trust anybody — and especially the "popular" students. She's All That owes much of its sensibilities to several John Hughes movies (Hughes practically invented the class-war teen flick), and it probably can be compared to fan favorites such as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, but it's actually better than both, dispensing with Hughes' notorious instincts for sappy sentiment and instead offering a fresh turn on the Pygmalion myth. Both Prinze and Cook are attractive, charismatic leads, and the archetypal plot creates a real rooting interest among the audience, as the two develop their newfound friendship while prom night grows nearer. Lillard (Scream) is particularly hilarious as Brock, a teenager so disagreeable that he's in love with his own flatulence — no wonder he's so popular. Also starring Kevin Pollak and Anna Paquin. Directed by Robert Iscove. Good transfer, Dolby 2.0, trailer.
—JJB
(Editor's Note: She's All That was released theatrically with a 5.1 soundtrack, but the audio on the DVD is in Dolby Surround 2.0, even though the case claims it's 5.1. Buena Vista has acknowledged error, but has said that they will correct the packaging in future releases and not the disc. A new 5.1 transfer has not been announced.)