Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film She's the Man. This is another movie that was on one of the lists that claim, "you must watch before you die," or something similar. Enjoy!
She's the Man
She's the Man is a 2006 American romantic comedy teen sports film directed by Andy Fickman and starring Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, and David Cross. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, the film centers on teenager Viola Hastings, who enrolls at her brother's new boarding school, Illyria Prep, in his place and pretends to be a boy in order to play on the boys' soccer team.
She's the Man emerged as a moderate commercial success, grossing $57.2 million against a budget of $20-$25 million. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but Bynes's performance was universally praised and developed a cult following.
Plot: A football-mad (soccer) teenager is incensed when her high school cuts the girls' soccer team and refuses to let her join the boys' side. She disguises herself as a boy and takes her twin brother's place at his all-male prep school.
Acting: My favorite title is She's the Man for the following actors, if not stated otherwise.
Amanda Bynes played Viola Hastings, a talented soccer player underestimated for being a girl, who dresses up as her fraternal twin brother Sebastian to play soccer at Illyria. It's so sad to see what's become of Amanda Bynes. She was such a talented actress and beautiful as well. Unfortunately, her mental health took a severe toll. It just goes to show, even celebrities are human and deal with body issues, depression and other mental health issues. Bynes' four most notable titles include Hairspray, She's the Man, What a Girl Wants and Easy A. Hairspray is my favorite.
Channing Tatum played Duke Orsino, the soccer team captain, who is in love with Olivia and later, with Viola. Tatum is kind of a 50/50 actor for me, sometimes I like him, others, I don't. His role in She's the Man is an instance where I like him. His four most notable titles currently are 21 Jump Street, White House Down, 22 Jump Street and Foxcatcher.
Laura Ramsey played Olivia Lennox, a smart girl who falls in love with "Sebastian" (Viola). Her four most notable titles currently include The Ruins, The Covenant, She's the man, and Middle Man.
Robert Hoffman played Justin Drayton, Viola's ex-boyfriend and Duke's rival. His four most notable titles currently are Step-Up 2: The Streets, Aliens in the Attic, She's the Man, and You Got Served.
Alex Breckenridge played Monique Valentine, Sebastian's superficial girlfriend. Her four most notable titles currently include Big Fat Liar, D.E.B.S., She's the Man, and the This is Us television series.
Minor roles were played by Vinnie Jones as Coach Dinklage; Julie Hagerty as Daphne Hastings, the mother of Viola and Sebastian; David Cross as Principal Horatio Gold; Jonathan Sadowski as Paul Antonio, Viola's best friend and hair stylist; Robert Torti as Coach Pistonek; James Snyder as Malcolm Festes, the school nerd and "Sebastian's" (Viola's) rival. He owns a pet tarantula Malvolio; Amanda Crew as Kia, one of Viola's friends; Jessica Lucas as Yvonne, one of Viola's friends; James Kirk as Sebastian Hastings, Viola's fraternal twin brother, who is in Europe with his band; Emily Perkins (I love her!) as Eunice Bates, the nerdy and eccentric classmate with weird sexual fantasies; John Pyper-Ferguson as Roger Hastings, the father of Viola and Sebastian; Brandon Jay McLaren as Toby, one of Duke's best friends, who is attracted to Eunice; Clifton Murray as Andrew, one of Duke's best friends; Lynda Boyd as Cheryl, the debutante ball's hostess; Katie Stuart as Maria, Olivia's best friend; Ken Kirby as the Announcer of the Illyria/Cornwall match; and Mark Acheson as Groundskeeper.
Background information: An adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the film was directed by Andy Fickman, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, Tom Rosenberg, and Gary Lucchesi, and was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum were cast respectively in the lead roles of Viola Hastings and Duke Orsino. Tatum had been chosen at Bynes's insistence, as she felt that he would be received well by audiences. She told Paper in 2018 that "I totally fought for Channing [to get cast in] that movie because he wasn't famous yet," she said. "He'd just done a Mountain Dew commercial and I was like, 'This guy's a star—every girl will love him!' But [the producers] were like, 'He's so much older than all of you!' And I was like, 'It doesn't matter! Trust me!'"
Preparing for the role, as it was her first time playing a role of the opposite sex, Bynes and Fickman observed males at a shopping mall. In an interview with MSN in 2006, she said that the part had been difficult for her to play, saying that she felt "awkward" in the role. Later, she spoke highly in the role. Later, she spoke highly of the experience, saying that "It was hard, but I did it and I did something that was not easy for me—so it was a carthartic experience and I felt really good getting it out of me." However, in a 2018 interview with Paper, Bynes admitted that her role in the film eventually had a negative effect on her mental health. "When the movie came out and I saw it, I went into a deep depression for four to six months because I didn't like how I looked when I was a boy," Bynes said. Seeing herself onscreen with short hair, thick eyebrows and sideburns was "a strange and out-of-body experience."
Neither Bynes nor Tatum were skilled played soccer before filming, so they played for hours each day to prepare for the film, where a fight occurs between the characters of Bynes and actresses Laura Ramsey and Alexandra Breckenridge, some of the stunts performed had been done by the actors themselves. In a behind-the-scenes feature, Fickman said, "As much as we had our three wonderful stunt actresses there, too, when you see the cut of the movie, it's a lot of our girls pounding each other."
Final Thoughts: She's the Man is another good coming-of-age movie. It also brings to mind the "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" song from the Broadway musical, Annie Get Your Gun. I remember watching and reviewing the 1950 film adaptation of that a little over a year ago. Anyway, She's the Man is about proving yourself beyond your gender. It's a great teen comedy that can easily be watched multiple times.
My favorite scene was when Viola is helping Duke with his flirting and they notice the tarantula crawling on the floor. They then proceed to scream and jump on the bed.
My favorite quote is "Do you like cheese?" —Viola Hastings and Duke Orsino.
Rated: PG-13
Where to watch it: According to Google, She's the Man is currently available on PlutoTV for free or YouTubeTV with a subscription. You can also purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
