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Movies / On DVD / Whatever It Takes
Whatever It Takes

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Whatever It Takes (2000)

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Reviews Counted:62

Fresh:9

Rotten:53

Average Rating:3.4/10

Consensus: Whatever It Takes is another run-of-the-mill teeny-bopper romance flick. Cliche jokes and a tired plot capture few laughs.

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: High School senior Ryan Woodman and every other male student at Gilmore High has a massive crush on the most luscious knockout ever to walk its hallowed halls, Ashley Grant. The only problem? Ryan... High School senior Ryan Woodman and every other male student at Gilmore High has a massive crush on the most luscious knockout ever to walk its hallowed halls, Ashley Grant. The only problem? Ryan is persona non grata in the popular set and hardly worthy of Ashley's attention. Enter Chris, resident babe magnet, who's pining to no avail after Ryan's best friend Maggie, a girl with beauty, brains and a big heart. It's four weeks till graduation, and the clock is ticking for Ryan and Chris to snag their respective dreamgirls.

In the hilarious romantic comedy Whatever It Takes, Chris and Ryan, flanked by bumbling buddies Floyd, Cosmo and Dunleavy, go to outrageous lengths as they hatch a plan which, if successful, will land them both with the right girl-or so they think.

Weaving a web of fake e-mails, plotted phone calls, contrived double dates and mistaken identities, Ryan helps Chris hide his dumb-jock personality under a façade of fake sensitivity, and soon Maggie is smitten. At the same time, Chris convinces Ashley that Ryan is the new cool kid in school and worth a second look. But messing with fate just ends up messing everything up, and in this tale of mismatched love, Ryan discovers that being yourself is always the best scheme, and that sometimes the love of your life is the girl next door-your best friend. [More]

Starring: Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, James Franco

Starring: Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, James Franco, Christine Lakin, Aaron Paul, Colin Hanks

Director: David Raynr

Director: David Raynr
Screenwriter: Mark Schwahn
Producer: Paul Schiff
Composer: Edward Shearmur

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Release:

Aug 1, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Whatever It Takes

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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Whatever It Takes is certainly nothing new or ground-breaking, but for what it is, it's entertaining and slightly above-average.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
02/24/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Whatever It Takes is light, fluffy, fast-paced, and through the sludge of overdone ideas are a couple original moments.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Despite its formulaic plot and all-too-tired themes, this John Hughes-movie wannabe has just enough quirky charm to compensate for its generic story.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mary Kalin-Casey
Mary Kalin-Casey
Reel.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

The geeky sidekicks in Whatever It Takes are no better or worse than those in a dozen other teen movies of recent vintage, but they get the job done.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert Horton
Robert Horton
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert Strohmeyer
Robert Strohmeyer
Filmcritic.com

There's something sweet and delightfully anarchic about it.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Although the film shamelessly rips off plot lines, characters and incidents from the play about Cyrano, TV shows and other movies... it still manages to entertain.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Sander
Tom Sander
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

Teens have it hard enough ... without dopey movies making them look like morons.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

The script's way of handling its romantic complications is unusually obtuse and insensitive.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What's that you say? You want what? Originality? Or at least something marginally distinctive? That's not what these movies are about!

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

The cliches annoy.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Thompson
Bob Thompson
Jam! Movies

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

This is about as lame as teen comedy/romance films come.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

There are way too many poop and crotch jokes.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

What the film takes for granted is that there is a young horde waiting to be sold the old tripe again, a group very specifically targeted (from about age 15.2 to 19.4) as laugh patsies.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

You can see the outcome from the very first seconds of the film, and Mark Schwahn's screenplay plunders everything from Cyrano de Bergerac to Risky Business.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

If you saw a single John Hughes movie from the 1980s, you've already seen this territory covered with more style and insight.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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