She's the Man (2006)
Average Rating: 5/10
Reviews Counted: 109
Fresh: 47 | Rotten: 62
Shakespeare's wit gets lost in translation with She's the Man's broad slapstick, predictable jokes, and unconvincing plotline.
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 16
Shakespeare's wit gets lost in translation with She's the Man's broad slapstick, predictable jokes, and unconvincing plotline.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 570,361
Movie Info
A simple case of assumed identity snowballs into a romantic mix-up of epic proportions in director Andy Fickman's contemporary teen take on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) has good reason for wanting to conceal her identity upon arriving at Illyria Prep School, and with her twin brother, Sebastian (James Kirk), skirting school in an attempt to break into the London music scene, Viola sees her sibling's well-timed absence as the perfect opportunity to assume his
Cast
-
Amanda Bynes
Viola Hastings -
Channing Tatum
Duke -
Laura Ramsey
Olivia -
Vinnie Jones
Coach Dinklage -
Julie Hagerty
Daphne -
Alex Breckenridge
Monique -
Jonathan Sadowski
Paul -
Robert Hoffman
Justin -
Robert Torti
Coach Pistonek -
James Snyder
Malcom -
Amanda Crew
Kia -
Jessica Lucas
Yvonne -
James N. Kirk
Sebastian Hastings -
Clifton Murray
Andrew -
Brandon Jay McLaren
Toby -
Emily Perkins
Eunice -
David Cross
Principal Gold
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All Critics (113) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (62) | DVD (19)
A comedy that lacks both the verbal sophistication of its source and the sexual sophistication of its target audience.
Top CriticThere I sit, suffering total numbness of body and brain, no longer having to wonder what it might be like to be buried alive in gooey marshmallow.
Mere words cannot convey how awful Bynes is at playing a girl playing a boy.
As was proven with 10 Things I Hate about You, it is possible to re-imagine the Bard in a modern high school setting, but She's the Man doesn't do it well.
She's the Man has a certain charm and is sure to appeal to tweens, at least the female variety.
More often than not it's the slapstick elements, predictably occasioned by gender confusion, that get the laughs.
Fails to make the most of its source material by trimming Shakespeare's plot and squeezing it into a vacuous high school comedy.
She's the Man arrives with much ado about something: a seasoned concept and qualified birthright that supports its traditionalism and rests upon its potential.
Anything resembling real wit or charm is strictly A.W.O.L.
...there are certainly more than enough elements within the film to warrant a mild recommendation among older viewers...
watching it helps you realize that you're not 12 anymore, and you can't be watching movies like this. Unless, of course, you're still 12, so you'll probably be cheering for Amanda Bynes
The utter absence of humor, charm, originality, or intelligence leaves this to rank among the worst of all recent teen comedies.
The movie is noisy, obnoxious and wildly overacted, as if Fickman planned it to play only on a Sony PSP.
Byrnes is an absolute delight...it kicks goals
She's the Man is cleverer than the average teen movie, but it gets so wrapped up in plot mechanics that it loses the characters
I can't wait to see Lindsay Lohan do a version of Hamlet.
Bynes tackles her part with gusto, while Tatum underplays his to striking effect.
The high school hijinks may entertain the young, but those more familiar with the Bard will recognise this as a wasted opportunity.
A minor but decent-spirited entertainment, enlivened by a couple of the adult supporting players.
Amanda Bynes is an extremely likeable actress and she does a pretty good job of passing as a boy, though she's a little over-reliant on comedy mugging at times.
Implausible as she is, her voice-changing, artificial guy-speak, and penchant for causing fights makes the whole film fun and watchable.
Its kooky hybrid of slapstick gender jokes already had whiskers on 'em in Shakespeare's day.
Bynes's character is never convincing enough to fool a newborn.
Up until the last 10 minutes or so, I hated everything about this movie.
One of the charms of this romantic teen comedy is its speed: even its sex change is a remarkably carefree, no-fuss event.
Audience Reviews for She's the Man
Super Reviewer
Based on one of Shakespeare's best plays, 'Twelfth Night', Amanda Bynes plays the football, not soccer, but football loving girl Viola Hastings who disguises her as her brother in order to continue to play the game at a different school. It's not exactly Shakespeare, and the words 'based on' are used in their loosest terms, with only the bare components used.
With some impressive cast choices, including Vinnie Jones and David Cross, the writers wreck some of the most important characters, such as turning Malvolio into a spider and a boy named Malcolm. However, Amanda Bynes gives a lovely, sweet performance in a comedic style perfect for the genre. Channing Tatum meanwhile plays his character somewhere between a grunting teenager and a shy toddler. What he or the director were actually trying to achieve is a question I will never know the answer to, but his performance isn't a patch on the rest of the cast.
Nothing else stands out. Style and substance is rare, whilst gags and funny facial expressions are common. It's funny in parts, others not so. But what it fails most at is the complete rejection of the use of any Shakespeare's own comedy. 'Twelfth Night' is a comedy filled with funny moments, excellent set ups and great deliveries. Instead, 'She's The Man' opts for cheap, old gags.
And in the end, it is a high school teen comedy, made for teens. It doesn't try to be anything it's not and doesn't shy from some more interesting gags than the average flick of this type. The screenplay and direction will never go down in history as a great example of making a high school comedy, but it is a decent one in the genre anyway. Outside that target audience though, 'She's The Man' is best avoided.
Super Reviewer
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- Viola Hastings: What are you talking about? Why are you lying?
- Justin: Viola! End of discussion!
- Viola Hastings: Fine, end of relationship.
-
- Toby: I need your advice, man. I got lady troubles.
- Viola Hastings: I'm here for you bro. Got a lifetime of knowledge.
-
- Toby: She's got a little something something.
- Andrew: Yeah, asthma and headgear.
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- Viola Hastings: No man, if you wanna kiss her, you go right ahead and you kiss her! I mean, knock yourself out! You just take her, then kiss her. Then kiss the crap out of her!
- Duke: Okay.
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- Olivia: Beware of the old guy chewing gum. It's not gum.
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- Duke: Why, why do you always talk about girls in such graphic terms?
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Movie: ID: 112770423 Title: She's the Man Release Date: 2006-03-17 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
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DIRECTED BY: Andy Fickman
Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) had her own good reasons for disguising herself as her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) and enrolling in his place at his new boarding school, Illyria Prep. She was counting on Sebastian being AWOL from school as he tried to break into the music scene in London. What she didn't count on was falling in love with her hot roommate, Duke (Channing Tatum), who in turn only has eyes for the beautiful Olivia (Laura Ramsey). Making matters worse, Olivia is starting to fall for Sebastian, who--for reasons Olivia couldn't begin to guess--appears to be the sensitive type of guy she'd always dreamed of meeting. If things weren't complicated enough, the real Sebastian has come back from London two days earlier than expected and arrives on campus having no clue that he's been replaced...by his own twin sister.
Didn't expect to like this flick much, but I did. Mainly because it really brings the laughs. Any movie that can make you laugh through out it is good to me. Amanda Bynes is a really funny gal and it really shows in this movie. Some things were a bit cheesey, but it's a no brainer that things will be in films like this. But all in all a good little funny film. Good watch..