‘SHE’S THE MAN’ (2006)

Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, She’s the Man is a fun tale. It may have some flaws, but really it’s far too much fun to ignore.

She’s the Man (2006) Film Review

For the love of soccer, Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) is willing to go to any extreme. She’s the captain of her school’s soccer team and her boyfriend, Justin (Robert Hoffman) things she’s better than most of the guys on his team. When the school cuts budgets and Viola’s team is taken down with it, Viola’s optimism suggests that the girls join up with the boy’s team, a suggestion that only gets scoffed at and causes her to lose Justin. Fortunately for her, inspiration strikes and Viola comes up with an ingenious plan.  

Her opportunity to continue playing presents itself when her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) heads off to London without his parent’s knowledge. During Sebastian’s absence, she poses as him at his private school; after all, the faculty and student body have never even seen Sebastian, she’s got this. With a little bit of “magic,” Viola transforms into “Sebastian.”  But this is more trouble than she bargains for! She must dodge Sebastian’s high-maintenance girlfriend Monique (Alex Breckenridge) and put in the occasional appearance as herself. Then she meets Duke (Channing Tatum), the cute star player on the team.

She’s the Man has no shortage of fun cases of mistaken identity and cute romantics. There are certainly plenty of different but connected plots and subplots in this adorable teen flick. I remember the first time I saw this one laughing myself silly (much to the chagrin of my father – he wondered what I could find so humorous) and loving it. Since then, I have seen this countless times, and each viewing, coming to like it a bit more.

A bit quirky, this is all the more cute by its amusing antics and spot-on witty humor; which funny-girl Amanda Bynes mostly carries. As an actress, I think she’s one of the funniest people on the big-screen. One of the funniest scenes involves a package of
feminine products and nose bleeds. It’s hilarious. Partly because of everyone’s reactions and partly the laughs come because of a secondary scene that comes about because of the first. Playing twin siblings, James and Amanda compliment each other with a resemblance and looking back, it’s a lot of fun seeing Channing in this as it’s likely one of his early roles.  

Given the decline of entertainment today, this movie might actually be one of the “cleaner” PG13 comedies. Unfortunate as it may be, the movie still has a lot of cute moments. Very few movies have such an easy, breezy way of amusing. This one did that times ten. Am I saying that everyone will agree with that? No. Nevertheless those who are able to weed out the “bad” to get to the heart of the story, She’s the Man is a fun summer-time popcorn flick.  

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You can find She’s the Man digitally on Amazon Video

Content: There is one scene that calls for a girl and a guy to “prove” their gender – he drops his pants and she lifts her shirt [all off-camera]. A big joke is made about Viola finding the time to shower; there is also a scene of her in the boy’s locker rooms [again, nothing is shown]. Skimpy clothing is revealing and there are a few kisses. Language is minimal.