She's the Man

Fickman, Andy. She’s the Man. Lakeshore Entertainment (2006).

Plot Summary

                Much to her dismay, Viola’s beloved girls’ soccer team gets cut at her high school.  When her twin brother, Sebastian, decides to ditch the first weeks of class at his new school, Viola decides to take matters into her own hands.  Dressed as Sebastian, Viola makes it onto the boys’ soccer team.  However, living as an undercover girl in a dorm full of boys is bound to cause some awkward, and hilarious, situations.  None of this matters because Viola gets to do what she loves – play soccer.  But things start to get messed up when the love triangles start getting out of hand and Viola herself falls for her hunky room and teammate.  This movie is based on Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. 

Critical Evaluation

                Amanda Bynes is hilarious as a girl playing a boy.  This movie is very funny, in an obvious way and in another more subtle way.  The supporting characters bring the chaos that is this film to life and their comedic timing make this movie an even bigger success.  At times, it seems that Viola puts herself into unnecessary situations – like changing five million times during the carnival.  She spends two minutes as Viola, takes 5 minutes to change and then spends another 2 minutes as Sebastian before going to change again.  But, for the most part, this just adds to the comedy of this movie.  The confusion of who likes who and who’s lying to who makes this a gleeful movie that is fun for every teen.

Reader’s Annotation

Can Viola, in pursuit of her love of soccer, pull of being her brother Sebastian without anyone finding out?

Author’s Information

She’s the Man was directed by Andy Fickman.  He has directed other such popular films as The Game Plan  and You Again.  An interesting interview with Andy can be found here: http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/05/06/fick-ing-around-with-director-andy-fickman/.

Genre

DVD

Book Talking Ideas

Most teenagers have at least heard of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, even if they haven’t read it.  The film adaptation is hilarious, as is the play, and it may make understanding the play easier once they know who are the characters are.  For the girls I’d mention that Channing Tatum is the leading man.  For the boys, I’d mention that Amanda Bynes is just the beginning of cute girls in this movie. 

Reading Level/Interest

15

Challenge Issues

There is some minor sexual content in the film but nothing that would make this movie unfit for teens of any age.

Why Include This Title?

She’s the Man, while a fun comedy, is also an example of the kinds of movies being produced for teenagers right now.  They are based on books or plays and there is always some sort of modern twist to them.