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"She's the Man" takes its plot from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," but not its dialogue.
from: kcchronicle.com
by Jeffrey Westhoff
At least I think not. I haven't read the play since college, but I don't believe Shakespeare wrote the line, "Why do you have tampons in your boot?" It's not in iambic pentameter.
"She's the Man" is sort of a sequel to "10 Things I Hate About You," which turned "The Taming of the Shrew" into a modern teen romantic comedy. "She's the Man" may update kingdoms into high schools and armies into soccer teams, but Viola (Amanda Bynes) does disguises herself as her absent twin brother, Sebastian (James Kirk – what were his parents thinking?). Much romantic confusion and complications follow.
Viola undertakes the charade after her high school cuts its girls soccer team and the coach refuses to let her try out for the boys squad. When Sebastian takes an unannounced trip to England, Viola assumes his place at Illyria Prep, the school he just transferred to, and joins Elyria's soccer team hoping to trounce her old school.
Her new roommate is Duke Orsino (Channing Tatum), captain of the soccer team. He has a crush on Olivia (Laura Ramsey). As Sebastian, Viola tries to teach Duke how to woo Olivia, but Olivia falls for Sebastian, not knowing he is a girl.
In turn, Viola falls for Duke but can't express her affections while disguised as a boy. Or can she? "She's the Man" has a bit more fun with the plot's homosexual implications than a traditional production of "Twelfth Night" would.
"She's the Man" is foremost an excellent showcase for Bynes, who is not just another teen star moving from television to film. Bynes may be the most versatile female comedian to emerge since Tracey Ullman. She looks for ways to add laughs that aren't in the text, such as the jeering faces made behind the back of the requisite mean blonde (Alex Breckenridge).
Director Andy Fickman trots out the clichés of the teen comedy, not to mock them, unfortunately, but because he considers them necessary. So we get a barrage of pop songs and montages. Bynes' masculine makeover is accompanied by JOAN JETT's version of Mary Tyler Moore's theme song, "Love Is All Around."
The other young actors are as bland as Bynes is dynamic, but the adults in the cast have a lark. Julie Hagerty ("Airplane!") is Viola's worrying mother, Vinnie Jones is Illyria's intense soccer coach and "Mr. Show" star David Gold is the eerily peppy headmaster.
Aside from Shakespeare's frequent comic reversals and Bynes' energy, "She's the Man" reels off such great bits as one of Duke's pals delivering an sudden rant against high-school romance, the best cat fight since "Dynasty" went off the air and this casual remark: "Is it me, or does this soccer game have more nudity than most?"
I don't recall Shakespeare writing that line, either, but I bet he would have laughed at it.
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