The Collegian

Issue date: 3/24/06 Section: No Limits

Amanda Bynes, in boy mode and Jonathan Sadowski in She's the Man.

Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum in DreamWorks Pictures' She's the Man.

Ever wonder what it would feel like if you knew you were talented and were able to do this one sport better than most, but wasn't given the chance, so you had to seize your opportunity?

Viola Hastings has just enrolled in Illyria Prep, as her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) has just gone off to London to try in break into the music scene with his band. Viola is the star player of Cornwall Prep's girl's soccer team, until the team is cut completely, which, in turn leads Viola to do the impossible. Viola, feeling that she is good enough to play for the boys' team, takes advantage of Sebastian being gone and decides to play for Illyria Prep.

Can Amanda Bynes convincingly play a boy? Of course not. She plays a cute tomboy with short hair who keeps forgetting to talk low and then nervously clears her throat and talks like she's on the phone to the school office: "Viola is sick today, and this is her mother speaking." Can she play soccer and live with a male roommate and take showers and not be exposed as a girl? Of course not, but at least the movie doesn't make a big deal out of it; she has a few close calls, and thinks fast. When the coach (Vinnie Jones) announces a practice game between Shirts and Skins, she offers compelling reasons why she should be a Shirt.

The movie might take the Cliffs Notes approach to Shakespeare (the script is smart, the direction simple), but the navigation of high-school social politics is refreshingly direct. ''She's the Man" says some funny and true things about who is okay to like and who's not. It also happily undercuts its stock characters by threatening to turn them into recognizable people. Duke (Channing Tatum) looks like the quintessential conceited pretty-boy jock, but whenever Olivia (Laura Ramsey) is around, he turns to spineless goop. Olivia doesn't want him, though. She, apparently, prefers her men a little more androgynous, and makes a play for Sebastian. Viola, meanwhile, is falling for Duke and still has to maintain her day job as a reluctant debutante.

Sebastian returns home early, and yes, that is when all hell breaks loose, because he returns to find that life for him at Illyria has already been in full swing thanks to Viola. Though by the end of the film everyone is with who they're supposed to be with. "She's the Man" follows ''Clueless," ''O," and ''10 Things I Hate About You" in repurposing literary classics for an American high school setting.

The musical score to this movie is just fantastic, with new age that will have you bobbing your head and tapping your feet like The Veronicas and American Rejects. The direction is somewhat off, but simple enough to follow so you know what's going on. The acting is not so bad you wish you saw another movie, but not too good; it's completely unbelievable for these young actors.

This, in turn, was actually a good movie to go and see, so if you need something to do, or just want a good laugh, then go see 'She's the Man," because it definitely worth the price you'll be paying.

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