Review and Comparison – She's All That & He's All That

She's All That & He's All That

Review and Comparison

Like most things on this blog, comparison posts is something I said I would do and then never got around to doing.

I remember my Mum giving me a copy of She's All That when I was maybe 13, and I loved it. So, when I'm scrolling through Netflix looking for something to watch, and adding copious amounts of movies to my list, to watch later, I stumbled across He's All That, a 2021 remake. And get this, it's also a gender flipped remake.

So, I decided, what a perfect excuse to do a comparison post – to rewatch She's All That, then watch He's All That, and make the post as I go!

Let us start with She's All That!

Soccer team captain Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr) is one of the most popular guys at his High School, and he's a little upset when his girlfriend Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) dumps him so she can go out with a TV star (Matthew Lillard). Nevertheless, he insists that she is replaceable and makes a bet with his best friend Dean that he could turn any girl at the school into a Prom Queen. Dean takes the bet and nominates miserablist wierdo Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) as the lucky girl. Undaunted, our hero sets to work...

Amazon UK 

(I don't think it's currently available on Netflix, or Amazon Prime, unfortunately.)

My Review

This movie is, in my opinion, timeless. It doesn't matter if you watched this in the late 1990s, when it first came out, or if you watch it in the modern day, the effect is still the same, and the message still comes across.

On the first day back at school after Spring break, Zach learns that his girlfriend, Taylor, has left him for a guy called Brock Hudson, who she met while she was away. Zach doesn't let her get him down for too long, and makes a bet with his best friend – he can make any girl as popular as Taylor, and he can prove it by turning an outcast into prom queen. When his friends choose Laney Boggs as the girl, Zach certainly has his work cut out in getting through to the closed off artist.

I remember first watching this film, and hating Zach, and loving Laney. I felt like Zach was pestering her, when she just wanted to be left alone, and that Laney deserved better than him. But, in the end, even Zach doesn't really know what he's doing, and even at 18, when people are considered adults, they still don't know what they're doing. What Zach knows, is popularity, and when Taylor humiliates him, there is a sense that he has lost something, something that he wants back – a hot girl on his arm, and people to look at him and not think about how he was so publicly dumped.

There is a certain quality to this film that makes you know it is a 90s film (apart from the clothing and the hairdos, that is). It is a romantic comedy aimed at teens, but it's something that everyone can watch, and everyone will be able to find at least some joy in watching it. There is a joke for all, and with the overall message of 'don't judge a book by it's cover', everyone can benefit from the lessons it shows. Laney may be a struggling artist, always wearing paint covered clothes, talking about doom and gloom, and with glasses perched on her nose, but that is only what the outside perspective sees. Once you get to know Laney, you quickly learn that she isn't just the dorky girl picked as a bet, she is a girl who looks after her brother and father, who works hard at everything she does, and puts everyone else above herself.

And yes, it is a romantic comedy from the 90s. It is not going to be perfect, and it is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who watch it and fall in love, it will be a movie to put on repeat.

And now, let's move onto He's All That!

An influencer specialising in makeovers bets she can transform an unpopular classmate into prom king in this remake of the teen classic "She's All That."

I'm not going to lie, I didn't spend long looking for a description of this movie, which is why we've ended up with the very short one we have. I can't find this film on Amazon, I think it's only available on Netflix. That might not be true, but if you want to watch it, it is on Netflix!

My Review!

I have now, officially, watched this entire movie three times, on three consecutive evenings. The first two were because I wanted to, the third time was because I wanted to write this directly after watching it to have it fresh in my head (and also because I wanted to).

I'm not going to lie, I didn't really watch this movie because it was a remake of a film I had already watched, and loved, I mainly clicked on it because the first thing I saw was Tanner Buchanan. I have looked at some other reviews of this movie, and a lot of them are being overly critical because of Addison Rae, who plays Padgett. I actually have no idea who she is, outside of this film, so I can't judge anything about that (not that I would anyway – it's wholly unfair to judge a film by what the cast do outside of acting).

When influencer, Padgett Sawyer, learns that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she loses it live on camera, and goes viral. Unfortunately, that sort of behaviour isn't what her sponsors want to see, and she loses the sponsorship she was relying on to pay for her college tuition, not coming from wealth in a town where to fit in, you must be rich. In a desperate bid to try and get over the embarrassing moment everyone is talking about, Padgett makes a bet – that she can take any loser from her school, and make him into prom king. And her friends pick Cameron Kweller, the school outcast who no one knows anything about.

This film is incredibly cheesy at times, but it's a romantic comedy about a beauty influencer trying to give a makeover to a socially awkward photographer, without him knowing, so a little bit of cheesiness is unavoidable. Once again, I clicked on this movie for Tanner Buchanan, and I can definitely say, I was not disappointed. And his character loves horses? Sounds like we'd make a great match, if I'm being honest!

There was one extra character I must say, in particular, I loved, and that was Cameron's grandmother. She sits in the background while Cameron has conversations with Padgett and his little sister, Brin, and chimes in with less than appropriate comments every now and again. She was certainly a bonus to this movie, and I would love to know just how often she embarrasses her grandchildren with the things she says.

This movie has a message about being true to yourself, and not hiding behind lies and playing make-believe with your life. With the age of social media, anyone can create whatever persona they would like online, and no one would know any different. But living a lie can destroy your life, and coming clean about who you are, who you truly are, behind all the photos, and the posts, and the edits, is the most important thing to do if you want to start living your life how you want to live it.

Comparison

First off, I absolutely loved that they brought back Rachael Leigh Cook (Laney) and Matthew Lillard (Brock Hudson) for He's All That. Granted, they take on different roles, but to carry them forward, to include two incredibly recognisable actors from She's All That in the remake, tied He's All That into the original, and showed that, while things change, and actors play different roles, the movies are still one and the same in terms of the story idea.

Obviously, there are some stark differences with the two movies. First off, making a modern remake of a 90s film is difficult enough, without trying to wrap the story around the technology that consumes the everyday lives of school students, not to mention trying to find a way to include social media to, not hinder, but add to the story. As well as that, switching the genders of all the characters? A lot was taken on in trying to replicate, and update, She's All That.

And while the overall story was mostly replicated, He's All That seemed less like a remake and more like someone had taken the idea of a bet to turn someone into a prom queen/king, and taken the characters, and created their own modernised story around just that one aspect. The characters are all there, Cameron (Laney) has a younger sibling, and Padgett (Zach) is dealing with personal issues while trying to maintain the persona that everyone associates with them, but the story itself is very different.

However, while She's All That is timeless, He's All That is clearly not. With the inclusion of so many things relevant to today's society, and particularly the popular social media platforms that people use on a regular basis, this movie will, unfortunately, grow old very quickly. In five years, the way social media is used will be entirely different than it is now, and this movie will no longer be relevant to the world of the viewer.

That being said, though, He's All That is a film that, like I have said, I really enjoyed watching, and I have watched it multiple times. It is difficult to properly compare two movies that are so vastly different, even though they are both built on the bones of the same story. The thing about them both, is they both carry a clear message of acceptance, of accepting who you are, and of accepting people for who they are, without trying to change them, but rather getting to know them, past what they look like. People might look one way, but act another, and both movies tell you to pause before you judge someone purely on how they look, because inside, they might be someone that you absolutely have to know.

And done!

Sorry this is quite long, it turns out that when you are writing reviews for two different movies, and then a whole other review to compare the two, it turns into a bit of an essay!

Have I mentioned Tanner Buchanan in this post? Yes?! I might have to rewatch Cobra Kai.

That's it for now.

Bye!

Character Stories, making short stories for everyday people – Niamh

I was in a bit of a conundrum after finishing my Places To Read series, as I wanted to replace it with another series, but I didn't have any ideas ready to go.

Then, I remembered that I have a list of names waiting to be used, after asking Twitter to name a character for me.

So I decided to make a series about these names, to give them all a character, and a story. And thus, Character Stories was born.

Niamh

Panting, Niamh ran her hand across her forehead, and wiped the sweat on her leggings. She leant down to pick up her water bottle, and drank deeply from it, the cool liquid wetting her parched tongue.

Looking down at her smartwatch, telling her that she had achieved her workout goal, and that she was running late to get to work, Niamh quickly ended the workout tracker on her watch, and headed for the lockers.

Grabbing her keys and phone from a locker, she half ran out to her car, climbing in and turning it on, her car radio automatically turning on and blaring music at her, the heavy rock fuelling her blood as if she hadn't just spent an hour working out. She threw the car into first gear, and pulled away.

She showered quickly at home, rubbing shampoo that smelled of artificial strawberries into her hair, and coating her body in 'calming lavender' body wash. There was no amount of body wash capable of calming her down when she knew she had only twenty minutes left to get to work.

She didn't have time to dry her hair properly, so she knotted it up at the back of her head still damp. It was likely to fall in uneven and unflattering waves when she let it down in the evening, but she didn't care much. She would be washing it again the following morning anyway, after the gym.

Niamh climbed back into her car, her leggings exchanged for a pencil skirt, her old t-shirt for a white blouse, and climbed back into her car. The drive to work wasn't long, but her eyes kept flicking towards the clock on her car's dashboard, an hour behind, as she wasn't sure how to adjust the clock for daylight savings. Still, it wasn't difficult to read the clock, telling her she had three minutes to get to work, park, and make it into the building.

Her old boss wouldn't have cared much, he would've mentioned something about traffic and ask if she got caught in it. He would have asked how she got on at the gym that morning, or asked about evening plans. He would have already placed a cup of tea on her desk, and it would somehow be hot, no matter if she was five minutes early or ten minutes late.

Her new boss, well. Turning up to work late is harder to get away with when you aren't dating the boss.

She pulled up in the car park and practically sprinted into the building. She glanced down at her watch, and then up at her boss, as the clock on the wall ticked to 9 o'clock. Niamh smiled at her boss, and walked to her desk.

"Hi, Charlie," Niamh said, approaching his desk and he span around in his chair, grinning up at her.

"Morning, sweetie," he replied as Niamh leant down to kiss him. "You get up earlier and earlier every day." Niamh stepped away from him and sat down at her desk. Charlie might have been a convenient boss, but the role never suited him. He was almost relieved when he was informed that he was being demoted, and replaced. The one good thing about having the same job as him again? The spare desk next to Niamh's suddenly had a person in it, and it was a person she wanted to be near.

"Thank you for the tea," Niamh said as she sat down, smiling as she picked up the cup and blew gently on the boiling water before taking a sip.

"How was your workout?"

"Tiring." Niamh leant forward and turned on her computer, watching the screen slowly come to life, buffering slightly as it woke up. "It was leg day, I might not be able to move by the end of the day." She grinned, looking at Charlie. "You might have to carry me home."

"Can't, I biked," he replied, keeping his eyes on the screen in front of him. "Unless you're willing to sit on the handlebars." He glanced towards her, smiling.

"I think I'd rather drive." Niamh's computer made it's welcoming sound, telling her that it had finally managed to start properly, and she sighed as her work day started properly.

"Do you fancy pizza for dinner?" Charlie asked and Niamh looked over at him, pouting.

"Don't say that now. Say it at four when I start complaining. Now I'm going to spend all day craving pizza."

Charlie grinned at her.

"So is that a yes?"

"That's a definitely."

And done!

Apparently, Niamh is a girl who works in an office with her boyfriend, likes to stay fit, is a morning person, and has a deep love for pizza.

Who knew!?

Anyway, that's all I have for now...

Bye!

A Review – I'll Be There by Remy Marie

 

I'll Be There

by Remy Marie

A Review

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a copy of this book by the author, and while I can't remember exactly how the interaction leading to me receiving my copy came about, I do remember being incredibly excited to read it.

Unfortunately, it has taken me over a month to get around to reading it, and in that time, the book has been published (I was given a copy prior to publication) and I'm certain the author has wondered at least once whether I said I'd read it just to get a copy, or whether I was actually going to write a review!

I have left the waiting for long enough now, let me show you the book and we can get into the review!

Jasmine Phillips has always had her sights set high, and it seems like she has everything figured out. She has the grades, the looks, the money—and let’s not forget her perfect boyfriend. To anyone on the outside looking in, she has the perfect life. Little do they know, it’s not what it seems. Despite her stellar grades and top percentile MCAT score, her parents still aren’t happy. Jasmine’s surgeon parents want her to follow in their footsteps while she wants to pursue a career in pediatrics. However, this turns out to be the least of her worries. Her perfect, med student boyfriend is determined to ruin her future along with his own. When he lays his hands on her for the first time, Jasmine’s life is thrown into turmoil and Brock Givens seems to be the only one able to keep her life from spinning out of control.

Brock Givens might seem like an average dumb jock at a glance but to people who know him, he’s much more that. While a football star, he’s also smarter than most give him credit for and has a passion for more than just football, but that doesn’t mean he’s without issues of his own. Brock’s troubled past and childhood trauma are impacting his football career and threatening his future. Jasmine tries to be there for Brock as a friend but they seem to be getting closer and closer each day while denying there is anything more than friendship until their mutual need for comfort and support brings them closer than they anticipate.

Content Warning, contains scenes of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and racism.

Amazon UK • Amazon US

And now (finally) , my review!

I read this book in one day – that's how much this book will draw you in and not let you go! If you put it down, you'll find yourself picking it straight back up.

Jasmine Phillips seemingly has it all - supportive parents, a loving boyfriend, and a clear road forward to become a surgeon. But not everything is as it may seem, in any of the cases. Jasmine may appreciate her parents support, but with a dream to work in paediatrics, rather than to become a surgeon, she risks opposing what her parents want. However, as long as she has Trevor, her boyfriend, at her side, everything will be fine.

Brock Givens has come from a difficult background, with an abusive father and having had to work his way into and through college, without the support of wealthy parents to pay for his tuition. Everything in Brock’s life has been a struggle, until his new biology tutor explains things in a different way, and he starts to understand the subject. 

When Jasmine takes on the class of football players, she does not expect to find a friend in the quiet jock with a stutter, but it seems her and Brock have a connection that neither can deny. The only issue, is that Trevor is convinced there is more going on between them than meets the eye, and his relationship with Jasmine is already struggling. As Jasmine tries to make Trevor show her that the love between them is real, and that love really can survive through anything, Brock finds himself increasing infatuated with Jasmine.

This is not just a story of a jock and a nerd, falling in love despite all odds, it is a story of friendship, of finding the right people, those who belong in your life, and about not settling for less than you deserve.

Jasmine and Brock are both such easy characters to fall in love with. Jasmine is such a lovely person, always trying to do her best by everyone in her life. My heart felt for her as I read. She is so blinded by her love for Trevor, and so determined that he feels the same way, that the way he is acting is just a phase, just because of stress over studying and exams, that she can't see what those around her can – that her relationship is toxic, that Trevor isn't good for her, and that she's going to end up getting hurt. Jasmine loves so completely, and her belief in love is so strong, that she can't imagine Trevor, who has said that he loves her, could ever do anything to hurt her.

Brock isn't the classic book jock, overly confident but secretly a sweetheart. If anything, Brock is the opposite. He is shy, he doesn't talk much and he stays away from most people. But with Jasmine, it's different. She doesn't force him to talk, and understands him, even through the silence. Around Jasmine, Brock can open up, can become more confident, and can rely on her to never let him down. One thing in particular that I loved about Brock is that he never assumes – he asks Jasmine if he can hug her, if he can do certain things, instead of simply doing so. He doesn't assume that she will be okay with it, and makes sure beforehand, ready to back off if needs be. He is what can only be described as the perfect gentleman, and we certainly need more people like Brock in the real world.

While both Brock and Jasmine have other friends, they slowly seem to adopt the other's friends as their own, making their small groups into a family. I adored both Brock and Jasmine, and through everything they face, they know that the other will always be there for them. Even in the world we are living in today, there is a divide between people with different skin colours, and Brock and Jasmine see this firsthand, with the way Brock is treated differently from Trevor in certain scenarios, even though Brock is wonderful and Trevor is despicable (I honestly hated him with all my heart by the end of the book). There is a difference between good and bad, and this book shows that, while also proving that there is no difference between different skin colours, and nor should there be.

This book will take you along a rollercoaster of different emotions, and while some of the ride may be emotionally unpleasant, and make you hate characters (one in particular) and potentially make you cry, it is a rollercoaster that will also make you laugh, and smile, and you will inevitably get back on the rollercoaster when you are done, and read it all over again. Plus, there are some steamy scenes, and you don't want to miss out on that!

And done!

Once again, I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this review! Considering how quickly I devoured the book, and wrote the review on the same day, I'm sure I could have actually done this review much sooner. No harm done, it's here now!

If you like romances, with a bit of sport thrown in here and there, this book is the one you have to read! If not, I'm sure you know someone who would appreciate a copy!

That's all for now...

Bye!