She's the Man - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

She's the Man



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
During the early 2000’s Amanda Bynes was the next Lindsay Lohan (yes, take that with all the irony that it’s meant to portray). She was on top of the world having done a successful series of small rolls in the 90s, and then dominating TV with What I Like About You, becoming one of the most adorable TV/Movie stars of the day. She was adorably cute, a sparkling personality, and making waves in the cinematic community. She seemed to have it all until her film choices started dive bombing. Turns out her rise to stardom brought with it the all to familiar drug addictions of Hollywood stars, and Amanda suffered some psychological set backs causing her to drop out of the spotlight around 2009 in what is considered one of the most epic personal meltdowns outside of Brittany Spears or Lindsay Lohan (supposedly she’s starting to come back into the public eye as a hopeful musician in 2021, but she has been LOOOONG out of the public eye for the better part of 11 years).

She’s the Man was probably her starring role swan song, having just come off the popular success of What I Like About You and at the peak of her stardom. It was also her best film to date (she mostly did supporting roles outside of Sydney White) and also ushered in the first starring role for a very young Channing Tatum. A Nickelodeon+ remake of Just One of the Guys (which is heavily inspired by the infamous 12th Night play), She’s the Man is a cheeky story of a girl infiltrating the guys soccer team to prove she can beat them at their own game.

After finding out that her female soccer team has been cut from Cornwall boarding school AND that her boyfriend Justin (Robert Hoffman) is a complete douche nozzle, Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) is left feeling dejected and depressed. Her mother (Julie Hagerty) desperately wants her to be a debutante ball socialite, while all Viola wants to do is play soccer. Opportunity presents itself when her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) sneaks off to London for a few weeks to play a gig, and implores Viola to cover for him.

Well, cover for him she does, as Viola sees the perfect opportunity to get back at Justin, as well as play soccer. Putting on a wig and adopting her brother’s mannerisms, Viola decides to go undercover into Illyria academy (the rival of her old school Cornwall) as Sebastian, where she can make the boys soccer team and kick Cornwall’s butt in a few weeks. Well, as you can guess, hilarity ensues as “Sebastian” has to learn to act like a guy, talk like a guy, and blend in with the smellier half of humanity. Only thing is, “Sebastian” starts to develop a crush on teammate Duke (Channing Tatum), who has a crush on Olivia (Laura Ramsey), who in tern has a crush on “Sebastian” without knowing who she is. All the while trying to dodge Sebastian’s crazy girlfriend Monique (Alex Breckenridge), keep her secret away from the nosy school Principal (David Cross), AND keep her parents in the dark at the same time.

She’s the Man is a goofy little feel good film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The movie is a direct result of early 2000 films like Princess Diaries and the like, infused with cheeky humor, goofy The CW (known as The WB back then) stylings, and Amanda Bynes being utterly adorable. Just One of the Guys was never really a cinematic masterpiece either, but it managed to be a bit more serious with the relationships, while She’s the Man is much more turn of the century goofy. The film is the epitome of a guilty pleasure, ranking in under stuff like Clueless and Mean Girls (which Paramount is packaging in this one with those two as a three pack as well as this individual release), but is still rather enjoyable to watch with a 20 year old Amanda Bynes fueling the kinetic energy of the 12th Night reimagining.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual material




Video:

unlike the “Paramount Presents” edition films, She’s the Man doesn’t seem to have been given a new remaster, instead using a dated transfer that looks a LOT like the old DVD transfer from a decade+ ago. It’s not bad per se, but said transfer is a bit soft and has some speckles and print debris on it. The colors are generally really good, but they do seem to suffer from lack of saturation pop here and there, and some inherent softness keep the video from looking amazing. General details are solid enough though, and you can see everything clearly enough. Yeah, I would have liked a new remaster, but black levels are strong enough and besides the softness and print damage, the overall visual clarity is nothing to sneeze at.






Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track fares a bit better than the video does, giving us a typical dramatic comedy track to enjoy. The dialog is crisp and cleanly replicated up front, and the 2006 pop rock score fills out the surround stage well enough. Bass is punchy and tight for the music numbers, and there’s a few extra thumps and booms when the soccer games get flying. Otherwise this is a fairly neutral track that focuses on dialog and music, and keeps the super blockbuster hijinks to a minimum.
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Extras:

• Audio commentary by actors Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Robert Hoffman and Alexandra Breckenridge, director Andy Fickman and co-writer/producer Ewan "Jack" Leslie
• Second audio commentary with Ewan "Jack" Leslie and producer Lauren Shuler Donner
• Featurettes
-- "Making The Man"
-- "The Troupe"
-- "Inspired By Shakespeare's…"
• Nine Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Amanda Bynes, Andy Fickman and Ewan "Jack" Leslie
• Gag Reel
• Cast Photo Album
• Shakespeare, Soccer and Such Trivia Track
• "Let Go" Music Video by David Lichens

Final Score: ​

She’s the Man is not that great of a movie, but it is TOTALLY a guilty pleasure of mine. Amanda Bynes manages to be charming enough to swing the goofy premise, and introduces us to a very wooden Channing Tatum (who really hasn’t gotten THAT much better in his acting over the last 15 years) in his first starring role. Paramount hasn’t seem to remaster or spruced it up much, but it sports a solid Blu-ray transfer with a hefty dose of legacy extras. May not be for EVERYONE, but those of us who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s will definitely appreciate this throwback. Fun Watch


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, David Cross, Julie Hagerty
Directed by: Andy Fickman
Written by: Ewan Leslie, Karen McCullah, Kirsten Smith
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 106 minutes
Blu-Ray Release March 2nd, 2021

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Didn't catch this one when it originally came out but will look for it once it is available on amazon prime/netflix.