Viola (Byrnes) decides to masquerade as her brother when he decides to duck out of boarding school for a few weeks and head to London. While there, she joins the soccer team and falls for one of her teammates (Tatum). Even more complicated romantic entaglements ensue...
by Anna Smith |
Published on
Release Date:
07 Apr 2006
Running Time:
105 minutes
Certificate:
12A
Original Title:
She’s The Man
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night gets the teen movie treatment in this tale of boy meets girl dressed as boy. Banned from joining the boys’ soccer team, tomboy Viola (Bynes) poses as her brother Sebastian at his new school. Complications ensue when she falls for Duke (Tatum), but both romance and humour are undercooked in this likeable but lightweight comedy.
It’s a difficult premise to pull off at the best of times, and Bynes’ boyish swagger is faintly embarrassing: the fact that everyone falls for her prank (and no-one mentions the word ‘gay’) makes this more surreal fantasy than sharp teen comedy. The plot holds interest, but that’s more thanks to Shakespeare than the writers of Legally Blonde.
The highschool hijinks may entertain the young, but those more familiar with the Bard will recognise this as a wasted opportunity.
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