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She's The Man (2006)

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Movie review

From Time Out London

It’s ‘Twelfth Night’, but not as we know it: this Viola is a modern-day tomboy teen who poses as her twin brother Sebastian at his new school. The object is to play football; the icing on the cake is the hunky roommate, Duke. Of course, Duke thinks she’s a guy, and there’s nothing gay about this jock, so the familiar tale of romantic misunderstandings plays out. But while Shakespeare’s comic structure provides a witty basis for the film, it’s underused: Malvolio is reduced to the name of a character’s pet spider and many of the complicated subplots are dispensed with. As ‘Sebastian’, Amanda Bynes is no Felicity Huffman: her exaggerated swagger and faux macho street-talk are more embarrassing than amusing and stretch the film’s already shaky credibility (who would mistake her for any boy, let alone her very non-identical twin?). There are bursts of surreal humour – mostly thanks to David Cross’s bewilderingly friendly headmaster – but this remains an uneven comedy most likely to appeal to excitable adolescents unfamiliar with the work of the Bard.

Author: Anna Smith

Time Out London Issue 1859: April 5-12 2006

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User reviews of this film

Rachel Xo. said...

Posted on Aug 02 2008 22:57 a girls film !!! a sleepover must have ! CHANNING TATUM = HOT FILM!!! =P

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Tina said...

Posted on Sep 13 2007 13:32 This film is watchable and enjoyable to an extent. However, you have to completely suspend all belief to allow yourself to believe in any aspect of the plot. An enjoyable enough film, probably mostly geared to the 16 year olds and under

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