ah , and 1999 was going along so well , too . " she's all that " has the dubious distinction of being the worst movie i've seen so far this year . and quite frankly , i doubt i'll see anything equally bad . ( at least , i * hope * i don't see anything equally bad ) . " she's all that " tells the story of the most popular guy in school ( played by freddie prinze jr . ) who accepts a bet to transform the geekiest girl in school ( rachel leigh cook ) into the most popular . that , right there , is problem #1 . how many times have we seen this storyline ? as cook comments near the end of the film , " it's kind of like " pretty woman " , except without the prostitution " . of course , had the filmmakers attempted to try something new with this material , the well-worn storyline would have been a device to propell the movie forward . as it is , though , " she's all that " relies * completely * on the lame and overused formula to push it ahead . there's not one original or interesting character in the film , either , and if that wasn't bad enough , there's not one good performance featured . the star of the movie , rachel leigh cook , is simply horrible . i usually don't like to get so personal , but in this case , i think it needs to be said . cook wears the same expression throughout the flick and looks to be having as miserable a time as i was . i was never convinced that she was a " nerd " , and her transformation was unconvincing and unnecessary . the movie seems to be saying it's better to be popular than to be who you are . as for freddie prinze jr . , an actor i ordinarily enjoy , he too is quite bad here . he coasts through the film on so-called charm , and never establishes a real character . kieren culkin is here , too , as the brother of cook . and for some indiscernable reason , he's got hearing aids . no explanation is given and they're never brought up . were we supposed to feel * sorry * for him just because he wore hearing aids ? i don't think so . that single element of the film was one of the most offensive things i've seen in a movie in a long time . " she's all that " sucks . that's what it boils down to . it's not entertaining , and it's not even a good time passer . the hour and a half running time goes by slower than a 5 minute hair-removal system informercial . and what's worse , it sends out a bad message to teens . it appears to be telling them , " hey , it doesn't matter if you're happy the way you are . that's unimportant . if you want to * truly * be happy , dress in the latest fashions and act like a bubble-headed moron . " ugh .
