She's the Man (PG-13) ★½

With more uncomfortable moments than a first date, She's the Man, inspired by William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, may actually make the Bard turn over in his grave.

Story

Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) is expected to become her family’s next debutante, but--much to her mother’s dismay--she would rather be the next great female soccer star. When her high school cuts the girls soccer team, however, Viola tries out for the guys team. She thinks maybe she has an in because her boyfriend Justin (Robert Hoffman) is the captain. But alas, they laugh her off the field. So, Viola decides to assume her twin brother Sebastian’s (James Kirk) identity at his new school and lead the boys soccer team to a win against her now ex-boyfriend’s team. What she doesn’t expect is to fall in love with her new roommate Duke, (Channing Tatum), who happens to like Olivia (Laura Ramsey), who actually likes Sebastian but doesn’t know Sebastian is actually Viola. Oh, what a tangled web.

Acting

Cutesy Bynes (What A Girl Wants) isn’t very convincing disguised as a boy. She unsuccessfully tries to compensate her lack of ability by using awkward facial expressions and adopting a deep voice that sounds more hillbilly than anything else, which she can’t even keep consistent. You’re actually embarrassed for her. On the flip side, with unbelievable good looks, Channing Tatum (Coach Carter) is great eye candy. He can also play the sensitive, good guy, making you root for him the whole way whether on the soccer field or when he’s getting the girl. And it would have been nice to see James Kirk, as the real Sebastian, for a little longer than five minutes. He seems to have most promise.

Direction

Depending on which way you look at it, director Andy Fickman could have either tried harder to bring this Twelfth Night-inspired film up to date or he could have cut it way down. The beginning starts out pleasantly enough, moving pretty quickly with a few quirky laugh-out-loud moments. The montage scene in which Duke is teaching Sebastian (who is really Viola) how to improve his (her) soccer skills is entertaining. It’s probably because no one is speaking, and all you can hear is the rockin’ soundtrack, which includes songs from the All-American Rejects and The Veronicas. Definitely the best part of the movie. But soon She's the Man is dragging to the point where it should have ended--successfully--five times over.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 1 1/2 stars.