The Rom Com Catalog

Tag: Colin Hanks

  • ‘Get Over It’ (2001) Review

    ‘Get Over It’ (2001) Review

    Get Over It Synopsis: A high school senior’s girlfriend breaks up with him. His friends try to make him think of something else. His friend’s sister Kelly helps him with the school musical. Spending time with Kelly has an effect.

    After Berke’s girlfriend, Allison, breaks up with him, he will go to any lengths to win her back. His plan is complicated because Allison is now dating Striker, a guy who used to be (or still is?) in a boy band. Kelly, the sister of Berke’s best friend Felix, offers to help Berke when he joins the school musical based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream to get close to Allison again. Shenanigans ensue.

    Get Over It is one of those early 2000s teen comedies I remember opening in theaters, but it is one I have never seen. I like Ben Foster and Kirsten Dunst, so I thought… why not? It has a stacked cast of “before they were famous” people like Mila Kunis and Zoe Saldana.

    I wonder why Sisqo is on nearly every poster when his character isn’t a main character… did the Thong Song come out around this time, and they were capitalizing on his popularity? It would have made more sense to have Allison there… but I digress.

    Get Over It is…. silly. But in that somewhat endearing way that cheesy teen comedies can get away with? That doesn’t mean it was a good movie because it wasn’t. It wasn’t godawful either, just… bad. I can appreciate over-the-top humor, but it doesn’t work here.

    In one scene, Berke goes on a date with a gorgeous Australian exchange student who, it turns out, has incredibly bad luck. Okay, this could be funny, but it goes so far beyond funny into Too Much! and immediately takes you out of any chance of this movie being plausible.

    A modernized retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, Get Over It lacks the magic and chemistry that made 10 Things I Hate About You so successful. Ben Foster and Kirsten Dunst have grown into incredible actors, but this script doesn’t do them any favors, and I didn’t feel much chemistry between their characters. Their friends and Allison’s new love interest, played by Shane West, are one-dimensional stock characters designed to throw out the occasional bit of wisdom or humor. Still, there aren’t many jokes that stick the landing.

    I watched Get Over It at the beginning of June, and it took me until today to finish this review, mostly because I was uninspired by it, and I didn’t really know what to say about it. Martin Short is humorous as the drama teacher, and I did laugh a bit at how horrible the actual musical was – yes, it was supposed to be bad, thankfully- but that’s the extent of my enjoyment! There are so many better teen movies out there to watch from this era, so I suggest skipping this one. If you’re in the mood for a modernized teen comedy based on a classic, go with Clueless or 10 Things.

    Watched: 06/02/2023
    Notable Song: September by Sisqo

    Rating:

  • ‘The House Bunny’ (2008) Review

    ‘The House Bunny’ (2008) Review

    Orphaned Shelley finally finds her true calling as a Playboy Bunny, living in the Playboy mansion with Hugh Hefner and the rest of the Playmates. After celebrating her 27th birthday, Shelley is unceremoniously kicked out of the Mansion and eventually finds herself in front of Zeta house, a sorority of misfits who are close to losing their charter if they cannot find 30 new pledges.

    Shelley decides to become the Zeta house mom and help the Zeta sisters become more popular and appealing to other students. While attempting to influence the girls, Shelley also meets Oliver, a retirement home manager whom she wants to impress with more than her bra size.

    Despite how ridiculous it is, The House Bunny is one of those rare Happy Madison films that I enjoy. But dang it, Anna Faris is such a comedic talent that I generally enjoy most movies she’s in if she’s given the right role and allowed to do what she does best.

    Shelley is not very bright. She’s very naïve and endlessly optimistic. In the hands of another actress, Shelley could have just been a one-dimensional bimbo, but Faris always manages to make even the most dim-witted characters adorable and rootable (is that a word?!).

    Before becoming Emma Stone, Emma Stone also shows off her comedic chops as Natalie, the Zeta, who is desperate to give Shelley a chance because she’s desperate enough to try anything to save their charter. The other girls – Kat Dennings, Dana Goodman, Rumer Willis, Katharine McPhee, etc. – get their own moments to shine, but those moments are relatively small blips in the larger scope of the movie.

    Take away Anna Faris; the movie isn’t as fun. The House Bunny’s premise is nothing fresh or original, and the script itself is weak. But Faris breathes life into what is essentially just another dumb blonde movie, making it far more enjoyable and watchable. Another point in its favor is that The House Bunny relies on some pretty cutting one-liners rather than shock-value gross-out humor, which I’m used to seeing in anything produced by Happy Madison.

    Make no mistake: The House Bunny is Anna Faris’s movie. She has some cute chemistry with Colin Hanks, who plays Oliver, and even better chemistry with the other female actresses. It’s easy to look at most of the movie and see it as some feminist nightmare – change everything about yourself to be noticed – but it’s honestly a movie about sisterhood and being whoever you’re comfortable being, whether you’re wearing a water bra or not. Is it a comedic masterpiece? Heck no. But Anna Faris makes it a comedy worth watching.

    Watched: 05/14/2022
    Notable Song: Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne

    Rating: