This teen romantic comedy had a good storyline, but an uneven screenplay kept it from reaching its potential. The main story is Cyrano de Bergerac times two. Two boys who pine after different girls help one another by feeding one another lines that will win the girls' hearts. This is a clever variation on a very old theme. Writer Mark Schwan should have stayed closer to the main plot rather than throwing in so much superfluous teen fluff. The story was greatly diminished by the inclusion of the three geeks. The prom swimming pool scene was a direct rip-off from `It's a Wonderful Life' and done nowhere near as well.
The story does capture a lot of the frustration of being a teenager and getting that special girl/boy to notice you exist. It had some real moments, lent greater weight by surprisingly good acting from a young cast. Shane West was very sincere as the accordion playing and socially invisible Ryan. He and Marla Sokoloff (Maggie) gave excellent dramatic performances and outdistanced the rest of the cast. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Ashley) and James Franco (Chris) were also good but not equal to the former as the popular but superficial high school idols.
This film has a difficult time in a crowded genre with some tough competition. The comedy wasn't very funny and the main story wasn't developed well enough to differentiate it from the pack. It had some charm, but it was nothing special. I rated it a 6/10. It's worth a look for young adult audiences.
The story does capture a lot of the frustration of being a teenager and getting that special girl/boy to notice you exist. It had some real moments, lent greater weight by surprisingly good acting from a young cast. Shane West was very sincere as the accordion playing and socially invisible Ryan. He and Marla Sokoloff (Maggie) gave excellent dramatic performances and outdistanced the rest of the cast. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Ashley) and James Franco (Chris) were also good but not equal to the former as the popular but superficial high school idols.
This film has a difficult time in a crowded genre with some tough competition. The comedy wasn't very funny and the main story wasn't developed well enough to differentiate it from the pack. It had some charm, but it was nothing special. I rated it a 6/10. It's worth a look for young adult audiences.