Whatever It Takes (2000)

Whatever it Takes is another teenage comedy which takes place in I guess another of the top ten high schools in America where no one is ugly, no one seems to be lacking financially, and no one of discernible color or race plays a major part in the proceedings. In other words, an utopia for the new century. Even though Whatever it Takes may have been influenced on the surface by Rostand's long nosed romantic miscreant, it really falls in line with John Hughes' two fisted romantic romps of the 80's Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful. All these films deal with the strained relationship between a pair of life long friends when an affair of the heart presents itself. Whatever's problems stem from the fact both leads who are supposedly intelligent can't see the forest for the trees. Sokoloff and West are very engaging and great to look at but to assume old friends will be become new lovers strains the tenets of logic. Love may be blind but does it necessarily have to be dumb as well, even in this day and age?

Fmovies: Hunky, handsome Shane West (as Ryan Woodman) thinks he's a "nerd". Mr. West persuades popular James Franco (as Chris Campbell) to help him get into sexy Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (as Ashley Grant); in return for Mr. Franco's assistance in seducing West's sweet 'n' sexy neighbor, Marla Sokoloff (as Maggie Carter). ThinkÂ… "Cyrano de Bergerac!" Eventually, Franco strips to his thong, and gets tied up. All of these characters act like they are in high schoolÂ… and they ARE in high school. Obviously, they have been kept back a few years. You could laugh along with them, if they did anything funny. So, how is West able to sleep at night with someone like Ms. Sokoloff that close? And, visa versa...

I'd be up all night.

** Whatever It Takes (3/31/00) David Raynr ~ Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, James Franco, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe

Ryan Woodman (Shane West) and Maggie Carter (Marla Sokoloff) are best friends and neighbors. Floyd (Aaron Paul) is their slacker friend. Ryan is obsessed with high school goddess Ashley Grant (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). Big man on campus Chris Campbell (James Franco) wants to get the one he can't get, the virginal enigmatic Maggie. So he needs Ryan to Cyrano DeBergerac for him. In return he proposes to do the same for Ryan with his cousin Ashley.

The biggest problem is that Shane West is way too good looking for the loser role. They need somebody much more geeky, and a bad haircut really doesn't make it. It's nothing offensive, but it just can't rise above the clichés. It's obvious where this is going, and it has an uncomfortable time getting there.

Whatever It Takes fmovies. I am only writing this because I think the other reviews I've seen for this movie are far off base. "Teen flicks" in general have a tendency to play off of the same premise with little variation or creativity, and are--generally speaking--bad as a genre. There are a few exceptions, paramount among them "Clueless." This film isn't as horrible and unbearable as "10 Things I Hate About You," and I actually think it was probably a little better than "American Pie"--although I rather disliked the latter thus is not a very high compliment for this film either.

Quickly, to break it down, I will tell you the main problems with this film. 1) It recycles the horrible "Prom is coming up and I want to take the popular girl" premise, which seems to be the basis of many a horrible teen movie. 2) The primary conflict doesn't evolve until the movie is half over--up to that point, it is just a waste of time waiting for the primary conflict, and the action is pretty boring. 3) The end is predictable from the the first couple scenes of the movie... not a good thing. Save your money (and time), and rent something a little more original.

Routine teen effort about a nerd (Shane West) and a high school jock (James Franco) who team up together to help each other land the girl of their dreams. Very appealing cast and competent direction makes this film mildly entertaining, but their is nothing that seperates this predictable film from 1000 other films in this genre.

Rated PG-13; Sexual Situations and Profanity.

The only part of WIT it takes I liked was the set, Maggie and Ryan's balconies. That was cool, plus it had the opportunity to say the one funny part of the film was when Ryan jumps onto her porch and Maggie says the line [not gonna say it if people are reading this who haven't seen the movie]. Much better versions of this storyline were "Never Been Kissed", "She's All That" and the aforementioned "10 Things". I must admit, I was a little confused why they put great actors like Kip Pardue and Christine Lakin in bit parts while Jodi Lyn O'keefe and James Franco were starring.