Guilty Pleasures: Whatever it Takes
I have over 1,200 DVDs, 3,000 CDs and a couple hundred books; over half of them the average person would be completely embarrassed to own. I, however, defend my purchases.
This weeks That One Guy is dedicated to the memory of Professor Arnold Markley. I was never the best student, but you taught me a lot about the work of William Shakespeare and believed that I was a decent writer. You could find Shakespeare’s influence in anything, so this one is for you. (March 29th, 1964 – June 3rd 2011)
EPISODE 6: WHATEVER IT TAKES
There was a point in the late 90’s when after years of obscurity, the Teen Flick finally returned. The first three set the standard and because of that are still considered classics (She’s All That, Can’t Hardly Wait, 10 Things I hate About You). However by 2000, the theaters were over-saturated with teen flicks. While none of these were necessarily bad, none were necessarily good. But many fun films got buried in the monotony. Whatever it Takes is one such film.
Based on the play Cyrano de Bergerac the film basically comes off as She’s All That with a twist of Roxanne. The film follows geek Ryan (Shane West) who is in love with most popular girl in school Ashley Grant (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe). Meanwhile Ashley’s popular cousin Chris (James Franco) is in love with Ryan’s neighbor Maggie (Marla Sokoloff). The two make a deal to help each other ‘win the girls of their dreams’. Things go well until Ryan realizes Ashley is a bitch and he’s really always loved Maggie.
The film is borderline Shakespearean. It has so many elements of Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like it and other classic comedies of love. Ryan is a likable enough lead character although because he’s played by A Walk to Remember’s Shane West it’s hard to buy that he’s so hopelessly unpopular. Colin Hanks would have been a better pick for the lead in that respect. That being said Colin Hanks and Aaron Paul steal the show in their roles of Ryan’s best friends Floyd and Cosmo. The bigger issue with this movie is that Marla Sokoloff is simply a better-looking actress than Jodi Lyn O’Keefe.
Any one male or female watching the movie will struggle to understand not just why Ryan is interested in Ashley Grant but why he never took notice of Maggie. Obviously without this issue we have no movie but the casting director could have gotten someone better than this. Finally we have James Franco in one of his early film roles. Franco is now an Oscar nominated actor but Whatever it Takes was far from Oscar Worthy, but he did get nominated for the Teen Choice Sleazebag award for his performance; that counts as something right?
What hurts a teen flick like Whatever it Takes is that it doesn’t’ have the self-recognizing ridiculousness. Films like Can’t Hardly Wait and 10 Things I Hate About You give us the most realistic look at High School, but still takes the time to mock the over-the-top presentation of high school parties that we’ve become so accustomed to. On the flipside we have Get Over It and She’s the Man that are far more literal Shakespeare reinterpretations. Whatever it Takes seems to think it’s The Breakfast Club when it’s actually Weird Science.
As stated earlier Colin Hanks and Aaron Paul are amazing in this film. While all the characters are caricatures of high school clichés, their geek characters are the most believable (although still painfully over the top). I went to high school with kids like Floyd and Cosmo; I didn’t have any classmates as distinctly evil and unlikable as Ashley Grant.
Whatever it Takes was one of my favorites of this era of teen flicks. This is specifically because of the sub-plot surrounding Floyd. While all the other characters in this movie are looking for love, Floyd is looking for notoriety. His hero is Virgil Doolittle, a man who stole the neck off the school statue and was arrested for mayhem. Floyd’s constant attempts at making his mark are humorous and charming. Perhaps it’s what appeals to the filmmaker in me. I mean really what filmmaker isn’t trying to make a mark that will live on after they die? That’s all Floyd is trying to do and that’s completely admirable.
When Matt Kelly isn’t watching Sappy Teen Flicks you can find him writing in his blog Pure Mattitude, writing up lists for Ranker or hosting his podcast The Saint Mort Show
