BY ALEXIS HOSTETTER

She’s All That is a 1999 rom-com that is genuinely so bad that it’s good. Most people might have not heard of it until Addison Rae’s remake in 2021. The 2021 remake included Rachael Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard from the original movie. But what is the movie really about?

The 1999 version begins with Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook) painting and creating artwork, whereas Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.) has just gotten dumped by his girlfriend Taylor Vaughan (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe). This is when the infamous bet goes down. As news breaks that Zack and Taylor have broken up, Siler makes a bet with his friend Dean Sampson (Paul Walker). Zach bets Dean that he can take any girl in school and turn her into a prom queen by the time the prom comes around. 

Wanting to make it as hard for Siler as possible, Sampson points out someone he believes to be the biggest loser in school, Laney Boggs. Though,underneath the paint stained overalls, Laney Boggs is anything but. The first time Siler and Boggs hang out, they go to an improv show where Boggs dances around as a trashcan, afterward having Siler go on for a performance himself. Siler performs a very emotional hacky sack routine about stress. You can only imagine how stressful playing hacky sack is. 

It isn’t until after the show while they stand on a street corner when Zack truly looks at her for the first time. Becoming the first person to not fall for Zack Siler’s trap, she leaves him on the street corner after he compliments her eyes,which makes the chase that much harder. The chase only truly begins when Siler shows up at Boggs’ house and takes her to the beach. Their fun is crashed by SIler’s friends who invite Laney to a party where she has a very upsetting confrontation with Siler’s ex Taylor, who says to Boggs, “To everyone here who matters, you’re vapor. Spam. A waste of perfectly good yearbook space.” After the confrontation, Laney has very interesting encounters with several students, leading her to find out she has been nominated for prom queen! How’s that for a waste of perfectly good yearbook space?

Zack, still trying to win the bet, grows closer and closer to Laney up until the point when he realizes he has caught feelings for the weird, mean, unapproachable art girl. Upon realization, he begins to ignore her, until it comes time to ask her to the prom. Only to find out, his friend, Dean,  had already asked her! When confronting his friend, Dean revealed that there was a bet: “Yeah it was so stupid Laney. Zack bet he could make any girl prom queen, and you were the girl picked. He thinks if he takes you it’ll help you win. People have feelings, man.” 

Overall, the movie can be entertaining for those who tend to like movies like Clueless, She’s the Man, Mean Girls, etc. Though it only has a 41% Rotten Tomato rating, most teens who watch the movie end up learning something and liking it. 

Most movies offer a theme for the viewers to learn from. The overall theme of the movie can really tie into today. Most people will make judgements based on how people appear on the outside, but if they got to know someone, they could turn out very different. For example, that girl dressed in black could appear mean and weird. But on the inside she may like the same things as you and be a very sweet person. We shouldn’t judge someone by who they are on the inside. Appearance does not equal personality.