"Sydney White" (2007)
Rated: PG-13
STARRING: Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton, Matt Long, John Schneider
SUMMARY: Sydney White leaves her widowed father to go to college and rush her late mother's sorority only to be terrorized by the sorority's president.
Contrary to popular belief, I do not have a crush on Amanda Bynes. Yes, I grew up watching her on "All That!" and "Figure It Out." And yes, I am one of the few, if not the only, rabid, die hard fans of her Shakespearean teen comedy "She's The Man." But I am not in love with her….honestly.
My fandom of Miss Bynes not withstanding, I'm an ever greater fan of fairy tales (as the good patrons of The Culture House will hopefully find out in the next couple years), and this modern rendition of the classic fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" is all but perfect.
Yes. I said perfect. And I do not use that term lightly. Structurally, cinematically, and adaptationally (is that a word?), this movie may be on of the very few perfect movies. That said, it is not the next "Citizen Kane." I said it was almost perfect, not that it was the greatest movie of all time.
As a writer, naturally, one of the first things I pay attention to in a movie is the writing. The dialogue is what shouts at you, sometimes quite literally, but it's the structure that often tells whether a movie is working or not. This movie was TEXTBOOK. I'll be using this movie as an example for YEARS in teaching my minions…I mean my young aspiring writer friends…about structure.
Possibly even better, at the very least more enjoyable, than the flawless structure is the hilariously accurate adaptation of a classic fairy tale into a modern setting via the college experience. It's all here. Snow White. The Dwarves. The wicked Stepmother. The Stepsisters. The Prince. The Magic Mirror. The Poisoned Apple. Some of the elements are so brilliant I had to bite my tongue to keep from standing up and shouting in the middle of the theater. Oddly enough, people frown upon that. The only thing I really noticed missing was the Huntsman. Oh well.
Enough with the writing. How about the acting? Amanda Bynes has been considered a young Lucille Ball for years. She started in comedy very young and has only gotten better. But the past few years with her first top billed movie "What A Girl Wants" (in which, despite horrible direction and mediocre writing, she shone), "She's The Man," where her acting chops finally reared their brilliant heads, to a bit part in "Hairspray," she's shone that she is not just pratfalls and funny voices (though I do wish there was more than just the one pratfall in this movie…she's brilliant at them). I definitely look forward to what's next. (Yes, I skipped talking about her sitcom, because I've never seen it. Sorry.)
The supporting cast, too, shines. Sara Paxton is excellently evil in the Stepmother role. Matt Long is your classic movie star, and…I don't know. Girls, you tell me. He's pretty cute. But the real shining stars of the movie are shining with oily skin. The "Dwarfs" are the misfits that take Sydney in and are made up of some of the goofiest characters ever, just about all of whom I've known in real life. Danny Strong plays an angry version of his "Buffy" nerdling who runs a blog known as PeoplePunisher.com to pitch perfection. The other six are hilarious in their own right and deserve to be met on screen instead of here.
While I did say this movie was all but perfect, that does not mean that I thought the direction was brilliant. It was solid. Very well done. But this movie will not be garnering director Joe Nussbaum any wide acclaim. He exploded onto the scene a couple years ago with his short parody "George Lucas In Love" which really showed his director's eye. But after directing "Sleepover" starring Alexa Vega and this, yet another teen comedy, Mr. Nussbaum should really look for a project in which he can truly show what he's made of.
All in all, this is a great movie. The not-so-subtext of Outcasts Vs. The Elite is classic teen movie fare, and it works perfectly in this story. Just about everyone should see this movie, I think. Writers should see it for structure. Normal people (not a slam) should see it for the message. Very good movie. Just about perfect.
Content: It's rated PG-13 but could have probably appealed for a PG if they wanted to. There a couple of very minor sex jokes (a bunch of geeks living together naturally breeds a couple), but nothing terribly offensive. Language was definitely not PG-13 worthy. Very mild. And unless you consider a guy falling off a balcony violence, it's pretty safe there too. Now the malice shown by the sorority sisters hurts a bit, especially for a veteran geek like myself, but you see plenty worse in movies like "Mean Girls" and "John Tucker Must Die."
OVERALL: 7
LANGUAGE: 2
VIOLENCE: 1
GORE: 0
SEXUALITY:1.5
NUDITY: 0.5
