There is a lot I missed in the 1990s because I was, and am, a bit different in my cultural tastes.  In those years, I was not into teen movies.  If I was going to the cinema, I typically waited for some kind of historical drama.  If it was anything else, it was usually because I was dragged there by my friends.  As such, had I seen She’s All That (1999) back then, I feel somewhat confident that I would have recognized it as an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion (1913) or George Cukor’s 1964 film version My Fair Lady.  Either or both work as a point of comparison, and if you are familiar with those works as I am (and was), then you will recognize what I am about to write.  Then again, I had all but seen She’s All That from my viewing of Not Another Teen Movie (2001).  This last one lampoons the teenage films of that decade, focusing on today’s example.  It was not Catholic of me, but spoofing a subculture to which I was an outsider entertained me.  Now that She’s All That is on Netflix, I thought I would see something I missed out on in my own teenage years.

When you are introduced to Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook), you are supposed to think something is missing because the film does not want you to feel that She’s All That.  Parenthetically, this is ridiculous since the actress playing her is a model.  What she is in the film is a high school senior who helps raise her brother, Simon Boggs (Kieran Culkin), for her pool maintenance father, Wayne Boggs (Kevin Pollak).  Mom died some time ago, and dad has been busy with his business making ends meet.  Everyone is returning to school after spring break and counting the eight weeks left until prom and graduation.  This includes Zachary “Zack” Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.).  As captain of the varsity soccer team and senior class president, to name a few of his accomplishments, he is the most handsome and popular guy on campus.  Fittingly, he is dating the most popular and prettiest girl on campus, Taylor Vaughn (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe).  Zack is about to find out, though, that she does not possess the same good character as him.  When they finally see each other after being apart for the vacation, she informs him that she is dumping him for Music Television (MTV) reality star Brock Hudson (Matthew Lillard), whom she had met while partying in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Zack is stunned by the development, but he is soon trying to downplay his feelings.  Goading him in this way is Dean Sampson, Jr. (Paul Walker), Zack’s best friend.  The main thing that is making the split awkward is the inevitability of Taylor and Zack being voted prom king and queen.  Confident of his social standing, Zack boldly comments that he could take any girl in school and make that person so well-known that she eclipses Taylor.  Dean gets to choose the person and wants to make it challenging.  After walking around for a few minutes, they spot Laney, who has just clumsily dropped all her art supplies.  At first, Zack resists the proposition, citing Laney’s renown for being so passionate about her beliefs and work that nobody can approach her.  Indeed, when he finally gives in and approaches her, she promptly rebuffs him out of hand.  Undaunted, he goes to her place of employment and will not leave until they talk.  His persistence pays off, and she invites him to a . . . performance art show. . . ?  Let us just say that it is different, which is fine, and move on with our lives.  After she plays her part, she arranges for him to get on stage, thinking this will be what convinces him that they belong in different worlds.  Though he is naturally embarrassed, he gets into the spotlight and does a few tricks with his hacky sack, which seems to impress the small audience.  She softens a little, too, but raises her defenses again when he compliments her eyes, thinking it is just a line.  Once more, he is not deterred, showing up the next day to invite her to the beach.  She says no until he threatens to hang out all day with Simon playing video games.  Others from Zack’s usual social group hear of the outing and also come to their sunbathing spot.  Despite this not being Laney’s usual milieu, she has a better time than expected.  This is followed by an invitation to a party that night, but she tries to give an excuse.  This is not acceptable for Zack.  He comes over with his younger sister, Mackenzie “Mack” Siler (Anna Paquin), who gives Laney a makeover.  The transformation is pretty remarkable and she impresses everyone at the soiree.  Also present that evening are Brock and Taylor.  While Brock acts the fool, Taylor spills her drink on Laney, pretending it was an accident while saying a variety of mean things to the unpopular girl.  Laney leaves crying, and Zack takes her home.  At school, the incident between Laney and Taylor has had an effect on the student body, triggering a surge in people voting for Laney for prom queen.  It appears that Zack is about to win his bet, but then a moment in which he and Laney open up to each other and almost kiss reminds him of the awful wager.  Because he actually cares for her, he decides to keep his distance from her.  He is confronted on the manner by Dean, who makes fun of Zack for developing feelings.  It leads to a fight, and to further stick it to Zack, Dean asks Laney to the prom.  She initially says no, but on the evening of the dance, Dean shows up in her living room and she goes with some encouragement from Wayne.  Also attending is Zack, who has brought Mack with him having snubbed Taylor.  Nonetheless, Taylor and Zack are voted prom king and queen.  In the middle of their acceptance speeches, Laney’s best friend, Jesse Jackson (Elden Henson), and Mack deliver some chilling news to Zack: Jesse overheard Dean talking about how he was going to take Laney to a hotel room to do adult stuff, if you catch my drift.  Zack immediately leaves to find her, but ends up waiting for Laney at her house where she later arrives, alone and not deflowered.  She is touched by his care, and he apologizes for everything, with them finally kissing.

The kiss is not the final scene in She’s All That.  In case you are wondering about the bet, because Zack lost, he had to walk at graduation in the nude.  Luckily, we are not shown anything.  Speaking of leaving things out, one aspect of the plot I omitted in the synopsis are the interactions between Zack and his father, Harlan Siler (Tim Matheson).  As a graduate of Dartmouth, Harlan has high expectations for Zack.  This should not be a problem since Zack has been accepted into every conceivable Ivy League school, including Dartmouth.  What he is having trouble with is deciding what he is going to do.  It is Laney who is the first person to speak some sense into the otherwise sensible Zack.  Though she does not put it into the Christian terms that I would, her point is that he has been blessed with enormous opportunities and that it would be silly to waste them.  There is wisdom in this counsel, particularly for Catholics, myself included.  At another point, Harlan reminds Zack that the future is going to happen no matter what.  At the same time, many serious Catholics get bogged down in the process of discerning God’s will for the future.  Please do not mistake me for saying that discernment is something we should avoid.  God’s will should be sought in every area of our life, from where to go to college to what to have for breakfast.  Often, because people are not hearing the words from God they expect or want, or nothing at all, they settle into a state of inertia unable to make any decision.  This describes Zack.  At the same time, God gives us some general rules to follow that can help us put one foot in front of the other towards some goal.  Being a Christian is not always about Divine revelation or grand acts for our lives.  Some of the greatest saints were known for doing the littlest things, and offering them to God.  Put differently, the thing to do is right in front of us, like falling in love with Laney, and the rest should be left up to God.

I will also leave it up to our discretion in seeing She’s All That.  It is mostly fine, but there is one shocking scene about which I must caution you.  While in art class, Laney is heckled by some of her classmates who do not (for some reason) approve of her work.  So disapproving is one of them, Misty (Clea DuVall), that she suggests that Laney kill herself.  I had to rewind the scene to make sure I heard this correctly.  That is not acceptable, and it slightly mars what is otherwise an acceptable film.