In case you were not aware, this seems to be the time of remakes. From “Gossip Girl” to “Space Jam,” it appears as though the film industry has no creativity for something new. Following the trend is “He’s All That,” a modern spin on the classic “She’s All That.” Unfortunately, the movie also follows the trend of all of these remakes being complete trash. We just can’t get the same movies as we got in the 2000s.
“He’s All That” reverses the roles of the classic. After a bet with her friend, Padgett Sawyer (Addison Rae), a “self-improvement” influencer, is on a mission to transform Cameron Kweller (Tanner Buchanan), a social outcast photographer. The bet was to settle the all-important questions of who is the true “it girl,” Padgett or her backstabbing friend Alden (Madison Pettis), and of course, who would be prom queen (are we really all still so shallow 20 years later?).
Overall, the movie was alright at best, maybe a four out of 10. It would probably be better if I was not watching it sober. I am unfamiliar with TikTok or Rae, but if I was to imagine what a TikTok movie would look like this would be it. Cheesy dialogue along with the cheesy plot just made it cringey. Maybe I have grown out of teen movies, but it was a disaster to watch. Most of the lines felt so forced and unnatural; I’ve seen high school plays with better acting. And what kind of a name is Padgett anyway?
The events in the movie play out way too fast. I’m pretty sure only 15 minutes passed between the moment Padgett and Cameron met and Cameron sharing his deepest darkest secrets with her. I understand that they don’t have three hours for the movie but come on. For a social outcast, Cameron started trusting Padgett way too quickly. He doesn’t show the photos he takes to anyone, but 17 minutes after meeting Padgett he’s showing them to her? I don’t buy it: it was as forced as the rest of this movie. And of course in the end, when Cameron is hurt, Padgett gives a long public speech about being real and true to yourself. All of this really reminds me of why I love “Not Another Teen Movie” so much (for those unfamiliar, it is a satire of typical teen movie tropes).
The cast was definitely quite the selection. I question the decision to use Rae, a TikTok star, in such a movie, though the larger problem was that she never gave me “it girl” vibes. I also did not find her believable most of the time, especially in the emotional scenes: it all felt so forced.
Peyton Meyer played the role of Jordan Van Draanen, Padgett’s ex-boyfriend who cheated on her and then started dating Alden. Now I know Meyer from “Girl Meets World” and I could not see him as anything else; seeing him play a douche was just weird. I am also still not sure if the audience was supposed to actually perceive him as cool and attractive or as a self-centered ass. Oh and Kourtney Kardashian makes a few appearances in the movie; there seems to be an actor shortage in the industry.
The best part of the movie was definitely the principal (Matthew Lillard). I loved the running joke of “But it’s the committee’s decision, and I support them,” regardless of how unreasonable the decision is. His dancing at the end of the movie was legendary. Perhaps it is the fact that I love Lillard, but he really made the movie better, along with Padgett’s mom (Rachael Leigh Cook), who played the main role in “She’s All That.” They seemed to be the only ones that had the right spirit for the movie.
Overall, a remake of “She’s All That” has a place in this world: it truly does have a timeless theme. However this was not the execution this classic film deserved; like almost all modern takes, this one failed miserably.
