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Click above to purchase "Get Over It" at amazon.com
Get Over It
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Disney
Running Time: 86 minutes
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Melissa
Sagemiller, Sisqo, Shane West, Colin Hanks, Swoosie Kurtz,
Ed Begley Jr. and Martin Short
Written by R. Lee Felming, Jr.
Directed by Tommy O'Haver
Retail Price: $29.99
Features: Audio Commentary with Director Tommy O'Haver
and Writer R. Lee Fleming Jr., Deleted and Extended Scenes
with Optional Audio Commentary, Martin Short Outtakes, "LUV
Scud" Music Video, Vitamin C "The Itch" Music Video,
Behind-The-Scenes Featurette, Martin Short Makeup Test,
Original Songs, Sneak Preview, Soundtrack Spot
Specs: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, English Closed
Captions, English Captions, Chapter Selection (18
Chapters)
Berke (Ben Foster) and Allison (Melissa Sagemiller) were
best friends as kids, but when she moved away, so did a
close friendship. However, Allison walks back into Berke's
life during high school when she moves yet again. The two
become even closer, however Allison soon dumps Berke for the
arrogant Striker (Shane West), a member of the popular boy
band "Swing Town Lads" In hopes he can woo back the girl
he's loved for so long, Berke decides that he'll join the
school play and ditch some of basketball (he's on the
school's team) in an attempt to woo her back. The play is an
incredibly twisted take on "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
However, as Berke tries to win his girl back, he slowly
starts to fall for Kelly (Kirsten Dunst), his best friend's
younger sister. Since his out of whack parents are no help
(Swoosie Kurtz and Ed Beagley Jr. - who host a popular
relationship show) to keep Berke in line like "normal"
parents, Berke just keeps getting into crazier and crazier
situations.
I'll have to admit that I was expecting yet another
stupid, dull teen movie for the masses. However, I was
really quite surprised how good "Get Over It" really was.
While the movie bombed at the box office, signaling yet
again the end of this tired genre, "Get Over It" is one of
the best, if not the best, recent teen movies I've seen. As
long as you don't take the movie too seriously, you'll have
an excellent time.
I guess what I really liked about the movie is how light
it is and how it put a new original twist on the tired
"boy-meets-girl-falls-in-love-with-girl-he-loses-and-he-must-win-her-back-but-realizes-someone-else-is-better"
plotline. None of the characters are really developed,
they're all pretty much one-sided and everything is
perfectly clichéd as well as predictable.
"Get Over It" really has some fantastic things in it that
make it the above-average film. For one thing, Martin Short
really steals this movie as the director of the play. His
nasty but always hilarious Dr. Desmond Forrest-Oates is
played to absolute perfection and is one of the best
characters in a movie to grace the screen in years. That is
a strong statement to be said, especially for a movie like
this, but his role is really, really memorable. Why Short
chose to do this movie is beyond me, but he's what really
makes it what it is. His actions, his mannerisms, his words
- everything with the character is over the top and I can't
imagine anyone else but Short playing him. I was really
happy that his supporting role was actually pretty big. He's
the character you just love to hate, but you still like all
at the same time. If there's any reason to see this movie,
it's because of the always fun and always excellent Martin
Short.
The actual musical is another highlight of the movie.
Marc Shaiman, a long-time film and TV composer, and
co-writer of most of the songs in "South Park: Bigger,
Longer & Uncut" works magic here again as a co-writer.
The words and the tunes... hilarious. You'll be rolling in
the aisle at the musical and how nuts it is. It's supposed
to be serious, but of course, it's a parody. I was
disappointed that the songs weren't on the soundtrack, but
in either case, the whole sequence is excellent as conflicts
in the story come together as well.
The film was written by R. Lee Fleming Jr., who also
wrote the highly successful "She's All That". Felming's
script creates a familiar world where nothing is really
developed, we just go with the flow, and the way it's
presented, it's a bit far fetched but still believable at
the same time. Again, things are easy to predict, but
there's a lot to enjoy in the story such as slapstick
comedy, the usual clichés and interesting situations.
Tommy O'Haver directed the movie, who was responsible for
the gay indie hit "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" O'Haver
creates a good overall tone for the movie, as it doesn't
boarder around from subject to subject. He keeps it in check
and has done some cool things with the play, the opening
credit scene and some interesting fantasy sequences.
The teen performers are decent, as they bring their
characters to life, but there's not much with the characters
to begin with, so everyone fits well. I think it's
interesting that Carmen Electra and Coolio also have one
line each, and still get some high billing, but it was
probably a ploy to bring the audience in.
If you walk into this movie knowing it's fluff and don't
go into it too seriously, you're bound to have an excellent
time. Again, this movie really surprised me. It brings a
perfect mix to the teen genre and it's been one of the most
enjoyable movies I've had the pleasure of watching in a long
time (and no, I'm not on drugs). Good teen movie, good
romantic comedy, a good mix in all. Don't miss "Get Over It"
whatever you do... trust me, it's surprisingly good and
something a lot can enjoy.
"Get Over It" is presented in a wondrous 2.35:1
anamorphic widescreen transfer. It's pretty sharp and looks
really good for a low budget film, and surprisingly, this
movie was shot in Super 35. Sure there are some pieces of
dirt and blemishes here and there, but they are barely
noticeable and aren't distracting. Blacks are deep and
solid, detail is very good and colors as well as fleshtones
and hues are right on the spot and look quite accurate plus
toned out to their best. Overall, there is very good
saturation here as the wide variety of vibrant colors pop
right off the screen. The layer change is a bit noticeable
as well but it's no big deal. This is one astounding
transfer that will really please, and while it may not seem
like a movie to show near-reference quality, it really does
and is one of Disney's best transfers I've seen for a
live-action movie.
"Get Over It" also features a rockin' Dolby Digital 5.1
English track that sounds pretty amazing. The light
atmosphere of the movie is perfectly replicated in the
track. Surround use is surprisingly good. A big action part
toward the end of the movie, not to mention crowds in the
school and audience of the big school musical. Still, many
of the film's surrounds come directly from the music. There
is a lot, and I mean a lot, of music in this movie. The
brilliant and funny songs in the musical sound nicely and do
make it feel like you're watching a school play. Still, the
opening number, other main songs and the background music at
the parties and strip club also sound well. .1 LFE extension
is good and gives it a good edge, plus fidelity is great.
Overall, a pretty nice track that goes with the movie
perfectly. English captions, English closed captions and a
Dolby Digital 5.1 track in French is also included.
"Get Over It" is pretty featured packed. Kick ass.
Despite the film's poor performance, Disney has given it
really good treatment, and that makes me very, very happy.
First off, the Audio Commentary with Director Tommy
O'Haver and Writer R. Lee Fleming Jr. is quite good and
they offer very good details about the production (such as
Vitamin C lip-synching, not being happy with the film's
title as they liked the original "Getting Over Allison"
better and a lot of changed dialogue). The two crack jokes
about the film's poor performance at the box office toward
the start, which I enjoyed. O'Haver pretty much dominates
this track, but Fleming does offer his insight on writing it
and early drafts, not to mention his inspiration. Fleming
does seem a little nervous, though. We also learn from the
track the whole "Midnight Summer's Dream" thing came from
Harvey Weinstein, trying to combine the success of
"Shakespeare In Love" and "She's All That" for the film.
O'Haver offers a lot of praise and talks about the changes.
It seems they both had a good time with this movie, and this
is a very good and light track to accompany the movie. The
two are honest, fun and pretty screen specific. They're
honest and are willing to point out their mistakes. Fans of
the film, don't miss it. It's pretty entertaining and
informative.
There are eight Deleted and Extended Scenes with
Optional Commentary, though some of them are actually
alternate ones where a line or two is basically changed. The
stuff they deleted should have been kept in, everything,
from my perspective because it works so well and adds a bit
more. The extended scenes, thankfully, were basically cut
down. They don't work as well. From the optional commentary,
O'Haver leads the way with Fleming joining in here and
there. It seems the extended scenes were cut down for a
single reason: the MPAA. Got to love them and their crazy
objections always. The deleted scenes are cut out because of
the pace according to O'Haver, but we can hear that he does
have second thoughts. The scenes add up to be a little over
nine minutes. Most of the scenes are completed, but some
lack sound and music.
I mentioned Martin Short stands out in this movie, and
with the Martin Short Outtakes it's non-stop Short
which I was very happy to see. Some of these "outtakes" are
mess ups, but others are rather alternate improvised lines.
These are really funny and worth checking out for sure. They
last a good seven minutes and thirteen seconds and are in
non-anamorphic letterbox at 2.35:1. They are presented
against light piano music which is a good touch. There's
also the Martin Short Makeup Test that's about a
minute, and is all silent, but features the variety of
styles trying to create Short's character's look. I like the
one in the film the best, so good choice there.
Two music videos. The faux boy band in the movie, "Swing
Town Lads" have a video on the disc, but unfortunately, it's
just what's shown in the movie up close, meaning it's not
complete, still, it's fun. That's right, the Luv
S.C.U.D. Music Video is here and for some reason,
Disney spells it "Love Scud"... don't ask me. The other
video is "The Itch" by Vitamin C. It's an
interesting song and is in non-anamorphic widescreen. It has
clips from the movie in the video... plus Dunst in the video
itself. This lasts three minutes and twenty-four seconds.
The Behind-The-Scenes Featurette lasts a little
over seven minutes and lacks focus... it is purely
promotional. It has interviews with Tommy O'Haver, Mila
Kunis, Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster and others. Nothing great.
A big draw for me though was the five Original
Songs. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman created great
songs for the movie, and I said I wished they were on the
soundtrack and there was more of them. All these songs are
completed and full, plus a text summary of what they are.
"The Girl Inside" is the full song Kelly sings at her
audition, "Pocketful Of Dreams" is the full version of the
rehearsal song, "Pocketful of Ass" is the same song as
"Pocketful of Dreams" (I love how Disney still can't spell
right on the DVD... check out their spelling) but with
different lyrics, "Hermia Let's Run Away" is a duet that was
never used with Allison and Berke, and finally, there's
"Love Me Hermia" which is the full song Striker sings. It's
not in the movie, but some of it is in the deleted scenes
section. Very nice section and well presented here.
A few Sneak Peeks are on the disc as well, of
course mainly movies aimed at teens:
Bounce,
"Boys and Girls", "Down To You",
She's
All That and
10 Things
I Hate About You. Finally, a thirty-second Soundtrack
Spot.
"Get Over It" sadly bombed at the box office, but this is
one teen movie that goes in many different directions and
breaks new ground for the genre. Sure you can predict what
will happen, but it's really a fun, lighthearted movie that
works really well. It's nice to see that Disney did not
screw it over for the DVD release, as the presentation is
wonderful and the extras are simply great. I can only hope
this movie finds more of a life on video and DVD, as it does
deserve it. While the genre of teen movies is on its last
legs, "Get Over It" is worth checking out for young and old.
 (4/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
(4.5/5)
 (3/5)
 (3.5/5, NOT an average)
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