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She's All That
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook,
Matthew Lillard, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Usher Raymond, Kimberly
"Lil' Kim" Jones, Elden Hanson, Kevin Pollack, Kieran Culkin
and Anna Paquin
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Written by R. Lee Felming Jr.
Directed by Robert Iscove
Retail Price: 29.99
Features: Music Video
Specs: 1.85:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen, 5.1 Dolby
Digital English, English Captions, Chapter Search
No one was prepared for the success of She's All That
when it debuted during January 1999. Yes, the whole teen
movie craze was jump started by Scream, and She's All That
further proved how hot it all was. The movie even spawned a
hit song, "Kiss Me", by Sixpence None the Richer. Though now
I feel the craze is starting to let down, with quite a few
recent bombs (Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Whatever it Takes, Down
to You to name some), She's All That is pretty much what a
teen movie should be: stereotypical, pretty stupid,
enjoyable and very predictable.
So, how's this for a teen plot? The ultra cool Zack
Siler, with the brains, good looks and jockiness, makes a
bet with his friend after he has been dumped by his snotty
girlfriend: Can he change the school's biggest geek, Laney
Boggs from outcast to prom queen? What will happen in this
exciting (sarcasm there) and predictable teen soap opera? I
am sure without seeing the movie you can draw your own
conclusions.
I'm sure Disney will be selling quite a few of these
puppies, this DVD is nothing special, despite the success of
the film. It is what I expected from the studio: a average,
not really cleaned up transfer, lack of supplements and an
audio track which is nothing so special. You may have also
heard that at the start of the pressing of this disc, there
was faulty audio, and the disc was not mastered in 5.1. If
you plan on purchasing the disc or have and want to
exchange, make sure you don't get stuck with this problem.
It's easy to spot: the correct disc will feature a sticker
on the packaging, saying it has been mastered in 5.1.
The film is presented in the pre-Disney DVD days. She's
All That is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and is NOT
anamorphic. This, being the usual Disney transfer, has it's
fair share of problems. Throughout the film, you'll notice
quite a few artifacts, grain, lines and other things which
gets in the way of viewing. While it doesn't truly ruin the
film, it does get annoying. The film also does get a bit
pixelated at times. What I also did not like about this
transfer is that it seemed a touch faded during points in
the movie. I don't know how many will notice this, but the
movie was only a few months old from the time of the
theatrical release to the DVD release, and shouldn't be
faded at all. Color correction should have been used at the
right spots, and you can't see every little detail. This is
a good thing to watch out for, the start of the movie takes
place at a high school, and in the background there is some
nice scenary, which is not really noticeable or so clear. It
is just simple to say the transfer is decent. There is
nothing so bad, but nothing spectacular either.
The 5.1 sound is a little bit better than the transfer,
but not by much. The LFE .1 is hardly used, and the most of
the sound is in the front channels. Still, during the loud
dance party scenes it all sounds good and well. The movie
has a pretty good mix. Nothing really creative, but like the
movie itself, predictable. Everything is utilized the way it
should be, it fits perfectly with the movie and is simply
fine. It's just nothing to get excited about.
This should be nice and short. Besides the usual Disney
recommendations, She's All That features the music video for
the song "Kiss Me", which I am sure you have all heard on
the radio hundreds, or probably thousands of times. The song
is by and performed by Sixpence None the Richer. I admit, it
is a good song, but not so good when it is overplayed
wherever you go. The video is in full frame, with two
channel sound. It features some shots from the movie, and
the movie's stars: Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh
Cook. Depending on how much you like the video and song, the
real question is how many times you'll watch it over and
over.
The menus also lived up to my expectations: normal and
simple, the Disney standard. The main menu features the
movie's poster, complete with logo and shots of the two
stars, and the logo's font for Play, Chapter Selection,
Bonus Material and Setup. The menus are straight cuts, and
feature the font for everything. The menus also feature
pictures of actors from the movie, except for the chapter
list which has a snapshot from the chapter and a caption,
divided four per screen.
A very successful film at the box office, She's All That
is sure to be a good seller for Disney. Though the video and
sound are flawed, they are decent, and fit fine with the
whole movie. This is a bare bones disc, the only extra is a
music video. I am thinking Disney should have renamed this
DVD "She's All Crap".
If you have seen She's All That and really enjoyed it, it
is worth the purchase, as long as you plan to watch it a few
times. If you have not seen it, but love corny, predictable
and just plain mindless teen movies, it's a worth a rental -
especially for the far out dance sequence! Also please keep
in mind that the disc with 5.1 audio has a special sticker
on it, saying it has been re-mastered that way.
 (3/5, NOT included in
final score)
(3/5)
 (3.5/5)
 (.5/5)
 (2.5/5, NOT an average)
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