This spoof's working title was Ten Things I Hate About Clueless Road Trips When I Can't Hardly Wait to Be Kissed, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know. The patchwork plot is basically She's All That's Pygmalion rip-off blended with elements from teen movies all the way back to John Hughes' The Breakfast Club (complete with Gleason playing the same character, and a climactic cameo from Ringwold). In fact, it's set in John Hughes High School, where Janey (Leigh) is a gorgeous girl with goofy glasses and paint-covered overalls, thus she's the "project" for popular jock Jake (Evans) to transform in to a potential prom queen. All the stereotypes are here--snooty cheerleader (Pressly), bratty little brother (McMains), token black guy (Richmond), shell-shocked dad (Quaid), foul-mouthed coach (Lauter) and so on.

In addition to those already mentioned, the film includes relatively adept swipes at Cruel Intentions, American Pie and Bring it On, although basically every scene is a laborious set-up for a lame punchline making fun of a kind of film that borders on spoof anyway. But there are several so-stupid-they're-funny gags along the way, as well as hilarious performances by a cast of beautiful lookalikes, all of whom act just as well (if not better) than the actors they're poking fun at. And the choice of music is thoroughly inspired ... and often the funniest thing about a scene. That said, not nearly enough gags hit the target; long stretches of the film are completely gag-free. While big teen set pieces are here (football championship, prom, an inexplicable musical number), there are a couple of serious omissions: no student production of a Shakespeare play, no heartwarming captain-my-captain moment. Still, compared to the Scary Movie franchise, this is a masterpiece.

themes, language, nudity, vulgarity

21.Feb.02

Dede, Ohio: "Who ever wrote Cody Mcmains was hot I agree! I loved the song 'prom tonight' also. The movie was great! Really Funny. They soo should make Not Another Teen Movie 2, like 2 years later, it would be awsome!" (31.Jan.05)