WHATEVER IT TAKES

WHATEVER IT TAKES
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****):  ** 1/2

Stop me if you've heard this one before. An unpopular guy has his eye on the most popular girl at his high school. At the same time, her male cousin has the hots for an unpopular girl, who is the first guy's next-door neighbor and best buddy. In order for both to get what they want, the guys tell each other what to say.

Okay, so you've heard more permutations of this story that you can count.

Second-time director David Hubbard, whose first offering was the abysmal TRIPPIN', makes a more satisfying, if not very original, film this time -- a teenage romantic comedy called WHATEVER IT TAKES. Although it has all of the requisite bathroom humor and underage drinking that I'm sorry to say that many teens want in their movies, it also has some good messages about the consequences of your actions and has some likable leads. It certainly isn't anything memorable, but it's a slightly above the average member of its genre.

Shane West (from the television series "Once and Again"), the handsomest guy in the cast, plays Ryan Woodman. Ryan is so far out of the in-crowd that its members think that he must have just transferred to their school when they meet him for the first time. He is a lovable accordion player who has brains and looks. The movie tries to make you believe that he only has the former.

Marla Sokoloff (from the television series "The Practice") is the supposedly plain-looking Maggie Carter, Ryan's long-time best buddy. Their bedroom balconies are close enough for them to swap homework. Maggie, as Ryan points out, "hasn't been on a date in, like, forever." Maggie, of course, is the biggest knockout in the movie with a killer body and an electric smile that would light up Broadway.

Ryan views Maggie as the functional equivalent of the sister he never had. (Everyone appears to be an only-child in this story.) He'd no sooner have romantic intentions for her that he would for a sibling. Which, of course, means... Well, you get the idea.

Meanwhile, back on campus, James Franco (from the television series "Freaks and Geeks"), as the egocentric Chris Campbell, and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (SHE'S ALL THAT), as the stuck-up Ashley Grant, reign as the campus king and queen. Chris's idea of a come-on line is: "We can get together and swap spit." He's a self-proclaimed "nail and bail" man when it comes to women. Ashley is so vain that she demands a payment to sign a yearbook and then backs out on the deal anyway.

Since Chris wants to date Maggie, and Ryan desires Ashley, the two boys concoct a bargain. Each will help the other one win the girl of his dreams. Needless to say, all four of them will be surprised with the results.

Writer Mark Schwahn comes up with a few fresh ideas among all of his retreads. When an awkward Ryan tries to shake Ashley's hand rather than kiss her at the end of their double date, Schwahn manages to have her surprise us. Similarly, the story's ending contains a well deserved, albeit a bit sadistic, comeuppance.

So does the movie end in a prom? As teenagers would say, "well, duh!" The theme of the dance this time is "Titanic Dreams." Talk about telegraphing your punches. When the predictable movie ends, what you're likely to remember, however, aren't its flaws, of which there are many, but Maggie and Ryan. They are two adorable characters who win your hearts even if the rest of the picture doesn't.

WHATEVER IT TAKES runs 1:32. It is rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual material and language. The movie would be acceptable for teenagers, preferably older ones.

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