The Freshman (1925)

My first exposure to the comedy of Harold Lloyd was in the early 2000s when Turner Classic Movies ran a marathon of his movies.   I had already been familiar with the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton; The Gold Rush and The General were staples on PBS.  Yet, Harold Lloyd’s movies were largely unavailable for some time, so when TCM ran this marathon I was compelled to watch.  I was instantly hooked. A few years later, when New Line released a box set of his movies, I immediately bought it (twenty seven movies for sixty dollars! WHAT A DEAL!!!).  I’ve also had the privilege of seeing three of his movies on the big screen: Why Worry?, The Freshman, and Safety Last.  This is the ideal way to watch a Harold Lloy movie; it comes to life in a packed house. 

The Freshman is considered by many to be Lloyd’s best movie, which actually surprises to me. The Freshman is an entertaining, often hilarious movie, yet it’s greatly flawed in the story aspect. The problem I have with it is that Harold’s motivation is fairly self serving one– he wants to be the most popular student on the college campus.  His sole reason for going to college is not to better himself academically, but socially.  It is interesting that in a movie with a college setting there is not a single scene set in the classroom. We see Harold try out for the football team, romance Peggy, and go through a whole series of humiliations, but never once does he crack open a book.  In one of the movie’s more clever ideas, Harold is inspired to go to college after seeing a movie called “The College Hero.” It’s not college that interests him, but the idea, or rather the movie’s idea of college that gets him all fired up. He is obsessed with the movie to the point where he imitates the main character’s, Speedy, silly hand shake (he does a silly jig and then extends out his right hand). This, justifiably, makes him a laughing stock of the college campus.  

Harold realizes that the only way for him to be the “college hero” is by joining the football team and winning a few games. Harold tries out for the team and the coach is less than impressed, but after the tackling dummy has been wrecked, he decides that Harold will be a perfect substitute; he replaces an inanimate dummy with a human dummy.  While the coach doesn’t have any use for Harold as a player, he is impressed with the young man’s spirit, and keeps him on the squad; albeit as the water boy.  The Freshman was made an era when college football was significantly more popular than pro football; the idea being that playing football was all well and good while in college, but once the men graduated it was time to start their real careers.  When The Freshman was made many pro football players adopted colorful nick names; this was done, in part, to give them larger than life personas, but mostly to spare their family any sort of embarrassment. It really wasn’t until the advent of television that pro football caught on with the masses. 

The Freshman also has the most offbeat football game ever shown on the big screen. Did Harold Lloyd even understand the rules? For instance, Harold’s team picks up a first down (due to a twenty yard catch accidentally hauled in by Harold), but a few plays later Harold is waiting to field the other team’s punt.  We don’t see any change of possession, so why is Harold fielding a punt? Is this supposed to take place later in the quarter? Are there a few shots missing? If that isn’t enough, we are then shown the worst bit of (fictional) coaching in cinema history.  After recovering Harold’s “fumble,” the other team, with mere seconds left on the clock, opts to punt the ball instead of just running out the clock. This allows for Harold to return the punt for a touchdown and win the game.  Hopefully, the opposing coach was fired after the game, because this is the most baffling play calling I have ever witnessed; and I say that as Packers fan who watched my team squander a twelve point lead (against Seattle) with five minutes left on the clock, thus losing out on a chance to go to the Super Bowl.  AAAAHHHH!!!!  The football scene is fun too watch, but it’s devoid of any real sense of urgency; Harold fighting against the clock to win the respect of his peers doesn’t really carry much dramatic weight.  It is also a bit troubling to see Harold, sitting on the bench,  hoping one of his teammates gets injured so he can be allowed to play. It’s funny, but it goes to show just how shallow his character really is. 

The problem I have with The Freshman is that the football game is fairly anti-climatic; the real ending of the movie is when Harold punches out the College Cad for making an inappropriate pass on Peggy. The Harold/Peggy romance is the real heart of the story and it’s responsible for some of the movie’s more memorable moments:  Harold and Peggy meet in the dining compartment on a train. Peggy is working on a crossword puzzle and Harold sits down next to her. Harold becomes transfixed by the puzzle and thinks he figured out the word for: a name for the one you love.  He shares his answer ("Sweetheart") with Peggy and then she comes back with another alternative ("Darling"), then they go back and forth with different words.  The old lady seated behind them overhears the conversation and mistakenly believes they are showing their affection for each other. She finally chimes in, “Isn’t it wonderful to be in love?” Harold hears this, freaks out, and runs out of the room.

 Later on when Harold is at a dance at the hotel, he notices that Peggy is alone, working at the counter and slowly realizes that his place is with her.  These are wonderful scenes played to absolute perfection by Lloyd and his regular leading lady, Jobyna Ralston. It is hard not to feel for these two people.  It is also interesting to note the one trope that is missing in The Freshman – the popular girl who Harold obsesses over. Though, it might not have been invented yet.  Most teen comedies feature a subplot where the main character obsesses over the popular girl, while being oblivious to the fact that his female friend, who is usually a tomboy, is in love with him.  The Freshman doesn’t bother with a pointless love triangle, because it’s hard to imagine Harold falling for anyone other then Peggy. Harold Lloyd understands this and allows the romance to speak for itself.

In the entertaining commentary, Rich Correll and Leonard Maltin, point out that, like Harold, Peggy is one of the “have nots.”  She doesn’t attend college, but works multiple jobs - as a counter girl at a hotel and helping her mother run the boarding house that Harold is living in. She immediately relates to Harold because they come from similar backgrounds. He doesn’t put on an act when he is around her and is free to be himself.  The question is - especially after having found his soul mate in Peggy – WHY DOES HAROLD CARE ABOUT BEING POPULAR?! His classmates treat him 

terribly, yet Harold is still determined to win them over. WHY? It practically undermines the wonderful moment where Harold and Peggy finally reveal their true love for one another.  Harold, you found a girl that likes for you who you are, to hell with your douchebag classmates.  It’s also interesting to note that Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky follows the same structure as The Freshman; except Stallone wisely places the emphasis on the Rocky/Adrian relationship, while the fight between Rocky and Apollo is a plot device that sets the story in motion.  Even though Rocky loses the match, the movie has a happy ending because he has found his soul mate in Adrian.  

The Freshman is not Lloyd’s funniest movie, but it does make for an invaluable time capsule of the 1920s – all the trends of the time are on full display.  In one funny bit, Harold, while dancing with a college girl, checks the back pockets of his classmates to see if they are carrying a flask.  The Freshman was made during Prohibition, so the possession of alcohol had to be hidden from plain sight.  Harold’s father is described as a “radio liar,” a term that would have no meaning to modern day audiences. Essentially, Harold’s father likes to futz around on the radio and claims that he is able to tune in far away countries.  Radio was the 1920s equivalent to social media; it was a way for people to reach out to other countries. In the football game, there is no designated passer; the quarterback position was virtually nonexistent at this time and wouldn’t really be perfected until the 1940s with the arrival of such athletes like Sid Luckman (of the Chicago Bears) and Sammy Baugh (of the Washington Redskins). 

It wasn’t until recently that many critics began to hold Harold Lloyd in the same regard as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, largely because Lloyd didn’t have the same amount of control as the other two.  Lloyd was the driving force behind his movies but usually relinquished directing duties (Sam Taylor and Fred C. Newmeyer are the credited directors of The Freshman).   While Lloyd may not have been as artistically driven as the Chaplin and Keaton, he was easily the best actor out of the three.  Lloyd could have easily been a leading man in any genre, because there was a great range in his acting abilities. His love scenes with Jobyna Ralston are easily on par (if not better) than most romance movies that Hollywood was turning out at the time.  His movies are easily on par with anything that Chaplin and Keaton put out during this era.  Most filmmakers would agree with me; Cary Grant’s look in Bringing Up Baby was inspired by Harold Lloyd. Hell, Lloyd was even the model for Clark Kent.  Lloyd was even a huge influence on the 1960s counterculture;  the ending of The Graduate was  greatly inspired by the ending of Girl Shy.  The Graduate is often described as “the movie that defined a generation.”  How ironic that it was taking its notes from a comedian of an earlier generation.

Credits
Cast: Harold Lloyd (Harold Lamb), Jobyna Ralston (Peggy), Brooks Benedict (The College Cad), Pat Harmon (The Football Coach), James H. Anderson (The College Hero), Hazel Keener (The College Belle), Joseph Harrington (The College Tailor), May Wallace (Harold’s Mother),Charles Stevenson (Assistant Coach).

Directors: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor.
Screenplay: Sam Taylor, Ted Wilde, John Grey, Tim Whelan, Thomas J.Grey (titles), Harold Lloyd.
Running Time: 76 min.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

I have been reluctant to write an article about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, largely because practically every blog and Youtube commentator has beaten me to the punch.  It’s one of the most divisive Disney..er I mean Star Wars movies ever made; people either love it or hate it.  My viewing experience of Star Wars: The Last Jedi was eerily similar to the one I had during The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; I found both movies to be extremely frustrating and by the end I had no desire to see the next chapter in the series.  I have yet to see The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies and I honestly could care less about the next episode of Star Wars. They exemplify the unfortunate trend of modern day filmmaking– take a beloved franchise, inject it full of steroids, and disregard any attempt at storytelling in favor of fan service. The Last Jedi is not a bad movie and, despite the claims of the Internet, it is far from being the worst Star Wars movie ever made (I personally award that to Attack of the Clones).  The Last Jedi, like Desolation of Smaug before it, is frustrating because it had the potential of being a genuinely great movie, but often gets bogged down by needless characters and pointless subplots.  It is a competently made movie, with some truly stunning visuals, but the script is a total mess.   While director Rian Johnson is credited as the writer, I’m sure he was given nonstop memos by the studio to make sure he was filling out the proper check boxes. 

It certainly doesn’t help that The Last Jedi often plays like an extended episode of Battlestar Galactica. The rebels are being pursued by the First Order throughout space and, after Leia is knocked unconscious, there is infighting between the crew which finally escalates in Poe Dameron committing mutiny against Vice Admiral Holdo. 

The character of Holdo is problematic for two reasons:
1. She isn’t introduced until midway through the movie and barely registers as a character. Who is she? What is her motivation?  It is a bid odd how she scolds Poe for being hot headed, but later on, after he has committed a mutiny, gushes to Leia about how much she likes him. Really?  She has a “boys will be boys” conversation with Leia and Poe is immediately forgiven for his criminal act. Granted, given how scant the resistance is, I guess there isn’t much a choice. It’s bad writing disguised as a character arc. “You see, she wasn’t so bad, after all. She did have a plan. And she likes Poe!”
2. Holdo is essentially a place holder for Leia. It would have been more interesting if Poe was leading a mutiny against Leia.  It would give his a character some conflict; Leia has been a mentor to him and he would have debate whether or not to go through with it. In the first act, Leia berates Poe  for his reckless behavior and demotes him to Captain.  It seems inevitable that the two of them are going to butt heads and…… then Leia is bed ridden for nearly half an hour while Holdo barks orders.  Poe butting heads with her surrogate doesn’t have the same dramatic impact and the resolution is a bit weak:  Holdo had a plan all along; she just kept it from Poe because…ummmmmm…… Not to mention her plan ultimately results in most of the rebel forces being picked off by the First Order, so maybe Poe had a legitimate reason to doubt her leadership skills. Also, given the fact it has been established that Poe is a bit of hot head who constantly disregards orders; wouldn’t it have benefitted Holdo to have someone keep an eye him? Or lock him up in the Brig?  She scolds him for his reckless behavior, but it never occurs to her that he might try something that is…reckless. 

I know we’re supposed to condemn Poe for being a hot head, but he is the only character that seems to understand the urgency of the situation, while everyone else just goes through the motions.  While it is easy for Leia (and the audience) to berate Poe for his risk taking, let’s not forget that the resistance is in dire straits; at certain point they’re going to have to take a roll of dice.  Oscar Isaac is a fine actor, but he is absolutely let down by this series. In The Force Awakens, Poe is off screen for a good chunk of the movie and in The Last Jedi he is made to look like a fool.  

While it’s nice to see Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia (especially that brief moment she gets to share with Mark Hamill), it’s a shame that she is given very little to do. She butts heads with Poe in the early scenes; gets shot out into space; uses the force to survive the cold vacuum of space; and then spends a good chunk of screen time in a coma. This also begs the question: Why not kill off Leia? The sad death of Carrie Fisher makes it impossible for Leia to appear in future entries (without the use of CGI) so why not give her a heroic death? I understand they filmed all of her scenes, but couldn’t they have figured something out in post production.  Of course, if Leia gets killed too early that would make it impossible for her to be reunited with Luke, albeit briefly. Still, with Fisher being gone, how are they going to resolve the Leia issue in the next movie? 

 The fact that the First Order “reigns supreme” (despite having their super space station blown up a few hours ago) is more likely due to the fact that the resistance is poorly run rather than them being an efficient force of evil.  How else do you explain the resistance losing to the likes of General Hux and Kylo Ren? General Hux is extremely incompetent, and Domhnall Gleeson’s performance is so over the top that it often borders on parody.  One could easily believe that Gleeson was cast in a Spaceballs sequel, but accidentally wandered on to the The Last Jedi set, instead.  Who knows, maybe Domhnall Gleeson was paying homage to George Wyner’s performance (as Colonel Sanders) in Spaceballs?  The movie opens with Poe Dameron, in a bid to buy time, prank calling General Hux.  Hux, despite being this supposedly “sinister” monster, just stands around like a dummy and allows Poe to continue with this charade, instead of just ordering Poe to be shot down.  It is an odd way to begin a movie, especially when you want to establish the First Order as a credible threat. Imagine if in the original Star Wars, Grand Moff Tarkin’s first scene began with him slipping on a banana peel.  His credibility as a villain would be shot to shit and he would be regarded as a complete joke.  Again, how is a supposedly intelligent leader like Leia getting beating outsmarted by this dumbass?  

  

Do Star Wars fans genuinely like Captain Phasma?  She comes off as a desperate attempt by the studio to create a Boba Fett-like character – one that fans will immediately cling to because she looks cool. The character is so devoid of any personality – and menace- that I wonder why they even bothered to cast Gwendoline Christie in the role. A stunt woman would have easily sufficed (and probably cost considerably less).  Her big moment in The Last Jedi is that she, once again, loses to Finn. 

It also occurs to me that the new Star Wars movies completely negate the original trilogy; thirty years later and Leia is still the leader of the resistance, Han has gone back to being a smuggler, and Luke lives in complete isolation. I wouldn’t go so far to say  that “DISNEY RUINED MY CHILDHOOD,” but it is slightly depressing to see two iconic characters from my youth,  first Han Solo in The Force Awakens and now Luke Skywalker, relegated to bitter old men who are promptly killed off after their moment of “heroism.” There was always a nice dynamic between Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy; Han was the cynical rogue, while Luke was the eternal optimist. Han was the cool character that everyone wanted to be, while Luke was the heart of the series.  The fact that Luke has given up, and treats Rey in such a cold manner, often feels like a betrayal of the character. On the other hand: what else could Rian Johnson possibly do with the character?  If Luke is the optimist of the original trilogy, then there is basically no dramatic conflict between Rey and him. Also, he wouldn’t be in hiding in the first place; he would be fighting side by side with Leia to bring down the First Order.  I don’t blame Rian Johnson for this, because “the map to Luke Skywalker” was the MacGuffin in The Force Awakens.  

On the other hand, Luke being a disillusioned old man is one of the more compelling aspects of the movie.  Luke isn’t wrong when he talks about the Jedi’s many past failures:  they couldn’t spot the Sith Lord in their midst until it was too late; they knew Anakin was emotionally unstable but assigned him to guard Padme (despite the obvious crush he has on her); they knew that the clones were created under highly suspect circumstances but used them any ways; and Luke, sensing Kylo Ren might turn to the dark side, briefly contemplates killing his own nephew him and when he finally regains his senses, it is too late; Kylo retaliates and destroys the Jedi temple.  Luke explains to Rey that the “legend of Luke Skywalker” eventually became a burden, because it was a standard that he, as a mere man, could never live up to.  One can’t help seeing a parallel with Mark Hamill’s film career; the character of Luke Skywalker casted such a huge shadow that it doomed Hamill to decades of mediocrity; culminating in direct to video purgatory.  He eventually found in redemption in the role of The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.  This may not be the Luke Skywalker the fans wanted, but this is by far Hamill’s strongest performance in the entire Star Wars series. 

Unfortunately, Luke is so engulfed in his self loathing that he fails to realize that he is pushing Rey straight into the arms of Kylo Ren.  Rey is trying to find her place in the world and hopes that Luke can give her a few answers, and maybe even train her, but his cold treatment makes her disillusioned and she finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Kylo Ren.  The Rey/Kylo Ren storyline is the most intriguing aspect of The Last Jedi, because it’s unlike anything we’ve seen in previous Star Wars movies.  It also proves to be the most frustrating aspect, because Rian Johnson completely undermines a fairly interesting plot twist.  For some mysterious reason (that is later explained) the force keeps connecting Kylo Ren and Rey; initially Rey is put off by this (after all, this is the same man that killed Han Solo) but as the movie progresses she starts to believe that maybe Kylo Ren isn’t all that bad, and, in fact sense that there is still some good in him.  She is convinced she can change Kylo Ren for the better and decides to meet him head on

It is interesting how the movie breaks down the barriers of good and evil; Kylo Ren has done great evil in the past but he was greatly wronged by the protagonists of the original trilogy (Han, Leia, and Luke).   Han was a total deadbeat dad, who when things took a turn of a worse got out of town. Leia was probably a well meaning mother but was too involved in politics to give her son the attention he desperately needed.  While Luke, rather than reaching out to Kylo, automatically assumed the worst and contemplated killing his own nephew in cold blood.  Yet, Kylo Ren is greatly torn up over killing his father and later on, when he has a chance to kill Leia, he can’t bring himself to do it. He is not a good man, but he is not a one dimensional baddie, either.  Unfortunately, Rey is not nearly as compelling as a character, because she is completely devoid of any flaws. She doesn’t earn any of her powers; they are magically given to her.  While I enjoyed The Force Awakens, the first thought that popped into my head after the movie was, “What are they going to do with Rey?”  Without any training, she’s already the best Jedi to ever walk the universe, so what can they possibly do with her?  Then, for a brief moment, it seemed that Rian Johnson had a brilliant answer to that question.  After Kylo Ren and Rey have taken out Snoke’s guards, he pleads with her to join forces with him. I can’t be the only person that genuinely wanted this to happen, because it would have made for an interesting cliff hanger.  Kylo makes an interesting point; both of them have been greatly disappointed by their would be mentors and the Jedi/Sith way of life has only wrought misery onto the galaxy. Let it die and build something new.  To hell with the First Order and the Resistance!  Unfortunately, such an idea is too interesting for Star Wars and Rey resists Kylo Ren’s offer and he goes back to being a full on baddie!  

Final note: Many fans were angered at how easily Snoke was killed off by Kylo Ren. I wasn’t really bothered by this plot point because I didn’t find Snoke to particularly interesting.  However, I don’t think it’s so much Snoke’s death that fans were against as it was the execution of the scene. It is laughable bad! It’s something straight out of an old G.I. Joe episode. Snoke sits on his throne and gloats, for minutes on end, about how he can’t be betrayed, only to be betrayed by Kylo Ren. Oh, the irony! Snoke is able to manipulate the force so that it can connect Kylo Ren and Rey, but he can’t sense that his pupil, who is an emotional wreck, is about to betray him. It’s a rather silly moment!  I don’t even want to waste my time talking about the Finn/Rose subplot, because it is fairly pointless and doesn’t accomplish thing. It’s annoying to seeing Finn being reduced to “comedy relief” while Rose is practically perfect in every way. 

The Last Jedi isn’t so much a bad movie as it is a disappointing one. It has a few genuinely interesting moments and then proceeds to undermine them in dumbest ways imaginable. Oh, look, Luke is finally going to confront Kylo Ren. This is going to epic. Oh, he’s a hologram? Did Stephen Moffat write this script? It feels like the kind of “clever” twist you would find in the later seasons of Doctor Who? Also, it amazes me that Rian Johnson actually ripped off the ending to Chuck Norris comedy, Sidekicks. The final shot of that movie is a boy in a wheelchair being inspired by Chuck Norris themed magazine.  The Last Jedi has a slave boy, staring off into the stars, inspired by the story of Luke Skywalker’s last stand.  Though, at least Sidekicks had a central character that was slightly relatable. 

Cast: Daisy Ridley (Rey), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Carrie Fisher (Leia), John Boyega (Finn), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose), Laura Dern (Vice Admiral Holdo), Andy Serkis (Emperor Snoke), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Benicio Del Toro (DJ), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Bille Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Frank Oz (Yoda – voice), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata – voice), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca).

Writer/Director: Rian Johnson
Running Time: 153 min.

Get Over It (2001)

Get Over it perfectly exemplifies the phrase “Timing is everything.” If the movie had been released a few months earlier (or a few months later) it might have been a box office hit.  The studio dumped it off into theatres in March of 2001 and it was met with complete indifference by its target audience, teenagers.  Just months earlier, this same audience had made Bring It On (also starring Kirsten Dunst) a smash hit, but now they could care less.  It died instantly at the box office (grossing a paltry $19 million worldwide against a 22 million budget) and quickly faded into obscurity. This cycle of teenage movies had worn itself out and audiences would begin to crave bigger and better things; the releases of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring at the end of the year would mark the beginning of studios pumping their money into popular franchises.

The pity is that Get Over It is easily the most imaginatively directed out of the teen movies and is blessed with a ridiculously overqualified cast.  The main problem Get Over It has to overcome is R. Lee Fleming, Jr.’s hackneyed script.  Fleming is not only content with stealing from other movies, but from himself as well – he wrote the screenplay to She’s All That.  For instance, in She’s All That, Zack’s girlfriend dumps him for a former reality TV star and in Get Over It, Berke’s girlfriend dumps him and hooks up with a former member of a boy band, who has transferred to their high school.  The script isn’t exactly brimming with originality.  It also shares a few plot points with Bring It On; in that movie Torrance (Dunst) falls in love with her best friend’s brother, Cliff, while in Get Over It, Berke falls in love with his best friend’s sister, Kelly (played by Dunst). In Bring It On, Clive gives Torrance a cassette tape which contains a punk song he wrote for her; this cheers her up during her darkest hour.  In Get Over It, Berke buys Kelly a tape recorder (to help her with her song writing) and records a "I Believe in You" message on a cassette tape. This inspires Kelly to throw out Dr. Oates terrible song and perform one that she has specifically written for the school musical. Though, I would chalk that up to coincidence as Get Over It went into production before Bring It On was released. Get Over It also continued the trend of adapting classic plays into teen comedies; She’s All That (Pygmalion), Ten Things I Hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew), Whatever It Takes (Cyrano de Bergerac), and She’s the Man (Twelfth Night).   In Get Over It, Berke, in a futile attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend Allison, is cast in a supporting role in the high school’s musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and is shocked to learn the play parallels his own situation.   

This brings me to the other flaw of Get Over It – the lead character Berke is completely unlikable. When Berke isn’t obsessing over Allison, he is feeling sorry for himself.  Sure, it sucks that his girlfriend dumped him, but it’s extremely annoying that whenever Kelly wants to have a genuine conversation, he keeps bringing up Allison.  The other moment that drives me nuts is after Kelly gives him a short summary of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Berke promptly starts packing up his gear to leave.  When Kelly points out they have just got started, Berke replies, “No offense, Kelly. I’m not trying to win an Oscar; I just want my girlfriend back.”
GET OVER IT, MAN!   In order for Berke to work as a character you need an extremely charismatic actor in the role and, unfortunately, Ben Foster is not that guy. Berke is the kind of role that John Cusack and Michael J. Fox could play in their sleep, but Ben Foster’s more intense style of acting is often at odds with the character. It doesn’t help that he is forced to utter lines like, “I can handle that Backstreet bitch.”  

 Foster isn’t terrible and there are few moments where his understated performance actually works; there is one scene where his “understanding” mother suggest they go for yogurt and then adds, “Or maybe Berke wants to go home and polish the rocket.”
Berke, with a look of disgust on his face, answers, “Yogurt’s good.” 

I also like the piano scene between Berke and Kelly.  She is playing a tune she wrote, on the school piano, and Berke sits down next to her.  She is too embarrassed to play the song for Berke, so he cheers her up by playing the “A.B. Cs” and she eventually joins in. There is genuine chemistry between the leads and it’s nice that it is Berke cheering Kelly up for once instead of the other way around. It’s not surprising to learn that this scene wasn’t in Fleming’s original script and was a result of reshoots (this is noticeable in that Dunst’s hair is dyed red in this scene, as she was filming Spider-Man at the time).  In fact, you will find that some of the movie's best scenes were either adlibs or rewrites.  It is almost like director Tommy O’ Haver realized the script was garbage and did whatever he could to salvage this mess, but more on that later. 

Kirsten Dunst is likable as Kelly; and is far better than the material she is given.  Kelly is also another example of Fleming’s limitations as a screenwriter; in She’s All That, Laney’s defining feature was that she was an aspiring artist, while in Get Over It, Kelly’s defining feature is that she is an aspiring songwriter.  It’s a role that doesn’t deserve an actress like Dunst, but she gives it her absolute all.

 
As mentioned before, Kirsten Dunst starred in the cheerleading comedy Bring It On and it’s interesting to compare that movie’s screenplay (written by Jessica Bendinger) to Fleming’s screenplay for Get Over It.  In Bring It On, Torrance’s main focus is to get her cheerleading squad back on track, despite all the misfortunes that have befallen her; everything else is secondary, including her potential romance with Cliff.  In Get Over It, Kelly’s main focus is on winning the love of Berke, even though she is one of the leads in the high school play. It is established early on that Kelly has a crush on Berke and views the musical (and Allison dumping him) as a chance to make her move.  She’s willing to, potentially, sabotage the high school music just so she can win over Berke; she opts to sing a song she has written instead of the number written by Dr. Desmond Forrest Oates (“Pocketful of Dreams”).  Later on, Berke returns Kelly’s gesture by changing to ending of the play so that his character ends up with hers.  This a good example of movie logic vs. real world logic: In the movie, everyone is charmed by this gesture of love, while in real life the cast members and crew would absolutely be livid that the two leads were going off script.
 

 Dr. Desmond Forrest Oates is portrayed as a narcissistic asshole, yet even he is touched by Kelly’s song.  Kelly is the ideal woman: beautiful, intelligent, and extremely loyal.  The problem is there’s no reason for these two characters to end up together other than that it’s in the script. There is also the time element which the movie kind of glosses over; in the beginning we are shown people auditioning for the play and the movie ends on opening night, which means a few months have passed.  That means for the last couple of months Berke has been pining over Allison, while Kelly has taken it in stride.  Why? A more satisfying ending would be Kelly realizing Berke is not worth her time and focusing on her performance in the stage. Why should she have to prove herself to him any ways?  Granted, this type of writing is on par with most teen comedies, but given the cast and the director, it would have been nice to see a different approach to the material. 

On the other hand, Allison is definitely a step up from Taylor, the ex-girlfriend in She’s All That.
In She’s All That, Taylor (Jodi Lyn O’ Keefe) is an irredeemable bitch who treats everyone around her like garbage, while Allison is a much more sympathetic character. It is clear that she regrets hurting Berke’s feeling, but she also realizes that it’s time to move on; their relationship has lost its spark, and she has been going through the motions for some time.  In She’s All That, Taylor cheats on Zack with an obnoxious reality TV star while on Spring Break and rather nonchalantly breaks up with him.  Allison meets Bentley ‘Striker” Scrumfeld after she has broken up with Berke and starts to date because “he’s different.”  She isn’t a malicious person; though I question her going to a party at Berke’s house, with her new boyfriend, after she has dumped him.  It’s a huge inconsistency in the character; things are already awkward enough between her and Berke, so why escalate it even further?  Was Allison originally written as a one-dimensional bitch? Or did Fleming always intend her to be a more sympathetic character?  It’s also hard to believe that a sweet natured person like Allison could ever fall for a complete cad like ‘Striker.’  In She’s All That, it makes sense that a bitchy, superficial person like Taylor would fall for a total sleazebag like Brock Hudson, but someone as intelligent as Allison would easily see through ‘Striker’s’ act.  

This brings me to my favorite performance in the movie; Shane West as Bentley ‘Striker’ Scrumfeld.  Shane West talks in a bad British accent the entire movie and it goes from being mildly amusing to dreadfully unfunny to absolutely hilarious; it does a complete 360. Most movies would have a scene where the character drops the accent and talks in his normal voice, but West absolutely commits to it. It is absolutely amazing!  West is a lot of fun as the arrogant, pretentious ‘Striker,’ and is perfect foil for Foster’s Berke.  He is such a raging douche that even Berke comes off well by comparison. 

Striker is also responsible for the most unintentionally laughable moment:  When Allison catches him making out with her best friend Maggie. This happens mere seconds after Berke tries to tell Allison that Striker was hitting on Kelly, but Allison will not listen.  She walks away, opens a door, and there’s Striker making out with Maggie. This is a scene that could easily have been shortened by having Allison witness Striker’s advances towards Kelly; she could then storm out of the house and Striker would chase after her, in a desperate attempt to explain himself. Instead, we are fed the same piece of information twice: Striker is two timing asshole.  Maggie barely registers as a character that it’s hard to feel anything towards her; she is neither sympathetic nor detestable. Maggie is one of Zoe Saldana’s earliest roles and, thankfully, she has gone onto better things, because she is completely ill served by the script.  

The wild card in the entire cast is Martin Short as drama teacher/musical director, Dr. Desmond Forrest Oates.  Whether you find Short funny or not, he does bring an unpredictable to the proceedings that this movie desperately needs.  According to O’Haver on the commentary, the look on confusion on the cast’s faces was genuine; they didn’t know what to make of Martin Short. My favorite Desmond Forrest Oates bit is when Kelly thanks him for casting her as Helena, he replies, “Me thinks thou best not botch it.” It’s an energetic performance and Short really gives a boost to an otherwise routine script. Oates is a rude, egotistically asshole who genuinely believes that his musical adaption of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an improvement on Shakespeare’s original; when Kelly suggest making changes to one of his songs, by incorporating lines from Shakespeare’s play, he is absolutely appalled. He never offers genuine direction to his actors; after Kelly has finished rehearsing her song number he tells her that it was “terrible.” 

The movie’s biggest asset is that is has Tommy O’ Haver as its director; his imaginative direction often breathes life into the stale material.  The opening is a great example of this; after Berke has been dumped by Allison, he walks down the street, carrying his box of belongings, in a dejected state. A more conventional movie would have Berke look screen right, see a couple holding hands, sigh, and then walk out of frame. O’ Haver turns into in a musical number: As Berke is walking in the middle of frame, we see Vitamin C and her band emerge from a garage, screen left, singing the Captain & Tennille song “Love Will Keep Us Together” and they begin to follow him.  Then an old couple emerges into frame and starts dancing. They are followed by a pair of newlyweds.  Then a mailman and a female UPS driver start to dance with each other.  The scene finally escalates with a marching band walking into frame, along with a baton twirler, until finally Berke can’t take it anymore and screams.  It’s not only a fun scene, but it perfectly encapsulates Berke’s victim mindset – the entire world seems to be mocking him.  No matter where looks he is reminded of his time with Allison and it’s like being hit with a blunt instrument. What is more impressive is that this whole musical number is done in a single shot. As a result, we can see the frustration build on Berke’s face as the musical number continues.    

There are also a few Zucker Brother like gags scattered throughout the picture: in one scene Dennis asks a pretty classmate of his, Dora Lynn, if she will go out on a date with Berke. It is established that Dora Lynn is accident prone and missed six years of high school due to being in a coma. When Dennis approaches her, they are in shop class and Dora Lynn is holding a blow torch. When Dennis calls her name, she turns around, without turning off the blowtorch, and accidentally sets a classmate on fire. All chaos soon breaks lose. Again, this done in a single shot and we get to see the entire tragic scene unfold before our eyes. 

It also says a lot about O’ Haver that even the minor characters are fairly well defined; my favorite bit is when Peter Wong, Dr. Oates’ prized pupil, shows a look of concern on his face after he sees how blown away Dr. Oates is by Striker’s audition.  

 I also like Jeannie Calleja as Oates’ long suffering assistant, Jessica; who is doing her very best not to reach over and strangle the insufferable drama teacher.  Get Over It is loaded with interesting faces and I like that O’ Haver gives each of them a moment to shine. It is a shame he didn’t have a better script to work with, because the movie could have been a genuine classic (as opposed to being an agreeable experience). 

Credits
Cast: Kirsten Dunst (Kelly Woods), Ben Foster (Berke Landers), Martin Short (Dr. Desmond Forrest Oates), Melissa Sagemiller (Allison), Shane West (Bentley ‘Striker’ Scrumfeld), Colin Hanks (Felix Woods), Sisqo^’ (Dennis), Mila Kunis (Basin), Zoe Saldana (Maggie), Swoosie Kurtz (Beverly Landers), Ed Begley, Jr. (Frank Landers),  Jeanie Calleja (Jessica), Christopher Jacot (Peter Wong), Dov Tiefenbach (Little Steve), Kylie Bax (Dora Lynn), Vitamin C (Herself), Carmen Electra (Mistress Moira), Coolio (Himself).

Director: Tommy O’ Haver
Screenplay: R. Lee Fleming, Jr.
Running Time: 86 min.