Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Interesting Movie, March 13, 2001
I am not in the target audience and did not expect to see this movie, just picked it up for my daughter. However, I found this film to be very good, especially the performance of Freddie Prinze (Ryan) and Clarie Forlani (Jennifer). The way they play the changes in feelings between them is well acted and interesting. The dance scene is outstanding and really puts you into the film. I purchased the film after renting it I enjoyed so much--not something I normally do.Clarie provides an outgoing personality that plays very well with Freddie's quiet character who's feelings warm to a roast as the movie reaches its love scene. The final scene is the movie's peak and as well done as any I have enjoyed. The first level of the movie is standard boy meets girl. But below the surface are two individuals that have many conflicting emotions. This was well played by Freddie when at a party he asks if his "sis" wants to leave. Claire, the sis, is involved with a guy and wants to stay. This scene shows how Freddie both wants her to follow, he rescued her from another guy earlier and subconsciencely hopes to do it again to be with him, and having to wait for her to really take notice of him and not knowing how to show her, since they are "just friends." He also turns down another girl at the same party before he trys his "rescue." The other two main characters, Amy and Steve, contrast well against Ryan and Jennifer showing youth confusion on self identity in a way that lets you enjoy Ryan and Jennifer but not tire of their predictable growing relationship. (We know at the start what should happen by the end of the movie.) Amy and Steve also show in a "louder" way what it is like to find identity, something Ryan and Jennifer must do if they are to get together. I enjoyed this movie for the acting, character chemistry, interesting use of a character bringing the audience into her experience (Jennifer's music man break-up) and the many emotions considered through out the film, and finally the fun the characters showed in trying to deal with their lifes together.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good extra ending, so-so movie at best (symbolic link?), February 13, 2002
Sometimes movies have a tacked-on extra ending that runs simultaneously with the credits. This is such a movie, and I suspect I'm going to be considered a flake for admitting it, but I'm going to go ahead and and admit it anyway - That extra ending was the only reason I bought the DVD. Without it, I don't think I would have bought or even rented this movie in either format. The extra ending in this case is a hilarious dream sequence about flatulent supermodels. Without it, I'd rate this two stars at best. The main body of the movie is a romance between two characters (not appearing in the end dream sequence), played by on the one hand Claire Forlani, and on the other by either Freddy Prinze, Jr. or Chris Klein, I can't remember which. With me, it's funny about all three of those performers. I've liked Claire Forlani in some movies, especially in her show-stealing role in ANTITRUST. As for Freddy and Chris, I've liked them in several movies each and have no trouble telling them apart while watching them. But when I contemplate movies in retrospect, they tend to run together (this being by no means the first time). My trouble with the main story is that I just didn't find Claire Forlani's character substantially likeable. Most of the time I thought the guy deserved better and ought to break up with her. That made for a long and ponderous movie to see if he would. Seems a waste of talent, because Claire can play so much better. Neither effective romance nor effective madcap satire, her performance is trapped in a noperson's land in between. A friend of mine actually says that that's the real symbolic connection between the main body and tacked-on ending - That's the joke's on us if we thought it a seriously romantic picture. Instead, my friend says, the subtle message for those of us perceptive enough is that Forlani's character is like unpleasant backed-up flatulence, and the supermodels symbolize the beauty of it all finally passing on by way of the movie ending. Well, I don't want to go so far as to conclude that. Claire Forlani is clearly an actress with potential, and it's better to not quite compare any of her formative performances to trapped gas. But as for her particular character herein, it's hard not to call her a pain in the area brought to mind by that supposed symbolism.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
When Harry Met Sally for teens, November 8, 2004
Misery loves company. I became addicted to this quirky, somewhat surreal romantic comedy when a long term relationship of mine ended. To watch Freddie Prinze Jr. and Claire Forlani as long-time friends navigate through the minefield of failed relationships and teen angst only to eventually consider getting together themselves seemed like the perfect anecdotal medecine to relieve what I was going through at that time. Yes, it's ultimately a funny and touching drama that taps into that need for comfortable feel good stories to put the sparkle back into life. Really, it bears more than a striking resemblance to WHEN HARRY MET SALLY in both structure and themes. (Is it a surprise they are both favorites of mine).
Ultimately my favorite part of the movie is the first half. The movie starts with a young Ryan and Jennifer meeting for the first time on a plane from New York to Los Angeles. Their encounter remains so memorable that five years later Ryan recognizes Jennifer during a football game. As luck would have it the two also eventually end up both in college at Berkeley and bump into each other in a series of When-Harry-Met-Sally-esque encounters over a number of years.
Prinze definitely plays against type here, he doesn't play a hotshot high school football star but instead Ryan is a difficult, unsure teen attempting to make his way through an engineering degree and Forlani is the confident, assured college girl who has no trouble getting dates, but is unable to maintain any long-term commitment.
Providing possibly his funniest performance is Jason Biggs (of American Pie fame) who plays Ryans college roommate Hunter (well that's not his real name but he feels it sounds better when picking up girls). From his introduction - getting stuck in a storage case to his eventual success in the girl department - his all too rare screen moments provide some great humor and lend a certain charm to the movie giving it an edge over the adult movie that so clearly inspired it.
I've seen this movie numerous times, its one of my guilty pleasures that speaks to me on so many levels.
Incidently if you have seen this movie on television the chances are that you have not seen it all. I have seen "Boys and Girls" shredded to bits on network tv.
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