Product Details

• Actors: Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Manu Intiraymi, Aaron Paul
• Directors: David Raynr
• Writers: Mark Schwahn
• Producers: Bill Brown, Mark Schwahn, Matt Berenson, Paul Schiff, Vicki Dee Rock
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: February 6, 2001
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0767850149
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,600 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Whatever It Takes initially seems little more than another comedy with impossibly attractive teenagers trying to get into each other's pants. Ryan (Shane West) is a bit of a geek with eyes for the school sex bomb, Ashley (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), which induces cringing in his neighbor and best friend, Maggie (Marla Sokoloff), a cute intellectual girl. But popular jock Chris (James Franco) has his eye on Maggie, and he offers to help Ryan win Ashley if Ryan will help Chris woo Maggie. So begins a two-headed variation on Cyrano de Bergerac; Ryan composes soulful e-mails for Chris, and Chris advises Ryan to treat Ashley like dirt, which seems to be the only way to get her attention.

At first, neither finds it easy to change their ways; Chris comes on too strong, and Ryan is too nervous to be a jerk. But as they start to succeed, Ryan begins to see Maggie in a new light and wonders if he's pursuing the right girl. Which could all be very standard and shallow, but as the story unfolds the movie examines staying true to yourself and finding self-worth in surprisingly trenchant and unpreachy ways. Which is not to say that Whatever It Takes is high-minded--everyone's excessively good-looking and prone to wearing tight or revealing clothing, and there's a subplot about a kid who aspires to achieve school immortality through a topnotch prank. But the movie offers more than you might expect, which sets it apart from many of the recent swarm of teen flicks. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very cute film, April 12, 2002

By 

Janet Morris "fuzzypinkslippers" (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whatever It Takes [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Whatever It Takes is an adorable teen movie. It tells the story of Ryan (Shane), an unpopular kid in high school, who falls in love with Ashley (Jodi Lyn), Miss Popularity. He needs help getting Ashley to notice him, so in comes Chris (James), Ashley's cousin who is also very popular. Chris wants to date Ryan's best friend Maggie (Marla). He convinces Ryan that he has good intentions for wanting Maggie and that in the end, they will both have their dream girls, so Ryan agrees to the plan.

Unfortunately, Ryan doesn't realize until it is too late that he's totally mismatched with his dream girl and that Chris is a total jerk.

The cast is absolutely amazing, and they do a wonderful job. This is one of the best teen movies I've seen in a while.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to see a good romantic comedy.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great stuff!, January 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Whatever It Takes (DVD)

If you're a fan of bad movies as a genre, this can be a lot of fun. It's a "must see" for James Franco fans. Franco does his method- acting- Marlon- Brando- James- Dean schtick surrounded by Baywatch rejects and Tiger Beat boybabes. The director never misses a chance to sexually exploit Franco's body, which makes for an especially hilarious director and cast commentary. The director actually says things like "and in this scene, I wanted more full body shots of Franco wearing only a thong and tied to the bed, but the ratings board only allowed one;" and "here, I wanted a big close up of Franco's naked butt, but the ratings board made me take it out." The female lead then replies "Oh yes, I remember working all day with Franco's naked butt right in front of my face..." Or something similar. It's a hoot.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly Better than Average Teen Exploitation Moview, May 3, 2005

By 

John A Lee III "jal3" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whatever It Takes (DVD)

It's a teen exploitation movie. That means you already know the plot. Gut has hots for girl and is willing to do "whatever it takes" to get her, even be incredibly stupid. That's what the genre is all about so people should not be surprised when that happens. In essence, guys, especially young ones, tend to do hilarious things to satisfy their...desires. This movie goes a step better.

Synopsis: one of the school geeks is infatuated by the head cheerleader but lives next door to the proverbial "beautiful girl next door". A cousin of the head cheerleader, a jock, wants to add the "girl next door" to his scorecard. The two guys get togther to make each other's fantasies come true. Along the way, the "nice ones" learn important lessons and the "not so nice" ones get their comeuppance. Its as predictable as the sunset. It's still funny.

Where this movie does its best is in the way it charactures the popular people. They are usually depicted as shallow and vapid. They still are but are taken to new heights of idiocy. It's fun to see them get taken down a peg by some nice kids who find each other.

Don't expect any education from this film. Its strictly for laughs. Its not the best but it is certainly entertaining.