“She’s the Man” is a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play, “Twelfth Night.” Amanda Bynes plays Viola, a high school student at Cornwall who loves playing soccer, and she’s pretty good at it. Her boyfriend Justin is on the boy’s team at school and tells her she’s just as good as anyone on his team, but the school budget doesn’t extend far enough and the girls’ team is cut. She thinks the girls are just as good as the boys and wants to prove it, but the coach doesn’t even want to let them try out and create a co-ed team. She’s furious with him and also with Justin, who doesn’t support her, and she breaks up with him on the spot.
Meanwhile, Viola’s twin brother Sebastian is supposed to be heading off to school at Illyria, Cornwall’s rival. Instead, he’s climbing out the bedroom window to run off to London for a few weeks to pursue his dream of being a musician. He asks Viola to call Illyria for him and tell them he’s not coming. Viola has a better idea. Telling her mother she’s going to go stay with her estranged father for a few weeks, she heads off to Illyria, dressed as a boy. She’s going to be Sebastian for awhile, try out for the soccer team, and whomp Cornwall in the upcoming game. That will show everyone that girls are just as good as boys.
There’s a problem, however. Her roommate is a really good-looking guy named Duke (Channing Tatum) and she develops a crush on him almost immediately. But there’s this girl named Olivia, and Duke likes her. However, Olivia decides she likes Sebastian, who, of course, is really Viola in disguise. Viola tries to get Olivia to look twice at Duke, but then realizes she doesn’t want anyone looking at Duke, because she wants him for herself.
This fun comedy will have you laughing. There is a little bit of rude humor, but I didn’t think this film deserved the PG-13 rating it got – I would have given it a PG. My only complaint with the film is that Amanda Bynes really looks like a girl, and to think that anyone on the planet would believe she was a boy is a little far out there. If you’re prepared to go along with it, you’ll have a good time.
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