Twenty-two years after the release of the 1999 teen romcom “She's All That,” a modern spin on the cult classic has been released, the gender-swapped title ironically called “He's All That.”
“He's All That” is a Netflix original film that came out on Aug. 27, and it is the acting debut for TikTok star Addison Rae. The movie follows the same plot of “She's All That,” the bet — take an (already attractive) ostracized student at school, give them a makeover to make them more attractive, and turn them into prom king/queen.
She stars as the movie’s main character, Padgett Sawyer —the most popular girl at school and socialite who seems to have it all. The movie also includes Cobra Kai's Tanner Buchanan, returning supporting roles from Rachael Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard and, surprisingly, Addison Rae's real-life best friend, Kourtney Kardashian, as Padgett’s brand-executive boss.Kardashian obviously filmed all of her scenes in one day because they all take place on the same rooftop background.
Oh, and if you look closely enough, you'll be able to see a quick shot of Rae's ex, TikTok star Bryce Hall, in the movie.
The difference between the two movies is that they’re gender-swapped. In “She’s All That,” Freddie Prinze Jr’s character makes the infamous bet with his superficial, popular friends that he can turn the biggest female "loser," Rachael Leigh Cook’s character, into a prom queen. In “He's All That,” Rae’s Padgett makes the same bet on Buchanan's character, Cameron.
To no one's surprise, Padgett falls head over heels from Cameron after the time they spend together.
Rae and Buchanan do have a natural chemistry together. However, when it comes to the heart-to-heart scenes, Rae lacks the ability to promote her emotions on camera.
There are also several editing errors in this movie, as I'm sure you've seen highlighted on TikTok. Rae's hand completely disappears into the green screen behind her when she sings “Teenage Dream,” and she’s not actually handing out flyers for the Cali High car wash fundraiser to the people she's passing. And the character Jordan, an arrogant dancer and socialite who cheated on Rae’s character early in the movie, looks too old to be in college let alone high school.
For this being Rae's first-ever acting job, she did a solid job. However, it's important to remember when watching that she has been in the limelight for about only two years now and that she is an influencer, not a professional actress. Her lack of experience is clear in her inability to show much emotion during crucial conversations of the film. Buchanan is delivering his emotions, but Rae is unable to match them.
“He’s All That” is not comparable to the original “She's All That.” This movie lacked the emotional range of its main character, Rae — something neither Freddie Prinze Jr. nor Rachael Leigh Cook had trouble delivering in “She's All That.”
There also seemed to be a certain kind of charm missing in this movie, which could be blamed on dialogue that mostly consisted of surface level conversations, forced emphasis on social media and the importance of followers throughout the entirety of the film. Noticeably absent in the screenplay is the kind of charm that made the movie “She's All That” a classic to begin with.
With all that being said, “He's All That” is an entertaining movie. Some scenes were sweet and made me laugh, such as when Cameron jumped on stage to help Padgett finish singing “Teenage Dream” and when Padgett gave Cameron a makeover.
I would say this isn't a classic-worthy film. The best part of it, by far, was seeing Rachael Leigh Cook come back and play Rae's mom. Also, Matthew Lillard's awkward dance scene was a much needed moment of comedic relief.
The most significant missed opportunity, though, was not having Freddie Prinze Jr. make a cameo or be connected to the characters somehow. It's hard to think about “She’s All That” without thinking about him and his charismatic delivery on screen.
Overall, I'd say give “He's All That” a watch solely for nostalgic purposes.
Rate: 3/10.
Contact Alexis at acarson@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @alexis_carson99.
Alexis Carson is a third-year journalism major and staff writer with the Avenue. In her free time, she loves watching horror movies and going to concerts.
