Director: Mark Waters

Starring: Addison Rae, Tanner Buchanan, Peyton Meyer, Madison Pettis, Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard

Release Date: Aug. 25, 2021

Our grade: C-

The classic late 90s rom-com “She’s All That” has officially made a comeback by its inspired Netflix original “Hes All That.” Tik Tok star Addison Rae makes her acting debut as “Padgette,” the social media influencer and most popular girl at her school. On a quest for the next prom king, Padgette has to find an outcast and turn him into a suitable bachelor . This is when the audience meets Cameron, the typical highschool reject who Padgette has chosen as her charity case to makeover.

This movie is chock full of such an insane amount of clichés that it almost comes off as satire. Although it can be classified as TV-14, it could easily pass as a Disney Channel original movie with the few exceptions of some strong language. The dialogue delivered throughout the movie was corny and excessively overdone; it is a replica of many replicas before it.

“I wouldn’t recommend this movie, it’s nothing new and it’s hard to get through,” said sophomore Nicolas Diaz.

Along with the stereotypical movie tropes seen in this cheesy rom-com, the characters are not adding anything redeemable to the already unlikeable storyline. They are presented in the movie as having their “defining quirks” that just come off as overbearing and obnoxious. Cameron, the supposed basket case of the movie, is portrayed as being “different” when in reality he just came off as ignorant and entitled. He constantly complained about everything and made snarky comments towards anyone that was not his best friend, which made him a hard character to root for throughout the movie.

As for the acting in the movie, it is as good as you would expect it to be. The casting of Rae sparked a lot of controversy due to the role being given to her mainly due to her notoriety as a social media influencer. Despite the character flaws, Rae took her role as Padgette and did what she could with it regardless of her lack of experience in the acting field. In addition to her casting, several other familiar faces appeared on screen, including Rachael Leigh Cook and Matthew Lilard who played in the original movie, bringing nostalgia to the attentive viewers who noticed them.

Overall, what the film lacked most was creativity; everything that happened was predictable and left little to no room to the imagination for the audience. The movie is a fun watch but should not be taken beyond face value.