Get Over It

Despite that completely lame concept, the movie is OK, mainly because of charismatic performances by Kirsten Dunst and Sisqo and a completely over-the-top yet somehow fundamentally accurate performance by Martin Short as a high school drama teacher.

(What, Scoop? Martin Short over the top? I don't believe you. He's always shown such restraint in the past.)

NUDITY REPORT

Sexy Kylie Bax was topless from many angles, none of them revealing a nipple, but the top, bottom and sides of her breasts were seen from various angles.

On the male side, Ben Foster was seen wearing only a jock strap, his butt completely exposed.

I generally don't like Martin. He does about two and a half characters, and I saw them all in the 1970's. I've often called for his deportation back to Canada on whatever trumped-up charges we can muster. Yet there is something eerily accurate about the way he portrays this refugee from Waiting for Guffman, and when he spoke, I heard echoes from the distant past and remembered real theater people no more loony than he, as if he suddenly channeled some memories of his own.

My favorite line? The really cool exchange student has some generic ever-changing drop-his-r's accent which at any moment could be anything from Australian to Cockney to Dutch. The normal guys listen to him and say "what's with that accent? Dude talks like Madonna."

Still in theaters. No DVD or video tape currently available

About half of the film's running time is occupied by rehearsals for and the performance of a soft-rock version of Midsummer Night's Dream, and it taps into the usual teen movie clichés. But Kiki and a couple others were so charming that they managed to pull it off with some élan. The energy level is high, and the film never takes it self seriously for more than a few seconds. All in all, not a crossover classic like American Pie, but a pretty good comic high school romance, if that's your thing.

Kiki sings sweetly, by the way, and is as cute as ever.

The Critics Vote

General consensus: two and a half stars. Berardinelli 2.5/4, Apollo 60/100.
Rotten Tomatoes summary. Also a middle-of-the-road profile. 46% positive overall, 42% from the top critics.

The People Vote ...

With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 6.4, fairly solid for a comedy. Apollo users 76/100. These scores are consistent with the critical consensus.

With their dollars ... it hasn't done that well at all. Has grossed $11 million so far, on 1740 screens, on a budget of $10 million.

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, a C+. Light entertainment, painless music, humor, and sweetness in a capable genre picture.