He’s All That is a gender-swapped remake of the classic 1999 romantic comedy She’s All That. The remake stars TikTok phenomenon Addison Rae and Cobra Kai star Tanner Buchanan. The film follows Padgett Sawyer (Addison Rae), who is a social media influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers. After a viral video of her breakup with boyfriend Jordan (Peyton Meyer) leaked, her follower count sank and her sponsorships dropped her. To try and to revive her social career, she makes a bet with friend Alden (Madison Pettis) to turn unpopular nobody Cameron Kweller (Tanner Buchanan) into the next prom king. As the cliche goes, Padgett and Cameron grow a “bonding” relationship that turns into something more.
The film was directed by Mark Waters who has had a hand in directing several classic teen films such as Mean Girls and Freaky Friday. The script was written by R. Lee Fleming who had written the script for the original 1999 film. Even though the remake has two exceptional creators on board, the remake does not measure up to their best work. Plus, the plot line is one that has been constantly recycled throughout the years which makes the movie unsurprising and predictable at every moment. It also doesn’t help that the script is weak and many of the jokes fall flat on the floor.
Not to mention the camerawork throughout the film was shaky and unappealing. Many of the cuts were too jumpy, cutting from one character to the next in less than a second. These various elements (amongst others) made the remake a failure.
With one of the most famous TikTokers starring as the lead role, the film was bound to be watched by millions. Since it was Rae’s first acting role, a numerous amount of people (fans or not fans) wanted to see whether or not she had the acting skills. Rae garnered mixed reactions about her acting, most of them being negative. Her portrayal as a social media influencer is substantial since she already is one. However, she lacks strength in scenes where she needs to be serious and heartfelt. Her chemistry with co-star Buchanan was deprived of its full potential, making it hard to root for them since their chemistry was lacking and almost non-existent. Hopefully her acting skills will improve so that she can pick up more roles in the future.
It’s worth mentioning that Cameron’s “need” for a makeover was unnecessary. All that was really done to him was a haircut and a brand new suit. In today’s standard, he wouldn’t even need a makeover to begin with. It’s reasonable to say that this kind of storyline of “making someone look better with a simple makeover,” is getting outdated and overrated.
From EOS skincare to Lucky Charms to Pizza Hut, the film had several product placements. The film felt like one big commercial starring one of the most popular social media influencers. It’s very easy to sit there and point out all the obviously placed products — especially when one of the characters randomly asks another character if she could take some Kentucky Fried Chicken with her on the way out from a party. The film’s outrageous amount of product placements has led to the film becoming a meme amongst several platforms, including TikTok, the platform that made Rae the star she is today.
The only true homage this film gives to its original is the casting of Rachel Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard. Both had miniscule roles in the remake — Cook as Padgett’s divorced mother and Lillard as the school principal. Cook’s role as her mother was unfitting, and her role felt more like a sister rather than a mother. Without a doubt, Lillard stole the whole film with his limited scenes. He made the film slightly more bearable. It was extremely devastating that these two only had a small impact on the film when they had such a big role in the original version.
It’s even possible to say that Kourtney Kardashian’s character had a bigger role than either one of them. The film does feature a new vamped up, EDM version of the iconic song, “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer, which was featured in the original. While this movie is targeted more toward a younger audience, its engagement with older audiences could have been improved with more recognition from the classic.
Of course the film was not complete without Addison Rae, one of TikTok’s most popular dancers, busting a few moves. During a party scene, she performed Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” while throwing in some classic TikTok dance moves. Near the end of the feature was a three minute long dance off between Rae’s character and her rival characters. Needless to say, what Rae lacks in acting, she slightly makes up for in her dancing.
While it’s intention to recreate a movie with the gender roles being swapped seems entertaining, the execution was not. This isn’t the first film to have a gender-swapped remake and it most likely won’t be the last. With failing jokes, a lack of chemistry between the main characters and a complete dullness in the storyline, the movie will most likely be forgettable amongst several viewers. It will inevitably become another boring adaptation that Netflix spent too much money on.
Rating: 1 / 5
