[.ca] Boys And Girls

From Amazon.com:
Behind the generic title of Boys & Girls lies a surprising enjoyable and nuanced romantic comedy. Teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Ryan, a dorky, emotionally sincere young guy who keeps crossing paths with Jennifer, played by Claire Forlani, an independent and willfully unattached young woman. Their chance meetings coincide with relationship traumas and they start to confide in each other, which leads to a more genuine friendship and, in the midst of their college years, a romance. It's a bit of a stock plot line to have their friendship threatened by sexual attraction, but Boys & Girls has just enough genuine feeling to make it compelling. Meanwhile, Jason Biggs (from American Pie) plays Ryan's roommate, a compulsive liar and would-be scam artist, who carries off some pretty funny scenes. Forlani and Prinze work together quite well. Their performances hearken back to the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s, with the repressed male simultaneously attracted and horrified by a footloose dame. Some kooky moments are a little strained, but at other times the movie has a refreshing realism about human emotions. Overall, a much more engaging and entertaining flick than its ad campaign suggests. Also featuring Alyson Hannigan from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Heather Donahue from The Blair Witch Project. --Bret Fetzer

Teen Comedies Just Got A Lot Stupider...:
Teen Comedies Just Got A Lot Stupider... As we all know, any teen comedies made in the 90s, or for that matter, ANY teen comedies ever made, that are not directed by John Hughes and/or star Molly Ringwald are mindless pieces of teenage drivel. And this time, it stars Freddie Prinze, Jr. And the fact that a 'Breakfast Club' poster is hidden in the background doesn't help it in any way possible. The plot, and by 'plot', I mean recycled material from other teen movies, revolves around nerd Ryan (Prinze, Jr.) and hottie/free spirit Jennifer (Claire Forlani, of 'Mallrats' fame), both in their mid and late twenties, try to pass off as teenagers who keep meeting each other year after year and apparently hate each other, or whatever their poor acting skills were trying to prove. Anyhoo, they start college, where Fred's girlfriend (played by goddess Alyson Hannigan, who does a better job at playing a geek than Prinzey boy) coincidentally leaves for Seattle, and is never seen again for the rest of the movie. Since Fred has glasses, he's defined as a 'nerd', and, by teen movie standards, his roommate has to be a geekishly wacky slacker-poindexter, the complete opposite of the other roomie. Jason Biggs (who was smart enough to choose Alyson Hannigan over Shannon Elizabeth in 'American Pie 2', unlike Prinzey boy, who would much rather have an American-accented Claire Forlani) nails the role of a dorky loser with dead-on perfection. Since the two characters are teenage hearttrobs and they meet each other, we all know that they're gonna fall in love. And since this is a PG-13 movie, nothing good is shown, with the exception of a goatee Freddie Prinze, Jr. has in one scene that looks a lot like pubic hair. The plot just sort of lost me after that, because my brain was dribbling out my ears after I saw a choreographed dance sequence take place in the middle of the movie. But we all know how it's gonna end: they're all gonna live happily ever after...until the next teen movie they're in, if you can call two thirty year olds playing teenagers a teen movie. Overall, this movie \ois bad\c: the horrible soundtrack, Claire Forlani's teenager with liver spots, Amanda Detmer as a whiny\o...\c, Freddie Prinze, Jr., a horrible plot, horrible acting... God, I hate this movie. I couldn't even come up with witty comments for this movie, it's scarred me so badly. Ergh. The only thing that makes this movie good is Alyson Hannigan, and she's only in it for three seconds. If you've seen a teen movie, you don't need to see this movie. And despite what Claire Forlani says, Susan Sarandon does NOT have the best \o...\c, or at least not in 1983. Love, Muttz!

Should friends become lovers?:
Should you be yourself, or smooth out the rough edges? What about opposites? After many bad endings, how do you know if love is going to be worth the trouble? Jennifer & Ryan are pre-teens when they meet. Jennifer is being very forward, discussing the implications of her period. Ryan is a geek, trying to plan everything, who doesn't think Jennifer is his type, and pushes her away. As the plane takes off, he is afraid of flying. I actually missed this symbolism, but something at the end of the movie reminds you of it. For the next 5 or so years, and dozens of chance meetings, this scenario repeats until the viewer can hardly stand it. Ryan will not pick up on Jenny's advances. For contrast, his roomate works entirely too hard at meeting girls. Does Ryan play it too straight and careful? Is Jenny too slutty? Is her roomate gay? There are lots of interesting angles and subplots, exaggerated so you don't have to be a genius to pick them up, which I find helpful. :) For the next 3 years Ryan & Jenny are best friends. Then something complicated happens, involving all four characters (including Jenny's roomate). No, not group sex, it's not that kind of movie, but some strange things, and I will try not to give awayany more . What do you get when you cross Eric Rohmer (director of French "talkie" films about the early stages of relationships, in fact he made one called "Boyfriends and Girlfriends") with Jane Austen (early 19th century author of carefully plotted romances, e.g. the award winning "Sense & Sensibility")? You get something like "Boys & Girls." Unfortunately, it is the only movie in this vein that Robert Isgrove directed. Ultra-feminists will not like the ending. Everyone else will. A few people will not like the way the flashbacks are done, but it is not overdone. Audio track is selectable for English or French (suggesting Isgrove was possibly aware he was making an intellectual French-style movie, albeit the ending is very American rom-com). Subtitles can be had in Spanisn or English (for the hearing impaired). Lots of previews of other similar movies on the DVD, but no info about cast, director or "making of." Decent pop soundtrack. As long as your expectation is reasonable (it's not quite as silly and cute as a teen comedy - they meet only once in high school years, most of the action is in college, and they do sometimes pass up parties to hit the books), you should enjoy the movie.

Freddie Prinze, Jr.:
I well remember, and well liked, FP Jr.'s father, and his TV series "Chico and the Man." A while back, I saw FP, Jr. being interviewed on a talk show, and I thought he came across as so down-to-earth, charming, and cute as can be. But I was totally unfamiliar with his work as an actor. I finally got around to renting this movie, and thought it was very enjoyable. Similar to "When Harry Met Sally....," but of course no where nearly as great as that classic, superlative film. But still quite pleasant. Leonard Maltin, with whom I usually agree, rated this movie BOMB -- he is absolutely, unequivocally WRONG. However, after renting ths movie, I did rent FP, Jr.'s "She's All That," and "Head Over Heels." Maltin liked those movies better than "Boys and Girls," but again, he is WRONG -- those two were the bombs, unfortunately. In fact, despite FP, Jr.'s enjoyable screen presence, they were virtually unwatchable. "Boys and Girls" is a lovely movie (a bit of a weak performance by Forlani was a bit of a drawback, but the rest of the cast was very good, and so was the writing, and the direction). I feel certain you will enjoy the lovely "Boys and Girls."

Boys and Girls is one of the best teen movies!:
This Movie is The Best! The Best Scene is the Scene in the Nightclub to "Stop The Rock" By Apollo 440. Freddie Prinze Jr. is hot in it and Claire Forlani is keeping it real. Funny clip at the end with Jason Biggs. Buy before you rent! It Totally Rocks!

A great movie:
Freddy and Claire have many interesting scenes together. From being on a plane together, to falling in love in college, the comedy never ends. Freddie is the tag-along friend as Claire has many boyfriends. Biggs thinks that he's using claire as a "fake girlfriend". I don't want to reveal too much, but it's a good comedy and u should check it out!