For She’s the Man, writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith gave Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night the same treatment they gave The Taming of the Shrew for 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You. They took a selection from one of all-time’s most important works in literature and drama and converted it into one of the lowest forms of cinematic art: the teen movie, the pop-punk of the film world.
That said, She’s the Man is probably the first notable teen movie since 2004’s Mean Girls and Saved!, and it is almost as enjoyable as those two.
In the movie, Amanda Bynes plays Viola, who impersonates her brother in order to make the men’s soccer team at Illyria Prep School.
Bynes is funny and cute in a quirky sort of way, but she’s never convincing as a male. That’s excusable, though, because it probably wasn’t that convincing on Shakespeare’s stage, either.
For a better plot overview, just read Twelfth Night. While knowledge of the play is not necessary to enjoy She’s the Man, half the fun of the movie is seeing how the play was treated and changed (wait till you see who plays Malvolio).
If you have $10 to spare and time to kill, there are worse ways to spend them than seeing She’s the Man.