rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2006
Directed by Betty Thomas; produced by Michael Birnbaum, Bob Cooper; written by Jeff Lowell
Starring Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, Ashanti, Sophia Bush, Arielle Kebbel, Jenny McCarthy
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'John Tucker Must Die' simply delivers what it promises and does that good
enough. That means you will go and see this film for a reason, probably the
premise and kind of film it should be, and it will deliver. In other words,
it features one of those non-existing high schools where girls beat each
other up because they love the same guy and where an outsider is about to
change things. Of course the outsider is supposed to be a nobody but is hot
as hell and would never be ignored in the real world. The things she, here
named Kate (Brittany Snow), will change have to do with John Tucker (Jesse
Metcalfe) who dates three girls at the same time. The girls are Heather
(Ashanti), Beth (Sophia Bush) and Carrie (Arielle Kebbel) and they need
nobody Kate to get even with Tucker. Kate has experiences with Tucker-men
since her mother, played by Jenny McCarthy, dates one a week.
Now if you read all this you know if you like set-ups like this. If you do,
'John Tucker Must Die' will not disappoint you although I could have done
without the last ten minutes or so. The problem the movie gives itself is
the potential love interest for Kate. To get even with Tucker she has to
date him and then break his heart which in a movie like this means she will
end up liking him. But before that the movie has given her "the other
Tucker", John's brother Scott (Penn Badgley). There are moments the movie
realizes this and events seem, even for a movie like this, too fabricated.
Still, with those scenes you basically get what you want as well. Don't
think about predictability, unbelievable characters (and places and events),
just try to enjoy. Even though we have seen many scenarios like this, a few
laughs, good looking people and a heart in the right place might give you a
good time.