Let me start with a quick disclaimer: Twelfth Night (or What You Will) is my favorite Shakespeare comedy. For a long time that title was held by Much Ado About Nothing, with the brilliant and snarky couple Beatrice and Benedick (and I still hold a very special place in my heart for the dueling pair of lovers). I saw the 1993 film version with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh when it was first released on video tape (I know, I’m ancient) and rented it over and over from my local movie store. But in time I grew to dislike the supporting characters (are Hero and Claudio supporting characters? in my head they are) and that detracted from my enjoyment of the play (but not so much the film, cause that film is brilliant).
Then I saw the wonderful 1996 movie adaptation of Twelfth Night, starring Toby Stephens (mmmmm) and Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter, and Imogen Stubbs. Imogen Stubbs as Viola was amazing and I immediately loved her and loved her grief and her struggle and her passion and her longing to let go of the person she was forced to pretend to be. I also loved her supporting characters. Her hapless brother Sebastian, the misguided and beautiful Olivia, the mischievous and cruel Feste, and even the pretentious Malvolio. Twelfth Night was a film I wanted to watch on a loop, and a play I specially marked in my Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
All of this backstory is so I can explain that I didn’t come into She’s the Man (2006), a modern adaptation of Twelfth Night (or What You Will), with no history with the play. These characters were already old friends (and crushes, because Toby Stephens as Duke Orsino is very mmmmm) long before this teen rom-com version was pitched to a movie studio. While I came into viewing this version with some trepidation (I really love this story ya’ll), I was willing to give it a chance because I’ve liked a lot of “modern” adaptations of Shakespeare and Jane Austen etc in the past. And though She’s the Man is never going to win any awards for great film-making, I found it to be a cute enough re-telling of the story.
The plot of She’s the Man basically breaks down like this: Viola loves three things – her twin brother Sebastian, her boyfriend Justin, and soccer. She is ready for a new school year and owning the field with her team, only to find out that the girls’ soccer team at her school has been cut and the coach will not allow her to try out for the boys’ team. Justin does not sympathize with her and she does not sympathize with him when she dumps him. Then she finds out that, instead of going to a swanky new boarding school, her brother is running off to London to play with his band. And this leaves Viola in the perfect emotional state to hatch an insane plan – she’ll impersonate her twin at his new school (where no one has seen him before), get on the soccer team, and beat the boys’ team from her old school in the first game of the school year. Romantic hijinks quickly ensue. Viola as Sebastian catches the eye of the lovely Olivia, who is being pursued by Captain of the soccer team Duke, who is Viola’s roommate and new crush. Viola’s ‘simple’ plan to kick butts and prove her worth on the soccer field is quickly derailed by teenage romance craziness.
She’s the Man isn’t particularly original, and not just because it was a Shakespeare play first. There are a lot of uncomfortable moments between the main characters, dozens of misunderstandings, and arguments that seem rather silly in the grand scheme of things but exist to keep anyone from getting their happily ever after too soon. But even with these blatant rom-com tropes padding out the story, it’s still a fun and watchable film. There are some true laugh-out-loud moments (the big soccer game at the end devolves quickly into chaotic silliness), and there are some really likable characters. Amanda Bynes is great as Viola – a tomboyish girl who makes an awkward and socially inept boy. She just wants to be taken seriously as a soccer player, and while she goes about that in many of the wrong ways, you can believe in her passion for the game and her need to prove herself. Channing Tatum as Duke Orsino is handsome and sweet – and almost makes you believe he has trouble talking to girls (his stumbling into a weight machine face first because a pretty girl smiles at him is particularly cute). It may take them a lot of wrong turns to get to where they need to be with each other, but they’re so adorable you root for them the whole way.
The original Twelfth Night (or What You Will) has death and separation and madness and drunken escapades. It’s hilarious but it’s also sad and thought-provoking and mature in it’s themes of love and acceptance. She’s the Man doesn’t quite hit all of those notes. It’s cute and fun and stars likeable young adult actors. It’s a great film for when you want to watch something that doesn’t require too much of an emotional effort. If you want the Shakespeare without the complexities (and the lyrical but sometimes hard to understand old English), this is the movie for you. If you want something a bit closer to the Bard’s original vision, you may need to look elsewhere.
She’s the Man (released March 17, 2006)
Directed by Andy Fickman
Written by Ewan Leslie, Karen McCullah, Kirsten Smith
Starring: Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, David Cross, Julie Hagerty, James Kirk
