 |
|
|
|
| | | |
| MatchFlick Member Reviews |
view all movie information
Directed By
Chris Columbus
Written By:
Larry Doyle
Cast:
Hayden Panettiere, Cynthia Stevenson, Samm Levine, Alan Ruck, Lauren London, Paul Rust, Lauren Storm, Shawn Roberts, Jack Carpenter, Andrea Savage, Maggie Ma, Brendan Penny, Pat Finn, Josh Emerson, Jared Keeso, Karyn Michelle Baltzer, Charlie Robson, Emily Tennant, Anna Mae Routledge, Marie Avgeropoulos, Darien Provost, Brandon Barton, John J. Gulayets
|
|
|
| |
I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)
 email this review to a friend
Movie Review by Jarrod
July 12th, 2009
|  |
'I Love You, Beth Cooper' really feels like a relic from the 1980s, with a few modern tweaks. The 80s were the era of John Hughes teen comedies, or romantic comedies, most starring Molly Ringwald. The movie was obviously inspired by everything from Sixteen Candles to Angus to Can't Hardly Wait, and is cleaner and more modest than American Pie, but is thematically similar, in the sense that a nerdy high schooler may be seeking to lose his virginity, but also in its representation of the time in a person's life when he or she realizes that high school, and by extension, childhood, is over for good.
I was there once, almost a decade ago, and bittersweet memories are evoked. Actually, Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust) may not be care about losing his virginity at all, at least not right away, but he does profess his love for head cheerleader Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere), in the middle of his valedictory speech, in front of his peers, and Beth, who is both embarrassed and flattered; she thinks it is sweet that he would do such a thing, but the gesture is not appreciated by Beth's buffoonish boyfriend Kevin (Shawn Roberts), who makes it his mission to find Denis and beat the crap out of him.
Kevin's intentions are probably more sinister than that; I guess he probably intends to kill Denis in an especially painful way, and this makes us wonder, what did Beth ever see in this moronic thug? Denis's only friend is Rich (Jack T Carpenter), who encouraged Denis to confess his feelings for Beth publicly; if nothing else, people would definitely remember him, and what he said.
Beth shows up on Denis's doorstep with her two pals, Cammy (Lauren London) and Treece (Lauren Storm), and embark on a wild night of misadventures, a celebration of their graduation and passage into adulthood no doubt, but also an acknowledgment that perhaps there is a future for Denis and Beth. Beth may be leading Denis on, but she seems like a nicer girl than that. The main concern is avoiding Kevin, who pays a visit to Denis's house, and will pursue him for most of the film. Denis and Beth have a relationship that evolves unpredictably, and there may be something in store for Rich, as well.
The flick is a sort of sanitized adaptation of a novel by Larry Doyle, but it works well within the constraints of its PG-13 rating. Not to say it is completely devoid of crudity or sexually-charged dialogue, but these things are kept to a minimum, and the focus remains on the central characters and their evening of fun. Denis discovers that Beth is quite different from the idealized version of her that he constructed in his mind; she has flaws like everyone else, and, confronted with this reality, does he find her less appealing?
Rust captures Denis's insecurity, intelligence, sincerity, and warmth. Panettiere offers an unexpectedly multidimensional performance; Carpenter provides much of the comic relief, though the movie is not especially funny, or all that memorable. Director Chris Columbus is probably better known for directing the first two Harry Potter films, along with Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire.
email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
Sorry, you must be a member to add comments to reviews.
Join or Login. |
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS
|
