Rated PG-13 for some sexual material
Directed by Andy Fickman
Starring Amanda Bynes
She’s the Man is a 21st century version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Amanda Bynes plays Viola, a girl who needs to dress like a boy just so she can be taken seriously as a soccer player. But then, like Twelfth Night, a love triangle develops that isn’t resolved until the end of the story.
Is Amanda Bynes believable as a boy? No. Check your brain with the usher. But she is hilarious. Amanda Bynes is really talented. She’s a natural comic and she’s not afraid to make a fool of herself.
Unfortunately, she’s also not afraid to cross the line.
PLOT SPOILER AHEAD: My wife and I watched this one together. We were laughing throughout and we really enjoyed the story overall, but the film earned it’s PG-13 rating in several moments throughout the film… moments that would prompt parents to hit the pause button and remind our kids, “Now, we know that we aren’t supposed to bare our breasts in public, right?”
Sure… the film didn’t show Amanda’s breasts (well, not her bare breasts anyway… Amanda’s not afraid to show cleavage throughout her films). But in the pinnacle of the story, Amanda has her own Victor Victoria moment off camera. And her character’s brother drops his drawers (off camera) for all to see as well.
Maybe the timing of this film hit me. I just finished speaking at a camp where I talked to teenagers about sex. In the final night of the camp, teenagers came forward and confessed areas of their life that they wanted to give up. They wrote out what they wanted to “give up to God” on a small piece of paper and laid it on the altar.
This camp was a conservative church group with the sharpest group of Christian kids you would ever meet. But I can’t tell you how many pieces of paper read: lust, R- rated movies, porn, sex with my boyfriend, temptations with my boyfriend, sex with my girlfriend, masturbation, internet temptations… the list goes on.
In a world where kids are being lied to every day and struggling with sexual temptations, it was hard for me to enjoy this film.
It’s too bad. The film was really funny and really creative. But the few bad moments left a sour taste in my mouth for most of the film. Amanda is a hero to kids 6-12 years old. And you bet that they’re seeing this film across the world. Comments out of Amanda like “I’d tap that…” were across the line for me, especially considering the target audience.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Not younger kids. And I wouldn’t watch it with teenagers without having a long discussion afterwards. Yes, this film is tame compared to the MTV movie awards choice for best comedy last year (Wedding Crashers). But this film is a little scary because it’s veiled in innocence, but filled with subtle lies.
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Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
