| SYDNEY WHITE |
 2007 - USADirector: Joe Nussbaum
- Reviewed by Vickie
Based on the Snow White story, the film follows plucky tomboy Syndey White (Bynes) to her freshman year at college, where she’s being forced to join the sorority her late mother once loved so. This is awkward because Syd’s been raised by construction workers her whole life, so she knows more about magnetic tack hammers than she does about dresses and cotillions. (Having said that, it’s remarkable how Sydney always, always seems to have a fully and perfectly made-up face.) She finds an ally in Dinky (Crystal Hunt), a fellow legacy pledge, when she finds herself in the crosshairs of the sorority’s beeeeyotch president Rachel Witchburn (Sarah Paxton). Before long, Syd’s booted from Greek Row and taking up residence with seven social outcasts (get it?! get it?!) in a ramshackle house nicknamed "The Vortex." Oh, and there’s a Prince Charming roaming about in the form of too-good-to-be-true frat boy Tyler (Matt Long), who’s Rachel’s ex and Syd’s very persistent new suitor. (Of course he is. Syd’s played by Amanda Bynes and this is an Amanda Bynes movie.) We’re treated to the typical checklist of scenarios for any college-set movie: a first date, a school election, a sorority hazing, a feel-good ending. They’re all clichéd, and it would have been nice had the filmmakers thought outside the box just a tad, but whatever. It’s an Amanda Bynes movie. There’s nothing terribly deep or meaningful or interesting about Sydney White, the character or the movie, but it’s harmless entertainment. Bynes, though a tad orange (too much self-tanner?), turns in her standard-issue Amanda Bynes schtick...which is to say, basically the kind of stuff you’d find on a CW sitcom or Nickelodeon series. Safe, but bland. Of the seven "dwarfs," the standouts are Jack Carpenter, as gangly Lenny/Sneezy, and Samm Levine (who’s always great) as Spanky/Happy. (Sad that one of the weakest links in this Amanda Bynes movie is Amanda Bynes.) There isn’t a whole lot to say about a movie this lightweight. If you’re a girl in her early teens, or know someone who is, this might be ideal Saturday-afternoon fare. DVD NOTESThe DVD extras include the flub-and-giggle gag reel (beep! no swearing!) and deleted scenes. Plus there are many featurettes: "The Original Dork" (who is, of course, amiable director Joe Nussbaum), "Sydney and Her Prince" that includes the major cast members verbally making-out with Amanda Bynes ("She's possibly one of the coolest people I've met in awhile") and Matt Long ("It's not comfortable to be around a guy who's THAT good-looking..."), "Meet the Dorks" (profiling the dorks who play the dorks), "Kappa's Forever (of course the mean girls are "so sweet in real life..."), "The Skooze" (about the puppet) and "Welcome to the Vortex" (about the Dorks' hangout). |
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Okay, listen. This is an Amanda Bynes movie. It’s not Shakespeare. It’s
not cinema for the soul. It’s not even a really great episode of, like,
Dawson’s Creek. It’s fluff. It’s silly. It’s tailor-made for
girls between 12 and 16. And it’s also not nearly as horrible as I
feared it would be.
