'He's All That' Review: Addison Rae, Tanner Buchanan shine in Netflix reimagining
Social media went into a frenzy when it was announced that Addison Rae will be making her film debut with Netflix ‘He’s All That’. Not only viewers were excited about the social media star’s appearance in the movie, but they were also excited to see a reimagining of the 1999 movie ‘She’s All That’. At the time, the movie received mixed reviews but became a cult classic afterward. So, let me get things straight, I am not going to compare this movie with the previous version because there are a lot of differences and it would be unwise to compare these two movies.
‘He’s All That’ revolves around a young social media influencer named Padgett Sawyer (Addison Rae) who has just faced the worst moment of her life after breaking up with her boyfriend. Additionally, her followers got to see the entire drama because she was live on her social media account. It turns out his boyfriend was cheating on her by hooking up with another woman. The site totally crushed her and she was totally embarrassed with what happened. Now, a lot of people might think that ‘She’s All That’ is a classic. To be honest, it isn’t. However, it was a fun movie with snappy lines and brilliant lead actors. And, Netflix ‘He’s All That’ is nothing different.
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It might not be a masterpiece, but it has enough juice and charm to make you feel good.
The movie starts with social media influencer Padgett (Rae) giving an early morning update to her followers from her bed. I mean, this is quite relatable because we have an uncountable number of videos of Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok where influencers will give you updates about anything and everything. Back to the movie, Padgett is answering queries about makeup, self-improvement, and how to be the best version of yourself. Just like any influencer, she says you need to be beautiful from the inside so that you can feel beautiful. However, she says that outside matters as well. With every second of the video passing by, her follower count is increasing. So, that’s how we are introduced to our main lead.
Later, she meets her friends Alden (Madison Pettis) and Quinn (Myra Molloy) with a cake in her hands. It’s her boyfriend’s, Jordan Van Draanen's (Peyton Meyer), birthday and she’s going to make it special for him. On the other hand, we meet with Cameron (Tanner Buchanan), an average-looking guy who is not an outcast but no one cares about him except his best friend Nisha (Annie Jacob).
Padgett wanted to surprise her with a dessert and she enters his trailer, she sees him hooking up with another girl. She breaks down and has a bad breakup in front of her social media followers. Her reputation is dented and her followers threaten to boycott her. Padgett’s dream world is slowly crumbling down. But she knows that she can make anyone look good. So, she makes a bet with her friends to make Cameron a star and a prom-king.
A lot of people will try to compare it with the 1999 movie and give their “negative” thoughts on the Netflix movie. Don’t listen to them, they are just saying this because of nostalgia, and not every movie is made to look like its predecessor. Netflix has a very small group of rom-com that actually work and ‘He’s All That’ is one of them. All thanks to a fast-paced script by R. Lee Fleming’s well-paced script. The script has enough firepower to make viewers fall in love with some of the characters.
As far as acting is concerned, Addison Rae is mesmerizing as Padgett. She has the charm and the simplicity of showing Padgett going through different phases of life. Rae has an abundance of experience in facing the camera, but making a Tik Tok video and doing a movie is a different thing and Rae has perfectly managed to captivate the minds of viewers with her performance. The way she brings Cameron out from his shell is certainly a treat to watch.
However, it is Tanner Buchanan who steals the show with his amazing portrayal of Cameron. He is funny, his dialogue delivery is brilliant and he looks effortless in front of the camera. As a whole, Rae and Buchanan share great on-screen chemistry. Also, the movie has a positive story thread on characters belonging to the LGBTQ community.
On the other hand, Madison Pettis as Alden is quite impressive and the way she handles the complexity of her character is brilliant as well. Rachael Leigh Cook is as usual flawless in her role.
The movie is far from being perfect and there are some things that did annoy me. Like the scene where Cameron is introduced in his new avatar. The whole process is rushed and the introduction to a song as he walks in slow-motion is nothing new. Also, people will also find some problems with the movie not engaging further with points raised on class structure.
But these flaws are overshadowed by a simple storyline and some really amazing dialogues. ‘He’s All That’ is charming enough to get away from all the little flaws it has. It is a worthy reimagining of a movie that is enjoyable, fun, and will be fondly remembered as well.
‘He’s All That’ is currently streaming on Netflix.