| Reviewer Roundup |
| 1. |
 | Dustin Putman |
| review follows |
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| 2. |
| Steve Rhodes |
| read the review |
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Review by Dustin Putman
2½ stars out of 4
While one may be funnier than the other, or more memorable, anyone
walking into a Rob Schneider vehicle should have the sense to know
what to expect. Based on quality and the overall laugh quotient, "The
Hot Chick" places squarely in between 1999's hugely entertaining "Deuce
Bigalow: Male Gigolo" and 2001's mediocre "The Animal." It is an admittedly
by-the-numbers affair, but garners some hearty and unexpected laughs
through the machinations of its premise.
Written and directed by Tom Brady and co-written by Schneider, the
film is the latest in a long line of body-switching comedies, in which
characters take on the physicality of someone else through some sort
of mystical occurrence. In this case, the victims are snooty high
school princess Jessica (Rachel McAdams) and grubby crook Clive (Rob
Schneider), and the switcheroo occurs when each puts in a matching
earring dating back to 50 B.C. When Jessica wakes up in Clive's body,
she is understandably freaked out by the added hair, new private parts,
and thirtyish appearance. Jessica is aided in her desperate quest
to reverse the spell by her longtime best friend, April (Anna Faris),
all the while realizing what a conceited person she used to be, and
setting out to make things right for everyone whose life she made miserable.
The opening twenty minutes of "The Hot Chick" are unpromising, at
best, setting up a disposably empty, teen-targeted yarn filled with
grating, mean-spirited characters. Once the body-switch comes into
effect, the pacing and amusement gradually improve until a well-meaning
and rather sweet conclusion takes over. For each awkwardly over-the-top
bit (an innocent sleepover pillow fight turns into a WWF Smackdown
when Jessica uses her newfound muscles on her friends), there is a
joke that does succeed (Jessica's predicament of using a public urinal
for the first time). At its center is a valuable, if simplistic, moral,
and three characters who become endearing (Jessica, Jessica in Clive's body, and April).
When the movie is happy to just be dumb fun, it takes off best of
all. A subplot involving Jessica's African-American friend, Keecia
(Maritza Murray), who is embarrassed by her positively smothering
Asian mother (Jodi Long), is uproarious, while topical jabs at Winona
Ryder and child-molesting priests are surprisingly ballsy. An extended
cameo from Adam Sandler (2002's "Eight Crazy Nights") as a pothead
antique seller is also less obvious than expected, while the standout
turn from Jodi Long (1993's "Striking Distance") is not to be missed.
Introducing a possible semi-lesbian romance between Jessica (in Clive's
body) and April is provocative, but doesn't have the courage to follow
through in a satisfying manner. The same thing goes for the relationship
between Jessica and her devoted boyfriend, Billy (Matthew Lawrence),
whom she has trouble confessing her gender-bending secret to. Meanwhile,
Jessica's kid brother, nicknamed Booger (Matt Weinberg), spends his
days cross-dressing. The undercurrents of homosexuality running throughout
"The Hot Chick" are not always handled as honestly as they could be,
but it is amazing that they are there at all in such a commercially
viable, youth-oriented flick.
Rob Schneider is a genuine comic talent, and plays Jessica as a sympathetic
and girlish young woman with real intelligence hiding behind her temporarily
hairy, manly exterior. Schneider could have gone for the cliched version
of what a teenage girl acts like, and at times does, but often opts
for building depth within the character. In her first major feature
film role, Rachel McAdams is a definite find, who plays three separate
characters, each building multiple dimensions with not much screen
time (stuck-up Jessica at the onset, a wiser Jessica at the end, and
the unkempt, criminal Clive). And Anna Faris (2000's "Scary Movie"
and 2001's "Scary Movie 2") shines as steadfast, loving best friend
April, evoking the comic timing of a pro and the giddy naturalism of a star.
For all of its themes and moralistic points, at heart "The Hot Chick"
is an inconsequential trifle. Director Tom Brady makes sure never
to get too serious or too deep for too long. His central goal is nothing
more than to deliver a fun movie to the target demographic of 13 to
22-year-olds, and that is fulfilled by the end with a lot of heart
and a reasonable handful of solid laughs. "The Hot Chick" is no more
than just that, but, sometimes, that's enough.
Copyright © 2002 Dustin Putman
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