Movie Review: He’s All That Is Pretty Likable
She’s All That is a 90’s Rom-Com classic that embodies an era of boybands, butterfly clips in our hair, and the idea that “rebellious” is being a moody painter with glasses and Birkenstocks. Yet, it fit well with an era known for both its anarchic grunge and glittery pop. From flannel to frosted tips, the 90s feels divided between its polarized, emotional embrace of youthful frustrations and fantasies, of which rom-coms were where both sides met. He’s All That, out August 27 on Netflix, totally captures the 90s delightful delusion of believing just washing your hair and wearing a suit in 90 degree California weather is enough to turn your life around. Yet, it shows that delusion is still prevalent now.
By choosing Addison Rae, one of the biggest TikTok stars, as its lead, He’s All That potently captures that youth will always be defined by the dazzle of its own illusions and presentations. Literally, on scene 1, Padgett (Rae), because that is her name, stirs to document her high- school life to her followers; something she does faithfully in hopes that enough sponsoring eyes will get her a scholarship to college. This is an ACTUAL reality for most of us hoping that a viral video will, somehow, lead us to nicer things and bills paid. Naturally, “being on top” means you get A LOT of enemies, and Addison Rae/ Padgett certainly does, but, I have to admit, Ms. Rae was pretty charming as the young lead.
For many, Rae is an embodiment of Tik Tok’s best and worst attributes. It can take a random person and shoot them up to superstardom, but whether or not they are talented and deserving of mega-success is permanently up for discussion. After all, I just watched a viral video of a guy doing duck lips in his underwear….. that is all he did to get 4 million views. Still, Rae’s constant smile and steady banality beckons the very 90s rom-com the film is based upon. Let’s be frank! She’s All That was never an Oscar front-runner, and its climactic scene was a choreographed prom dance to Fatboy Slim. Yet, we ate it up, and I totally ate up this film because it shared its same qualities: mindless fun and a general, moral motto of “never judge a book for its cover.”
Honestly, if He’s All That was not on Netflix, I could imagine the billions of times it would be playing on TNT or TBS like…. She’s All That. I mention that not as an insult, but as a compliment to its casualness. These movies thrive on their ability to make 2 hours feel like 30 minutes, and the cast is perfect in giving us a quick, bubblegum storyline, particularly Tanner Buchanan of Cobra Kai fame. He truly carries the film with ease and effortlessness as just a regular guy learning that you do not have to be popular to care about yourself and you do not, necessarily, care about yourself if you are popular. In essence, have fun, date who you want, punch a bully, and ride a horseback to prom, which are all core messages from 90’s films.
