Thanks to BetterHelp
for sponsoring this video. And if you have the means to support me, please, do so on
patreon.com/gremlita. Hello, my beautiful doves. I don't know, if you've
all yet had the pleasure, or displeasure, of watching 'He's All That', the gender swap remake of the 90s
teen rom-com 'She's All That'. I watched both of them
for the first time in a double feature moment
a couple days ago and... I just have a lot of thoughts, so I thought I'd make a video about it! There will be spoilers for both movies, so just beware beyond this point. First I would like a chance
to talk to y'all about BetterHelp, which is the sponsor for today's video. I've been seeing a therapist
for almost two years. Before YouTube,
I was very stressed out. I was unemployed. I had an unstable housing situation. And I found so much relief in
talking to someone professional. BetterHelp is an online service that assesses your personal needs and matches you with
a licensed professional therapist. You fill out a form and then,
within 48 hours, you can start communicating with them. It's a secure service. It's not a crisis hotline. And you're talking to a
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message to whoever you're matched with. You can also easily
and freely change counselors, if you're not satisfied. It took me three tries before I found the
therapist that I've been working with today. You can also schedule weekly
phone or video sessions, because I know with the pandemic... Going in person,
may not seem ideal for a lot of people. Visit betterhelp.com/minale. That's "BetterHelp" to take charge of your mental health! To take care of yourself! I also have a special offer, where you can get your first
month 10% off if you use my URL. I just want to explain the
gist of both of these movies, in case you don't remember
or you just don't plan on watching, no judgement. The main plot of 'She's All That' is that Zack Siler,
the most popular boy in school, schemes to
transform/pygmalion/pretty-womanify unpopular artistic social
outcast Laney Boggs, as part of a bet that he and
his friend made with each other. The bet is that he could take any girl
in the school and make her prom queen. Of course, because it's a 90s rom-com Laney
and Zach do end up falling for each other. The main plot of 'He's All That'
is pretty much the same thing, except gender-swapped
and made to reflect the... Relevant and sad times we live in. So, the protagonist and mega
Instagram influencer Padgett Sawyer, takes on the case of transforming the unpopular artistic anti-social
media nihilist Cameron Kweller into the hottest boy in school
as part of a bet she makes with her friend. And, of course because
this is a 2020s rom-com, Padgett and Cameron end up
falling for each other too. I have a lot of problems with the makeover trope, which I did an entire dedicated video to
a couple months ago, so I'd give that a watch if you want
to hear me go more in depth about it, because I'm not going to for this video. Just in terms of makeovers on guys,
because I didn't cover that in the last video, I think it's, in general,
less insidious, because, a lot of the times.
or at least in the purposes of this movie, in 'He's All That', he doesn't get like,
a major makeover, you know? They just cut his hair and
he gets new clothes, whereas I feel like,
makeovers for women in these 90s and early 2000s movies
is quite transformative. Like, they straighten their naturally curly hair, they put on makeup, they pluck their eyebrows, they get bikini waxes... It's a lot more invasive and it's a lot more about
changing their natural features. I still think it's bad to change
what you're comfortable with to please your partner, but... That's just my two cents. If you want the rest of my money,
go click on that video! Overall, I thought they were... Can I get a drum roll, please? [ Drum Roll ] Both bad movies! Yes, I said it! Maybe because I didn't watch
'She's All That' as a kid, I didn't have the nostalgia for it
that i think a lot of people have. I just went and watching it for the first time. as jaded adult already tired of the
makeover transformation concept. The makeover transformation is, literally, her getting a haircut
and taking off her glasses. Like, they tried to make us think
she wasn't beautiful in the before scenes; but, honestly, I thought she
was cute the whole time. With this attitude towards the original, I didn't have particularly high
expectations for 'He's All That'. And even though the director was the same
director as the one for 'Mean Girls', and, my personal favorite, 'Freaky Friday', I still had a sense that
this movie 'He's All That', was more of like, a cash grab movie,
using Addison Rae's star power over anything else. Like, let's be honest here: The girl is no Lindsay Lohan. I feel like, she was really
just cast for her name. And yes, that comes off a little
shadier than I mean it to, because I don't know anything
about Addison Rae! I learned about her for the
first time like, this year. I watched the 'Seven Days,
Seven Looks' video in Vogue that she was invited to do and using that video as reference,
the character she plays is just herself. - Hey, Vogue, it's Addison Rae! And I'm gonna show you
what I wear in a week! - It's me, Padgett Head to Toe here, where we talk about makeovers, self-improvement and how to
become the most spectacular you. So, with that information, the movie kind of just felt like a
PR stunt to increase her likability. Which, you know, whoever is her manager,
they're definitely working overtime! I also thought they were trying
to do a little bit of a... Progressive spin! Because the old movie
has been criticized a lot for being patriarchal and sexist and
carrying these like, negative themes and they were probably in the writing
room looking for another reboot to make and just being like: "Oh, wait a minute. "What if we just made it the guy
who needed the makeover. "That's kind of feminism, isn't it?" It's not. So let's get started by comparing
how these two movies differ, because... You know, even though I said I
didn't like either of the movies, I thought 'She's All That'
was the lesser of two evils. I was, at least, entertained by 'She's All That'. I thought it was enjoyable. I thought it was a "product of its time". It was just something that I,
personally, didn't really enjoy watching in 2021 and being the big age that I am now. But, for 'He's All That'... There's just...
There's just a lot. Okay, let's get started! In 'He's All That', the reason why
Padgett wants a new boyfriend is because she lost a
ton of followers in, probably, the most unrealistic cancelling story
I've ever heard! So, the writers were trying to convince us that, in the year of 2021, the Internet sympathized
with her ex-boyfriend Jordan, who was caught on Instagram Live,
cheating on her in real time, because she reacted by crying
and throwing donut holes at him. And rather than her
followers supporting her. And, let's remember,
if you follow someone on social media, more than likely, you actually favor them! You like them to a certain degree. So, rather than her
followers supporting her, over 200,000 people unfollow her
because she's turned into a meme. - I'm still that girl. - No, you're a meme. Like, am I just crazy? Like, do I understand the Internet? I feel like, if you become a meme,
you gain followers. You don't lose followers. So, anyways, backing a new boyfriend
is supposed to help her win back her one million followers,
so that her sponsor doesn't pull out of their agreement,
so she can pay for college, because she depends on this one
sponsorship for her college funds. In contrast, the 'She's All That'
original had WAY LOWER stakes! Zack's ex-girlfriend, Taylor, dumps him for
this reality TV star she met at a beach party, who I like to call "hot shaggy". [ Music ] Irritated, he declares that
she is "totally replaceable". His "best friend" doesn't believe he
can replace someone as hot as Taylor and so they enter this bet together. The 'She's All That' plot is a lot simpler. It revolves around petty exs,
prom drama... High school social hierarchy... And that's also why
I think a lot of people, a lot of girls,
liked this movie growing up. The fantasy of a popular hot boy falling for
a mousy girl that no one cares about is still realistic enough to make you
think it could happen to someone or even to you,
if you were like me and just rejected your wildest dreams
onto the media you consumed. On the other hand,
'He's All That' is totally unrelatable. I don't know how many high
schoolers can relate to being a mega influencer, having a mega influencer boyfriend, living in a very wealthy
area of Los Angeles and being at the risk of
losing makeup sponsorships. I, being a YouTuber,
just think it's really funny how inaccurate they
portray influencer dumbass. It doesn't actually make sense to me that
she is so at the mercy of this one sponsorship, because, if you have a million
followers on Instagram, on TikTok, or whatever, like... There are tons of brands dying to work with you! You are a hot-topic! You would have no problem replacing that sponsor. At first, I thought Kourtney
Kardashian was her agent, and then I was like,
"oh, I guess if she's dropped by her agency, "that's going to be tougher to
reorient and look for a new manager", but Kourtney's just this
random PR lady for one brand! And I don't know if
Addison is just a bad actress, or maybe the script writers
just didn't want to be too real and tug at too many heartstrings, because her character feels no like,
real mounting pressure, throughout the whole movie
about having to please so many people and having to maintain a certain persona. I don't consider myself a mega
influencer in any capacity, but the reality of having a job
where you're speaking to a ton more people than you would ever speak to in real life is that people do form
judgments about you. It's a very mentally draining process to
feel like you have to justify yourself to people who just don't know you. It's very draining to think of yourself
as a personal brand and see your self-worth as
something that can be quantified. It's definitely better than any
job I've ever had in my life, just because I've had some really shitty jobs and I'm so grateful to have this job,
but I guess if you're going to do a movie about like, an influencer, I would have liked to see
at least that reality of it. At least with a movie like,
'The Princess Diaries', which is pretty unrelatable as a concept, we see Mia actually break down
under the pressures of being royal, which makes the story feel more real. And this is why I feel like this
movie was just a PR stunt for Addison: Because the movie implies that Addison
is as bubbly and sweet off camera as she is on camera. Her character is exactly
the same 24/7 in this movie. - Phew! That's amazing! So, how are you gonna ask her? And don't get me even started! When she starts singing an auto-tuned
rendition of "Teenage Dream"... Passing it off as just this "simple spur of the
moment karaoke session". ♪ We can dance, until we die ♪ Like, is this the definition of camp? Is this what Susan Sontag
has been trying to tell us? The kicker is that her best
friend in the movie, Quinn, is actually played by Myra Molloy-- And I don't know if I
pronounced that name right, so I'm really sorry. But, she is a professional singer. ♪ Somewhere over the rainbow ♪ And she actually won Thailand's Got Talent
when she was 13 years old! And they made her sound like this: ♪ Just a bit jealous of me ♪ No doubt to make
Addison sound better. See what I mean? It's a PR stunt. As for the other characters,
I thought Cameron was a little insufferable. He reminded me of Cole Sprouse's
character on 'Riverdale'. - In case you haven't noticed, I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in. Just this, you know? Really edgy,
"I'm cooler than that, "I only listen to old school punk bands. "Fuck high school" attitude. But, at the same time, he
falls in love with Padgett, when she's singing a literal Katy Perry song, even though just like,
20 minutes before, he complained about modern music. - How do you have to hate
everything remotely popular? - No, see, I hate things that suck,
whether they're popular or not, is outside my control. - What about... Music? - Only weird old stuff
no one else listens to. And then he gets on
stage with her to sing! So, later in the movie,
he does admit that he was once part of the Glee club
before his mom died, and then, since,
she's died he's become a lot more reserved, closed up,
isolated, etcetera, etcetera. We love a damaged male love interest. And it's hard for me to believe that, just because Padgett showed interest
in his horse obsession one time that he decided to conquer his fears
and get back on stage for her. Is it really that easy? Are boys really that simple? Like, you just do one thing
they want to do for an hour and then, suddenly, they'll put
themselves in an uncomfortable position just to please you? On top of not really knowing you
for that long? Yeah, I don't think they had boys like,
that at my high school, because, if they did, I'd be a
different person today. Cameron is a photographer. That's his big hobby. That's his big dream. And he shits on influencers
for their, so-called, "photography". And he even makes fun of Padgett
for having to document everything that she has to do
and making duck faces and whatnot. - You take pictures,
what's the difference? - Too vast to even explain. This boy literally doesn't use social media because he thinks
he's above it. - Wait, he made one tweet in 2019
and all it said was "no". So, my question is: How could he
POSSIBLY end up with her? I feel like her vlogging everything
that they do together would be extremely annoying to him. [ Camera Shutter ] - Seriously? More? Zach and Laney made a lot
more sense as a couple. Laney was very standoffish, she was very avoidant
when Zach first started to talk to her. - Hello. - I thought I said I was busy. There's a scene when he comes
to her performance art club and he's pressured as a newbie to
get on stage and improvise something and he does and he actually
really likes the experience. - Being up there and not knowing what to do, it... - Kind of a rush, isn't it?
- Yeah. At the end of the movie, he even says he wants to go
into performance art as a major. - You don't take art. - Yeah, but I'm thinking more
along the lines of performance art. Even though he initially went to
please Laney and win her over, he discovered he really enjoyed it and, from this point in the story,
they now have something in common. And then, later, Laney goes to the beach and
has fun playing volleyball with Zach's friends. She opens up way more socially and even though the movie
does have its misogynistic faults, I feel like what they did well
was having these two characters dabble in each other's interests
discovering they like both of their interests and, then, kind of coming
together in that way. While Padgett does take
writing lessons from Cameron, there's never like,
a moment of joy or realization where you feel like
she's actually doing it, because she likes writing
and not because she likes Cameron. Cameron also says he loves to travel
and I guess Padgett does too? Because, at the end of the movie, he ditches college and
becomes a travel vlogger. But there wasn't like a spark of realization
at any point in the movie where she was like, "traveling is what
I'm really passionate about. "This is what I really
wanted to do in life". I feel like, the whole "doing what
you want to do after high school" is one thing that teen
rom-coms have done well! Like in 'To All the
Boys I've Loved Before', the last movie, and even in 'High School Musical 3', both characters in the relationship choose to go where they want to go. They choose the college
they want to go to and don't just settle on going to
the same college to stay together. If Padgett genuinely showed more
interest in not going to college and in traveling the world, then I would have accepted
the ending much more. But, when she says this: - I lost my self-respect. I lost my college fund. I lost my friends. But the only thing
I truly care about losing... Is your brother. Girl, what?! [ Laughs ] WHAT? How is that a good message
for young teens watching this movie? You've lost your college fund, which sounds fake because
you're a huge influencer, so you definitely could make that
college fund back with a new sponsor; but, okay, let's--
For the purposes of argument. You lost your college fund and the most disappointing
thing to happen to you was losing a boy you met like,
a month ago? What?! In the original 'She's All That',
they don't really go into the graduation plans, which I think was really smart. It was very ambiguous. They kind of talk about like,
Laney going to art school still and then, Zach saying like,
"I want to go into art too". And, maybe, they go
to the same art school; maybe they don't. The movie just ends at graduation and I think that was perfect. The vibe I got from Laney is that art was her number one priority
the whole movie. It was just nice. - What now? - I don't know. Art school? And speaking of bad messaging,
there's also a moment in 'He's All That' when Cameron shows Padgett
his dark room and he implies that she looks better without makeup. - Keeping your talent locked away? What are you hiding from? - You know, I could ask
you the same question? I'm talking about... This. That, sincerely, makes me want to GAG. Is her talent being naturally pretty? Is that supposed to be like,
an equally good compliment? And, if a guy rubbed off my lipstick, I would be out of his house immediately. Because, first of all, lipstick
does not come off that nicely. Whether I'm not Mulan,
it's gonna smudge all over my face. Secondly, I got ready to
come over to have this date. Everything is together as a package
and you have the AUDACITY to damage the art that I created! And Padgett is a beauty influencer! She is the "makeup girl",
as she says! - I know it sounds conceited,
but makeovers are my thing. That is something that she enjoys. I know that girl was blending
her face for at least an hour. Finally, let's talk about the costumes. So Denise Wingate did the costumes, which is interesting! Because she also did the costumes
for the first 'She's All That' movie. And I think that's interesting, because I actually really liked
the costumes in 'She's All That' and I thought the
costumes in 'He's All That'... Were very confusing. In Fashionista, they wrote that: "Wingate immersed herself
in the new world of TikTok "to stack Padgett's wardrobe with brands
an actual teen influencer would wear". But I... Honestly, don't have any idea
what set of TikToks she was on. Here's a couple of sins committed: Scoop neck Chevron shift dress. Wedge espadrille sandals. Outdated floral print romper. 'Governor's Wife' riding blazer. Another questionable
printed scoop neck dress. A waterfall cardigan and... Skinny jeans?! The dress at the end of the movie it's red and it's definitely supposed to reference the red dress in the first movie, which is a nice idea, but I just thought the
execution was bad, because, based on the closet that
they created for Padgett, it just didn't make sense for
her to be wearing this dress. I would expect her to wear
something pastel and pink, not something like this bold. And don't get me wrong,
Laney's red dress didn't fit her personal style either,
but Zack brought it to her, that's why she ended up wearing it. It would have been a lot cuter
and made more sense, if Padgett's mom
handed her down the dress, because that would explain
why it's not her style, but also, because Padgett's mom is
played by Rachael Leigh Cook, who actually played Laney
in the first movie, so if they wanted to kind
of draw this loose continuity between the two movies,
that would have been really great. But, as I said,
Padgett wears a lot of pink, that was definitely purposeful. In an interview, Wingate said that she, the production designer, Maria Caso, and director, Mark Waters, "felt like pink was her theme. "That would be her world
and she was just this girly-girl. "It worked for her". By the way, I don't want to make anyone feel bad about wearing any of the
clothes that I previously like, counted as "sins". I'm just saying that they're "sins",
because it doesn't work for Addison's character. Like, in this context. She's supposed
to be a mega influencer, which means she
would wear trendy brands, Y2K silhouettes and pieces. And I feel like there's no excuse, either! Because, taking a peep at
Addison's actual Instagram, they could have copied
some of her actual fits that reflect the teen
influencer aesthetic way more. Like, I don't think Miss Addison,
a TikTok star, on a platform that was dominated by Gen Z
versus millennial skinny jeans discourse just earlier this year would be caught DEAD in a pair of them in real life! As for the side characters, I actually thought Cameron
and Nisha were dressed pretty well. Cameron wearing clothes that he,
allegedly, bought years ago, makes sense, because he doesn't care
about shopping or fashion. - Don't listen to him, he's been wearing the
same three plaid since... 2017? The beanie, the plaid button down,
the bands Ts... I'll give him a 90s grungier vibe,
which works for his, you know, rebel attitude. His best friend Nisha wears
overalls pretty consistently. I think Nisha's vintagey style
works really well for her character. I also associate wearing overalls
and vintage prints as being more creative, more earthy... The way she's dressed also
reminds me of Laney Boggs, who represented those traits as well. Quinn also has a very distinctive look,
very 'Clueless'/'Gossip Girl'. It's fine, I don't hate it. But Alden, the main antagonist,
wears a sequined bomber jacket, ripped skinny jeans... Once again, I don't understand
why they would dress an inspiring influencer
in trends from 10 years ago. In contrast, 'She's All That'
did a really good job with capturing the average American
teenager from the late 90s. From the slip dresses, to the tube tops, to the baggy pants, to these freaking goth looks... They're all so good! The mean popular girl
is all dressed in pink, totally appropriate for a 90s rom-com
that suffers from many patriarchal tropes. The jock popular boy is
wearing a letterman varsity jacket and the offbeat artist is wearing
vintage overalls and aprons. And I actually think that the first movie
had a lower budget than this movie, so... You don't need that high of a budget
to do an accurate costuming. And some of you may be thinking: "Oh, Mina, this is a movie
with a primarily young audience, like, "What are you expecting?" And, to that, I raise you: 'Freaky Friday'. 'The Parent Trap'. Maybe what I'm really trying
to say is that Lindsay Lohan needs to get her ass
back into Hollywood. Seriously, I don't expect teen
movies to be Oscar worthy. I just think that, if you are making a movie that's
primarily targeting teens and tweens, you need to understand the messages
that you're putting into these movies. And that's my biggest problem,
at the end of the day. Telling kids that they should
just be travel vloggers and following the footsteps
of their boyfriends, quite literally, because he's like,
rich and privileged enough to say, "screw you" to college
and just travel the world. I think that's a pretty shaky message. I wouldn't encourage kids to do that. Okay, everyone! This is all I have for today,
thank you so much for watching. Let me know in the comments
if you've seen 'He's All That', have you seen 'She's All That' ... What your thoughts are? Which one you liked better? And I'll see you next time! I hope you have a lovely
rest of your day! Bye!
