Of all the most popular movies to ever exist, the most notable would be under the teen genre. I think we can all agree we have a favorite classic teen romance, comedy, or rom-com! Whether it be ‘Clueless,’ ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘Legally Blonde,’ or ‘Sixteen Candles,’ these movies ended up being so popular that producers decided it would be a good idea to do one of the three things… make a sequel,  a spin-off show or worst of all, a remake. “He’s All That” is the modern-day take on the original teen rom-com, “She’s All That,” and the perfect example of why good things only need to be made once.

The film includes our generation’s trends as well as including Tik Tok’s newest sensation, Addison Rae, in her breakout film as an actor. 

The movie takes place in present day Los Angeles, California when we first meet Padgett Sawyer, a teenage beauty guru/ social media influencer who is a phenom at her high school and destined for prom queen. All this is ruined when she has a public meltdown after she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, causing her to lose her sponsorships, friends, and followers. In response, her friends make a bet that she couldn’t turn any guy into prom king. Padgett agrees in hopes that making over “uncool” will boost her popularity and put her back in the running for prom queen. Her friends ultimately end up choosing anti-social photographer Cameron Kweller,leaving Padgett to try and overcome the biggest challenge she’s ever faced.

The biggest reason the movie is so wildly popular right now is not because people wanted to see a “She’s All That” remake, but because they wanted to see Tik Tok’s biggest sensation at the moment…Addison Rae. Rae went from making Tik Toks in her room to hanging out with Kardashians, acting, singing, and even attending the 2021 Met Gala. For months, people had been saying how bad her performance would be, and they weren’t wrong. 

“Regardless if it’s her first time, she was clearly unprepared for the job.” Sports Skeeda, writes. “Homegirl ain’t even have her lines down. Meanwhile, we got actresses out here tryna get their break who can get their lines memorized in a few hours.” I’m obviously no professional acting coach, but I have to admit she exceeded my expectations, which, to be fair, were pretty low. She did a good job for having absolutely no previous acting experience, although the more dramatic scenes were a little shaky. I give her performance 3.5 out of 5 stars.

In no way will “He’s All That” ever compare to the original. “She’s All That” is the cheesy teen romance movie that parents pass on to their children, and this modern take completely lacks substance. It feels rushed and the dialogue is so cringe-worthy at times you can tell it was written by 40-year-olds who know nothing about how teens these days interact with each other.

While many reviews of the movie have been negative and wasn’t my favorite movie, I do believe it was perfect for its target audience, which would be 9-13-year-old. This movie is clearly catered to young girls who live in the generation of social media, and I certainly would not recommend it to any older viewers as I feel it was a waste of my time. It is safe to say that “He’s All That” will not be our generation’s classic teen movie.