He’s All That Review: Gender Swap Remake Isn’t All That, Not Even a Little Bit

She’s All That, the 1999 film from which He’s All That has spun off, is a charming encapsulation of late 90s-teendom, and while it’s not the strongest film of its time (that honor goes to 10 Things I Hate About You), there is something that makes it breezily palatable.

Before we go too far, to be clear, She’s All That doesn’t hold up to modern-day standards.

Look too closely at the predictable makeover-romance story and you’ll notice some white privilege here, some cavalier attitudes towards sexual assault there, and some out-of-date attitudes about appearance and acceptance that go against the self-love messaging that dominates our culture today.

But back in 1999, She’s All That is about as close as it got to wish-fulfillment (did I track down a CD with the “Kiss Me” track on it just so I could slowly walk down stairs in slo-mo and imagine a Freddie Prinze Jr. wannabe catching me? Reader, you know the answer.)

The cast is likable, the cameos aplenty, and the comeuppance delightful, but given how it has aged, the concept of a remake wasn’t a bad idea.

The execution however? Eh, not so much.

She’s All That/He’s All That are basically Pgymalion for teens. There should be general social commentary, an external evolution for the person being made over, and an internal transformation for the person performing the makeover.

He’s All That doesn’t quite achieve that.

Part of the problem may lie in the film’s foundation. How can a film effectively comment on our image conscious, influencer/social media laden culture while simultaneously celebrating it?

Its star, after all, is Tik Tok royalty, Addison Rae, and it also features an appearance from Kourtney Kardashian, Rae’s real-life friend who has built a huge brand off of pedaling a life that’s swoon worthy. Their inclusion doesn’t feel tongue in cheek; instead, it’s daringly misguided.

Rae, for the uninitiated (so basically those who are 25+) initially gained traction from her dancing videos and has since moved into music and with He’s All That, film. Rae is cute and energetic and while serviceable at all of these, she’s not particularly unique, interesting, or complex.

That’s clearly what has led her to success — algorithms favor the sterile and lowest common denominator to be honest — but it doesn’t make for a particularly winning movie star (after all, remember that in She’s All That, Prinze got a few chances to just get weird).

Plenty of people will criticize her acting and while it’s not great, it’s not horrific either. The camera also clearly does love her.

The larger problem is that the reality of Addison Rae never fades into the background, and how could it when the story is about an influencer trying to learn about the importance of authenticity?

Plus, in the end, Rae’s character, Padgett, doesn’t totally learn the lesson.

While she reveals some of her flaws (she looks messy when she wakes up in the morning!), she’s still broadcasting her life to all of social media at the end of the story, albeit in more casual clothes. It would have been far more revolutionary for her to unplug entirely.

Rae’s romantic counterpart, Tanner Buchanan, who plays Cameron, fares better. Cameron is your standard teen movie misfit. He wears flannel, he’s brooding, his hair is long, and he uses film for his photos!

Nevertheless, Buchanan understands the assignment.

He’s appropriately withdrawn and caustic, convincingly thawing at just the right moments for the romance to be believable. And fine, Cameron is dreamy in all the right ways (see: abs, willingness to attend Harry Styles concerts, and inclination to save women via karaoke. Plus, did I mention he rides horses?)

It also helps that he’s flanked by He’s All That‘s MVPs, Annie Jacob as Cameron’s queer friend Nisha, and Isabella Crovetti as his sister Brin. Jacob leverages her natural swagger and humor to steal scene after scene (like, really).

Crovetti, meanwhile, shows the most emotional range in the film, including a beautiful breakdown over persistent grief and loss; she’s arguably the strongest performer in the cast, all while being one of the youngest.

Outside of the casting, He’s All That is all over the place. The iconic dance scene in the original (accompanied by Fatboy Slim’s “Rockafeller Skank”) is one of the most silly and addictive scenes committed to celluloid so it follows that this version, starring a famous dancer no less, would totally smash a new version, right?

Nope.

In a shockingly confusing development, the dance scene is a major let-down, though research tells me that Idris Elba apparently has a special cameo in the music edit. I guess that’s fun?

Nevertheless, the song and the choreography are both significantly lacking, so the homage falls flat. 

On the other hand, the inclusion of a The Great Gatsby party as a turning point in the film and in Cameron and Padgett’s relationship is nothing short of brilliant.

Not only is this a reference that’s actually digestible to teens, but a huge part of Gatsby is the misguided and vacuous focus on image, presentation, and the trappings of wealth. Sound familiar? Smart metaphors and references, we love to see it.

Plus, the film also uses this setting to more responsibly address the attempted assault of one of its characters (this is the one improvement this film makes on the original).

Overall though, He’s All That is disappointing, both as a reimagining of She’s All That and as a film in its own right.

Its whole influencer angle falls dramatically short, as it’s never bold enough to hold up a mirror to young audiences about the real ugliness and absurdity of social media.

Rae’s involvement doesn’t help either; she doesn’t have the chops to anchor the movie or reveal anything new about herself (which is basically the point, both of her moving into acting and of the whole journey of Padgett throughout the movie).

With that said, it does feature several compelling supporting actors and actresses, all of whom will hopefully find themselves in better projects in short order.

Stray observations:

• There’s a bit where partygoers namedrop Pizza Hut and KFC multiple times, and their logos are clearly visible in shot after shot. While there’s a possibility that this is a cheeky reference to brand sponsorships that influencers have, this is also the same studio that very obviously got a United sponsorship for The Princess Switch. So…not sure how much credit to give for smart humor.
• Rachel Leigh Cook remains luminous and seems to be starring in a far more interesting film than the version that’s been edited for us to see.
• The true star of He’s All That is Matthew Lillard. Lillard’s a veteran of the original — and played a deeply annoying character at that — and while he likely logs less than 15 minutes total in this movie, he’s so charismatic and fun that he steals the show. No contest. Find me a film with Lillard and Cook at the helm! Oh, wait.

What did you think of He’s All That? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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He’s All That is available to stream on Netflix.

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