Who doesn't love a tomboy? You can rough-house with them, you can belch in their presence, and - BONUS! - they don't have testicles. Dress that tomboy up as a man, though, and you'll see just how feminine they really are.

Viola (Amanda Bynes) is a tomboy. And that, you see, is a problem. Her divorced parents would rather see her grow up into a debutante lifestyle.

Seeing as her school’s female soccer team was terminated while the men’s team was allowed to continue, and taking into consideration her subsequent humiliation as a result in front of her daft boyfriend and his even dafter coach, Viola is a little upset at the world. But her fortunes are about to change. You see, her twin brother, Sebastian (James Kirk), is going off to a prestigious private school, but first plans to go to London for two weeks in order to start a music career – without telling anyone except Viola, whom he expects to cover for him. This Viola does ... but her method of doing so is somewhat unconventional.

With her brother out of town and no one at his new school familiar with what he looks like, she decides that she can pose as him by dressing like a man, joining his soccer team, and then beating her ex-boyfriend on the field to prove that women are as good at the sport as any man.

You can see where this is heading already.

During her moonlighting as a man, she falls in love with the often shirtless Duke (Channing Tatum), the soccer team's first-stringer and her would-be roommate. Duke and his friends are naturally suspicious of Viola’s rather un-masculine habits, such as carrying a box of tampons, uneasiness around the shower and his seemingly homosexual nature. With a little help from her friends and hairdresser, though, she is able to convincingly make “Sebastian” look mega-popular with the ladies and there-in get the cool points needed to make it to first-stringer.

Meanwhile, in typical love-triangle fashion, Duke is in love with Olivia (Laura Ramsey), and Olivia has fallen in love with “Sebastian,” not realizing that “he” is not the sensitive male he seems to be.

Sound familiar? That’s because the premise of She’s The Man is a modern day retelling of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will. On the off-chance that anyone might be intimately familiar with the source material, keen observers will notice the film is peppered with references to the play. The school is named Illyria, the same as the country in Shakespeare’s text. All the characters names are lifted from the characters in the play, and the more uncommon names like Cesario and Malvolio are used for a pizza parlor and pet tarantula, respectively.

Allusions to Shakespeare aside, She’s The Man also features a number of bits taken here and there from other teen films. It is, in a word, derivative - although it is almost unfair to criticize the film for that, since the entire genre has become somewhat derivative. More times than not, it's hard to remember which film did what first. And you'll see plenty of familiar moments here. There is a montage with Viola in the makeup chair trying on different “guy” looks involving various mustaches, wigs and beards. After she “transforms,” there is the scene where we first see her new look as she arrives at school. This is done by seeing just her feet step out of the car onto the ground, then a rock-and-roll song starts in the background and “his” figure is revealed through a steady slow pan moving up “his” body. How many people have we seen introduced in the exact same way? I can’t begin to count them.

Interestingly enough there is a strong supportive cast on hand. Vinnie Jones (British ex-soccer player and star of Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch) plays the soccer coach of Illyria, and even has what I thought was the funniest line in the film, “You’re like Bambi on ice, kid!” referring to the real Sebastian’s inability to dribble the soccer ball. The school principal is played by Mr. Show star David Cross, who apparently improvised much of his dialogue.

It's true that there is nothing extremely original in She’s The Man, and with the exception of a well choreographed dream sequence the direction is fairly stale. Even the final soccer game didn’t feel all that riveting. Yet for a light family film it hits all the marks it is supposed to. I doubt that it will ever get high marks on someone's favorite films list, but it isn’t a film you would mind watching if it came on, nor will you dread it if your kids want to rent it.

The DVD Presentation
The anamorphic widescreen video is solid enough (A Full Screen release is available separately). This film wasn’t quite as colorful as other teen films, but it looks good and the transfer is generally fine. I see no problems with it. There are several audio options, with both 5.1 and 2.0 English mixes, 5.1 French and 2.0 Spanish mixes. The surround mix certainly isn’t all that impressive but there simply isn’t much need for it as there isn’t a lot of action. It’s decent though, and the dialogue is easily understood. English subtitles are available, as is a “trivia” subtitle track (more on that later). Overall, it’s a solid DVD.

And the Extras Are?
Commentary with actor Amanda Bynes, director Andy Fickman, co-writer/producer Ewan “Jack” Leslie, and actors Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Robert Hoffman and Alex Breckenridge – This is very much a party track. With all the main actors and actresses, as well as the none-too-serious director, this commentary is light on technical detail and big on the “Amanda looks soooooo cute here” dialogue and self-congratulations. It is pretty fun though, it’s apparent that the kids had a good time making it so some of their comments are great to listen to.

Commentary with co-writer/producer Ewan “Jack” Leslie and producer Lauren Shuler Donner – Two commentaries on She’s The Man might seem like overkill, and it is, but this one is much more production related and (for me) more interesting. A lot of casting discussions are talked about, as well as how certain scenes were re-written or improvised. The good material is here, but this is more for the film freak and less for the target audience of the movie.

“Shakespeare, Soccer and Such” Trivia Track – This replaces a subtitle track to show you interesting facts ala VH-1’s Pop-Up Video. You will learn all kinds of facts about the history of the tampon, soccer and every possible reference to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night that can be made. No matter what it is, it’s spelled out for you.

“Making the Man” featurette – (15:06) - A solid enough featurette detailing all sorts of behind-the-scenes info. The energy and excitement of the entire cast is pretty infectious.

“The Troupe” featurette – (7:50) - EPK cast-and-crew material. Nothing you haven’t seen before. This strikes me as something that would be shown on the Disney Channel or HBO in-between movies.

“Inspired by Shakespeare’s…” featurette – (4:25) - For people who don’t recognize the allusions in the film and didn’t use the Trivia Tract option, this featurette points out every homage to Twelfth Night in the film.

Deleted Scenes – (11:16) - Included here are nine deleted scenes of various lengths. Thankfully, commentary is available on all the clips with Amanda, Andy and Ewan. Some of these were interesting to see, but all save one were rightly removed. The final clip is a nice, albeit almost cliché, prom/dance clip, but it does make for a cool closure to the “real” Sebastian’s character.

Gag Reel – (3:24) - I always love these things, and surprisingly this gag reel is better edited than most. It fully displays the fun had on set. If you like the movie this is well worth your time.

Cast Photo Album – It’s nothing more than about 40 production stills of the cast and crew.

Music Video: “Let Go” by Dave Lichens – (3:20) - Dude… fucking… STOP SINGING!

Original Theatrical Trailer – (2:31) - No one over 12 will be swayed into seeing this movie by the trailer. Of course, no one over 12 likely saw any movie that this trailer might have been attached to.

Previews - Trailers for other Dreamworks and Paramount releases all presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. Over The Hedge, Failure To Launch, Laguna Beach – The Complete Second Season and All You Got. The fact that I didn’t get a screener of All You Got is beyond all reasoning. I’ll need to get it. Volleyball + girls = awesome.

This is a pretty comprehensive package of features for a teen film; my only complaint would be that all of them are non-anamorphic. Weak.

The Bottom Line
The history of cinema, and the history of theater long before that, is filled with people engaging in gender bending. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot, Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria, and whatever dude wears that Sarah Jessica Parker mask in every role he’s ever played. Now it’s Amanda Bynes’ turn at the plate.

The trouble is, She’s The Man never manages to separate itself from the pack. As a film it’s little more than average. Sure, it may take from Shakespeare, but so did O - and there is good reason you’ve long forgotten about that movie. For the kiddies, She’s The Man is a pretty fun film, but anyone old enough to drive will be rolling their eyes wishing they weren’t stuck babysitting whoever they're watching this with.