Sydney White
Directed by Joel Nussbaum
Written by Chad Gomez Creasy
Morgan Creek Productions, 2007
Starring: Amanda Bynes, Matt Long
Genre: Movie/Re-told Fairy Tale
Watch if: You like modern updates of classic fairy tales
Best for: This movie will appeal to a wide age range of junior high and high school students. Probably best suited to the 13-16 range.
If you like it try:
Rating: 3.5/5
Sydney White has had a dream since girlhood: to join the fraternity that her mother was part of in college. Sydney sees becoming a Kappa Phi Nu as a way to connect to her absent mother, who died when Sydney was a child. So she packs her bags, kisses her father goodbye and journeys towards her destiny at Southern Atlantic University.
But college is no fairy tale. Genuine and spunky Sydney doesn't fit in with the vain Kappa Phi's, and she's soon kicked out by sorority president Rachel Witchburn. With nowhere to live, Sydney ends up at "the Vortex", the residence of seven nerdy guys excluded from college society. With the help of the 'seven dorks' will Sydney triumph against Rachel and find her prince charming?
Hi ho, hi ho, its off to college in the 21st century we go
Sydney White is one of many teen movies that re-work traditional fairy tales. Like the recent A Cinderella Story starring Hillary Duff, this movie takes a popular young comic actress and makes her the every-girl who triumphs over evil and gets the guy in the end. I have to admit I didn't have high expectations for this movie - I was dissapointed by the aforementioned A Cinderella Story and thought this movie would be more of the same. To my surprise, this is actually quite a clever adaptation of the Snow White story. This is thanks to both the writing and the acting. There are clever allusions to the original tale throughout the film, and there are lots of genuinely funny jokes. And Amanda Bynes is an engaging heroine that teen girls will be able to relate too. She's not afraid to laugh at herself, and a lot of what she does in the movie is goofy - its nice to see a girl-lead who isn't prissy or bland . Being yourself is the message here, and the movie pulls it off with humour and charm.
This movie will probably appeal most to teen girls in the 13-15 year range, although the 'seven dorks' put in a funny performance that many guys might find surprisingly appealing. This is a fun and clever re-worked fairy tale that's well worth the watch.
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