Sydney White

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: September 21, 2007

DVD Release Date: January 22, 2008

Plot 411: A college freshman rushes her mother's sorority in hopes to feel closer to her but ends up in a house with seven dorks.

Review: I always did like Amanda Bynes. If you ask me, she's this generation's Lucille Ball. In a tweaked and modernized version of Snow White, Bynes plays Sydney White, a college freshman trying to pledge her mother's sorority house. However, early on it is pointed out to her that she's different and will never fit in as a sister. A group of outsiders take her in and here she truly learns what friendship means. As in all her films, Bynes projects an approachable and very pleasant person. It's so easy to like her, especially because she always seems like the girl next door. Her comedic timing is always great, and when she is surrounded by the seven dorks it seems perfect. These are her people. As awkward and nerdy as they are, the actors are still able to distinguish themselves from one another. This is a delightful little feel-good film for teens that champions anyone who has ever felt that they didn't belong.

Watch It: If you liked Bynes in She's The Man. This has a similar moral but with less deception going on.

Skip It: If you're too old for this bubble gum teen stars.

She's The Man

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: March 17, 2006

DVD Release Date: July 18, 2006

Plot 411: A girl goes undercover as her twin brother and joins the boys soccer team to prove that girls can play.

Review: Yes, this is a teen movie, and yes, I did watch it . . . more than once if you'd like to know. But, I have an ulterior motive that isn't just to see Channing Tatum in all his glory. My real reason (or so I continue to tell myself) is that I used to play soccer and can never pass up a movie with soccer in it. I like to critique the actors since more often than not they don't know how to play. Fortunately, this movie hired a lot of extras who actually knew what they were doing and the main actors were athletic enough to pull it off. Unfortunately, Amanda Bynes didn't. Oh well, it'd be expecting too much for the entire cast to look good. Other than that, I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot (based on Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"). It's a typical teen movie with love triangles and social hierarchy coming into play. David Cross is hilarious in his role.

Watch It: If you enjoy other films like "She's All That," "Can't Hardly Wait," "Cinderella Story" or any of the other popular teen movies in recent decades. Another two good reasons are Channing Tatum and Robert Hoffman.

Skip It: If you're over the whole "love him, hate him, love him again" whirlwind of teenage crushes and first loves.

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