100 Girls

 

 

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When this movie showed up in this week's rentals I could not remember why it was on my list, and that was the case until Katharine Heigl showed up as one of the "100 Girls" promised by the title. With Heigl positioned as the current queen of romantic comedy for recent hits such as "Knocked Up" and "27 Dresses," I had added this 2000 film to connect some more of the dots in her film career. My Introduction to Popular Culture class this semester got to choose between "Knocked Up" and "Superbad," so I had just watched those movies again this last week to write up the quiz for the movie unit. "100 Girls" is certainly in the tradition of such raunchy romantic comedies, a genre that I suppose has been around forever, but to my mind was given a cinematic rebirth that has been growing every since the release of "Porky's." That being said, what we have here is one of the more charming examples of the form.

The set up for the film from writer-director Michael Davis ("Eight Days a Week") is that our boy Matthew (Jonathan Tucker) is in the elevator at a girls dorm with a coed who is hidden behind a overflowing laundry basket when the power goes out. The two of them connect interpersonally and then physically, but when he wakes up the next morning he is alone in the elevator. So, Matthew has met his kismetic destiny but does not know her name. However, he does know that she lives in that dorm and he is in possession of her panties. Now all he needs to do is check out the panty drawers of all of the women in the dorm and he will find the woman he loves.

Matthew is the sort of guy who has never gotten the girl, but is clearly going to finish ahead of Rod (James DeBello), his roommate who has has a one track mind on what he needs to do to impress the ladies. Our hero looks way better when stacked up against the nicotine gum chomping Crick (Johnny Green), who represents everything Matthew is not. At least Matthew can articulate Crick's shortcomings, albeit in a grandiose manner that you may or may not deem to be excessive (but which at the very least will taunt all those of us who were bullied once upon a time with the thought of what might have been if we ever had the nerve to say such things to our tormentors). Fortunately, in addition to finishing ahead of this particular competition by default, Matthew has a romantic soul and cerebral thesaurus that allows him to wax even more eloquently as part of the requisite grand gesture I insist guys have to justifying getting the girl before the end credits.

The film makes a point of announcing the rest of the main cast members alphabetically so that you cannot automatically assume that the first female name on the list is she who is being sought. The prime suspects are Patty (Emmanuelle Chriqui), Arlene (Heigl), Wendy (Larisa Oleynik), Cynthia (Jaime Pressly), and Dora (Marissa Ribisi), and the chief charm of this film is that you can see how all of them could be the girl for Matthew and that he connects with all of them in significant ways. This could have been one of those love 'em and leave 'em type films, but I really appreciated that Matthew did not do the wrong thing in trying to find the right girl. I was right in figuring out which girl it was going to be, but that was not so much because of dazzling deductive reasoning working out the clues (e.g., Heigl's character is going to flunk the champagne class test), as it was wishful thinking because I knew who I thought it should be.

Yes, there are some crude and totally gross parts in this movie and for a fair share of viewers I would not be surprised if those moments constitute two steps backwards that are not balanced off by an equal number of steps in a forward direction. I had to shake my head over the gag with the ben-wa balls, but it was the bit with what was in the baggie that made me want to gag. I am able to overlook such things in the end, but not everybody is going be that open minded, so watch "100 Girls" at your own risk. Fortunately such humor is not the main thrust of this particular romantic comedy, and while it is most decidedly a relative proposition in this sub-genre, I found "100 Girls" to be rather charming and a pleasant surprise.

It's ironic, but "100 Girls," about a guy trying to hook up (again) with the perfect girl falls flat because, like so many guys, it just tries too hard.

The premise is cute enough, and certainly no less plausible than most teen sex movies: After a romantic and erotic experience in an elevator during a blackout, a college student spends the rest of the year trying to track down that girl to reunite with her, somewhere in the 100 person all girls dormitory. Wacky hijinks ensue as the protagonist tries to figure out who the girl could be.

So far, so good. But the earnestness of the movie gets in the way. The protagonist himself is perhaps the most emasculated wimp ever recorded on videotape, prone to irritating (and wildly naive) speeches about male/female relationships that sound like the screenwriter didn't have anyone editing him -- or giving him a reality check.

He's contrasted with an over-the-top boorish roommate, who's supposed to be some sort of hyper-masculine stereotype, but who mostly comes off as someone in need of serious therapy. His opinions come off as someone trying to recreate the beliefs of someone like radio personality Tom Leykis without actually having listened to someone like that, much less having extracted the points with actual relevance. Instead, he just reinforces the Alpha Wimp's saccharine platitudes. The fact that neither of them turns in a particularly good acting performance further hinders matters.

The female characters (and actresses) almost salvage the film, and not just token "big name" Jamie Pressly. They gamely put forth a real effort to make a leaden script work, and pretend the wildly implausible situations aren't. But ultimately, they fail to elevate this above two stars (if they turned in a comparable job to the male leads, it would have been a single star film).

A renter at best, and only if you've thoroughly exhausted every other teen movie possibility.

How do you rate a straight to video comedy? Do you compare it to the cinema greats? Do you compare it to the worst? Or do you try to compare it on its own merits? There is a reason films like 100 GIRLS are destined to find their way into the refuse bin at blockbuster. They just don't work.

That's not to say 100 GIRLS doesn't have merit. I think its heart is in the right place. It is attempting to take the old romantic comedy genre and turn it on its head. I'll bet there is even a better and yet unfilmable first draft of this film's screenplay out there somewhere, it would probably make a great read. Too bad it would never make a great movie.

100 GIRLS follows a young man named Matt (Jonathan Tucker, The Virgin Suicides) on a quest to find the girl of his dreams. He's met her already, in the elevator of the girl's dorm during a blackout. They laughed, they talked, and they even had sex. Now he's fallen in love, but she won't show her face. So he sets out to find her. There are a hundred girls to chose from but you as an audience member wind up meeting five or six.

The biggest problem is the tone of the movie. It's a literate drama destroyed by silly jokes. Matt pontificates (that's the only way I can explain it) likes Shakespeare and in the next the moment is acting like Charlie Chaplin. He'll say something completely sweet and good natured and then is called on to stand in front of a bunch of girls and scream `I want to full on kiss your Clitoris.' While the film intends it to be sentimental it's moments like that where you cringe.

Plus it forces Matt to be really creepy. He digs through panty drawers, spends a decent amount of time dressed as a girl, and the only other guy (James DeBello, Swimfan) he hangs around with dangles weights from his penis. Are all these women blind? Because for some reason they seems to like him and even fall in love with him. If I had been a girl, I ask the most important question, why the hell does this guy get to spend all his time in the girl's dorm? I'd probably complain.

You know what the biggest problem with Matt is he won't shut the hell up. I have a feeling if they told this story from the girls point of view they'd all be telling him to shut up. He's like that guy whom thinks he's so bright he forgets to listen to what's going on around him.

As for the girls we meet its Emmanuelle Chriqui (Detroit Rock City) who is the most enchanting. She plays Patty the slut with so much more vulnerability than the part deserves. She's got these amazing eyes and this adorable persona. When she's not on the screen you long for her to be there. It's just too bad there are 99 other girls. I kind of wished the film were told from her perspective, it would have been an interesting glimpse.

I do not recommend 100 Girls. But I don't hate it either. I'll bet writer/director Michael Davis (Eight Days A Week) had high hopes for this movie. There's a lot of hard work and love thrown into the picture. It's just too bad that the movie fails more times than it enchants. There is almost an okay movie here.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent??? Whatever...
This is seriously the worst movie I've had the displeasure of watching. This movie isn't like American Pie in the slightest. Read more

Published on Aug 26 2003 by blahman2000

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty girls - crappy movie.
I hope this movie sounded better on paper than the resulting film. I've seen better things in my toilet. Read more

Published on July 17 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars 100 Girls-Very Funny
I found this film to be witty and clever. I didn't expect much, thinking this was just another movie trying to jump on the "teen-flick" bandwagon. Read more

Published on July 5 2003 by mistisa

5.0 out of 5 stars Teen movie for the thinking person
Funny teen movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. You see Matt looking for the girl he had a fling with on a dark elevator and he enters the world of college women to do... Read more

Published on Jun 2 2003 by Kevin Lavelle

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected Laughs
What a completely refreshing and original movie. I happened across this hilarious and frank comedy after working late one night at the office. Read more

Published on April 29 2003 by Curtis B. Wimsatt

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mistery Girl Effect?
This movie portrays the life of a young collage going man, so well. The way it is narrated to explain the thoughts of the character to the audience is a great touch. Read more

Published on April 16 2003 by Trevor & Dawn

5.0 out of 5 stars Adorable and truthfull
There is something remarakbly adorable about this movie. The male protagonist is instantly loveable and as his search goes on for his mysterious elevator woman, he learns a lot... Read more

Published on Mar 11 2003 by jesebelle

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Teen Flick
It was a great movie, it was funny in an immature teen sort of way, but we all need a little bit of that kind of humor in our lives to keep us young, right?

Published on Mar 10 2003 by Ashley cooper

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, hilarious
I saw this movie while doing a gender-issues project in school. Needless to say, I loved it! The movie looks into both genders and really analyzes them, but the movie finds a... Read more

Published on Jan 2 2003 by Gulfgirl

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutly amazing
What a movie!! This movie explores men and women to a level that women can completely understand, while providing the comedy and perversion men crave. Read more

Published on Dec 30 2002 by allan

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