- Actors: Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Manu Intiraymi, Aaron Paul
- Directors: David Raynr
- Writers: Mark Schwahn
- Producers: Bill Brown, Mark Schwahn, Matt Berenson, Paul Schiff, Vicki Dee Rock
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: Aug 1 2000
- Run Time: 94 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00003CXGJ
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#15,030 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #31 in DVD > Comedy > Romantic Comedies > Contemporary
- #89 in DVD > Comedy > Teen
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Product Description
From Amazon.com
Whatever It Takes initially seems little more than another comedy with impossibly attractive teenagers trying to get into each other's pants. Ryan (Shane West) is a bit of a geek with eyes for the school sex bomb, Ashley (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), which induces cringing in his neighbor and best friend, Maggie (Marla Sokoloff), a cute intellectual girl. But popular jock Chris (James Franco) has his eye on Maggie, and he offers to help Ryan win Ashley if Ryan will help Chris woo Maggie. So begins a two-headed variation on Cyrano de Bergerac; Ryan composes soulful e-mails for Chris, and Chris advises Ryan to treat Ashley like dirt, which seems to be the only way to get her attention.
At first, neither finds it easy to change their ways; Chris comes on too strong, and Ryan is too nervous to be a jerk. But as they start to succeed, Ryan begins to see Maggie in a new light and wonders if he's pursuing the right girl. Which could all be very standard and shallow, but as the story unfolds the movie examines staying true to yourself and finding self-worth in surprisingly trenchant and unpreachy ways. Which is not to say that Whatever It Takes is high-minded--everyone's excessively good-looking and prone to wearing tight or revealing clothing, and there's a subplot about a kid who aspires to achieve school immortality through a topnotch prank. But the movie offers more than you might expect, which sets it apart from many of the recent swarm of teen flicks. --Bret Fetzer
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cute,
By
This review is from: Whatever It Takes (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
I really liked this film. THe heart throb Shane West protrays a main character Ryan, or Bryan Ryan. He has his heart set on the beautiful Jodi Lyn who is your typical high school snob. Marla and James try to "Get something" happening, but it all fails. The movie incorporates many funny parts along with the smooth plot, and the ending sets happy "I told you so's" The teenage audiances will enjoy the quick movie.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whatever It Takes on DVD,
This review is from: Whatever It Takes (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
My sister and I have loved this movie for over a decade; it's your typical high school popular vs non movie but oh so funny! Plus it has Shane West and James Franco, so you can't go wrong there.
4.0 out of 5 stars
How low will they go to get the girls of their dreams?,
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Whatever It Takes (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
It has taken me a while to get around to checking out this 2000 teen romantic comedy for the simply reason that when it came out I had actually finished writing a movie script for the first time and it was a teen romantic comedy entitled "Whatever It Takes" (using the song from Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's first solo album as inspiration) and I was crushed by cruel fate once again taunting me. But I was having a good week so I thought I could stand to watch this and not curse the heavens. Of course I somehow missed out on the 1999 "Whatever It Takes" which had Andrew Dice Clay and Fred Williamson in a film about undercover cops checking out steroid use by body builders, the 1998 animated short by director Joanna Quinn, the 1993 sexploitation comedy by director Michael Quarles, and the 1986 drama starring Martin Balsam. Gee, if only I had stopped crying long enough to find out that films were coming out with this title every year I could still done nothing but felt better about it.This particular version of "Whatever It Takes" was hurt by the idea that it was a modern version of "Cyrano de Bergerac," the way "Ten Things I Hate About You" is an updated "Taming of the Shrew" and "Cruel Intentions" is a teenage version of "Dangerous Liaisons." However, while we do have a version of the famous balcony scene, there is a big difference in that this time around the scene is missing the pivotal irony that a man who is in love with a woman gives another man the words to woe her (although the scene is a pivotal moment in the film). So the "Cyrano" connection is a minor one, especially compared to Steve Martin's "Roxanne." The situation is that Ryan Woodman (Shane West) has the hots for the school's reigning sex goddess, Ashley Grant (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). Ryan is a good kid who has the twin misfortunes of playing the accordion and having a mother (Julia Sweeney) who is the school nurse. Meanwhile, the campus bad boy jock, Chris Campbell (James Franco) wants to add good girl Maggie Carter (Marla Sokoloff) to his list of conquests. Ryan and Maggie are nextdoor neighbors whose bedroom balconies almost touch and who have been best friends almost since birth, while Chris happens to be Ashley's cousin. So Chris comes up with the great idea that he and Ryan can help each other get the girl that they want. The only real problem with this story line is that Ryan falls way behind the audience in terms of realizing the truth about both Ashley and Maggie. The cinematic reference I flashed on during this film was actually "10." But if Ryan is slow on the uptake this "Whatever It Takes" gets redeemed because West and Sokoloff really do come across as nice kids and the pivotal scenes are the best in the film, which really saves it. The homage to the "Cyrano" balcony scene is probably the best in the film, the grand gesture required of Ryan turns out to be an elegantly simple example of public humiliation in the name of true love, and Maggie carries off a nice case of the requisite comeuppance. That is not bad for any sort of teen romantic comedy, even one with a title for which lots of people apparently like to write scripts.
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