Ryan (Shane West) and Maggie (Marla Sokoloff) are next door neighbors, best friends and lonely hearts. She can't find a beau, apparently because her IQ is larger than her bra size. He's a handsome movie "geek" (i.e. plays the accordion), hopelessly stuck on the air-headed Prettiest Vixen in School (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). But Ryan has a plan: in exchange for tips on getting next to the bimbo, he agrees to help the contemptible campus Lothario (James Franco) bag Maggie. What a good friend that Ryan is, huh? Another lowest-common-denominator high school romance made from the cannibalized parts of equally unambitious teen fare, Whatever It Takes is long on misogyny and fart jokes, and completely without the intelligence, wit or passion of its inspiration, Cyrano de Bergerac. Not recommended. (R. Blackwelder)
Whatever It Takes
Columbia TriStar, 94 min., PG-13, VHS: $106.99, DVD: $24.95, Aug. 1 Vol. 15, Issue 4
Whatever It Takes
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: