a teen movie that didn't tick me off

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 1999)

I generally avoid teen movies as best I can because they are almost invariably shallow offensive stereotypes that present a totally inaccurate view of what an average sixteen-year-old ( or any teenager ) should be/think/look like etc.
Although this film isn't a great insight into what real high school life is like, at least they got some things right that most of the others in this genre miss. The school is populated by stereotypes, but at least there are consequences and some realistic expectations of life. Kat was wonderfully sympathetic and gave a decent role model for high-schoolers in terms of not having to do what 'everyone' is doing.
It was also nice to see a 'don't judge a book by its cover' message that wasn't quite so shallow as usual. The geeks were still geeks at the end, but they found other people that they could relate to.
One thing I especially liked was the fact that this film wasn't about a bunch of sex-crazed teens. The plot was initiated because of one kid's over-active glands, but he was the exception, rather than the rule. The couples were able to end up together without ending up in bed. I much prefer that because I get tired of the generalization that all high-school and college students think about is sex and beer ( or sex and football as another film put it ).
Anyway, off the soapbox. The one way that I knew for sure that this was a good movie was that I kept thinking to myself "I hope it's not over yet." Not a great work of art and aptly rated PG-13 for not-for-kiddies language and humor, but a solid 7.