A "good boy gets good girl" story.

Rating: Null/10 (8 July 2003)

On the one hand, this could have resulted in yet another tiresome rehashing of that commonly favored old myth, in which a plain but sincere "good" girl transforms the handsome but loutish "bad" boy through the greater strength of her faith, kindness and patience. Although "christianism" is not precisely the point, Christians will love it, because it addresses all the transformational desires that Christians and co-dependents both find appealing. On the other hand, the "bad" boy is not all that bad. He has made some poor friendship choices, and tries to live down to their expectations, but he also has some clearly redeemable qualities.
That is what saves this from being just another "good girl gets bad boy" story. Even while he tries to "pretend" that he is one of the bad boys, he knows enough to do the right thing. He has a conscience that keeps coming back to trouble his thoughts, and hence it is not so much a problem of transforming "him," but bringing out what is already there. The message of the film is not that just "any" sort of lout can be improved, given suitable conditions, but that if he is already "sitting on the fence," so to say, then the right sort of girl might be able to give him the push he needs. She does in this film, and it results in a beautiful and poignant romance.