The transformation of the ugly duckling has its roots in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and its most famous movie incarnation, My Fair Lady . The wager aspect is a fairly recent contrivance, but it has been used often enough that no one is going to mistake it for a mark of originality. Consequently, this is one of those movies where there's not a single surprise from beginning to end. That is tedious. The principals here are students at Southern California's William Henry Harrison High School.
Spring break is over and everyone is looking forward to the prom, which is a mere six weeks away.
There's no denying that the characters, despite falling into stereotypes, are appealing, in part because actors Freddie Prinze Jr. Unfortunately, the constraints of the script force Zack and Laney into such rigid molds that there's no room for genuine character development or interaction. For example, it would have been nice to see a conversation between them last more than about 60 seconds. Despite being largely uninspired, the dialogue is peppered with enough profanity and salacious comments to keep the undiscriminating interested. Those who expect a little more substance will be frustrated.