It's a Boy Girl Thing is a blooming masterpiece! Even without comparing it to US movies it's still a funny, intelligent, and even moving film.
I've read several negative remarks about how many references are made to male/female anatomy but they weren't gratuitous or as overdone as some have said. If you woke up in the body of the opposite gender wouldn't you be a tad surprised and dwell on the differences? Woody can't believe he has tits and Nell is terrified by the strange object sticking up in the middle of her bed. Even the last reference to anatomy is amusing since Woody's biological functions take hold while he's physically close to Nell and he, as Nell, is disgusted by the fact of adolescent erections. Come on, guys, we all know what it was like as a teenager when an embarrassing thing just popped up, so to speak, at the wrong time.
Sure body swap movies have been done but so have a zillion other genres. It's a Boy Girl Thing can hold its own with similar fare. Samaire Armstrong is especially good as "Woody," walking and moving and acting "like a guy" and Kevin Zegers is good also but his characterization is more understated. His walk, facial expressions, mannerisms, etc. change noticeably as Nell but it's more subtle.
It was pretty decently written and what it may have lacked in the script was compensated for by the main characters and the director. Some of the secondary characters were not as good as the rest but the parents, Nell and Woody, even brainless Breanna were believable.
One of the main aspects I like is the understanding Woody and Nell achieve when they literally walk in each other's shoes (yeah, OK, that's a plot device in many body swap movies but "what the heck?") . Nell realizes her animosity toward Woody is mostly snobbery and Woody sees his loutish behavior for what it is. They both realize they are better people than that. The scene with Woody/Nell asking Nell/Woody "How does it feel to be a cheap slut?" makes Woody really understand how Nell feels for the first time. Nell sees Woody's parents are decent humans who are not, as her mother thinks, objects of scorn because they are not well educated. Everything piles up on Woody when Nell's mother declares Woody is "stupid and a loser" and adds "You told me so" to Nell/Woody, causing Woody to see how his treatment of Nell has made her despise him. Also, unlike Nell, Woody sees he's always gone along with the crowd without much introspection.
Since the movie apparently spans only one week it's a bit of a stretch to expect characters to evolve so quickly but that's a minor quibble (they're both intelligent kids, anyway...). IABGT made me laugh and smile more than most new movies I've seen in ages. I'd watch it just for the bathroom scene when Woody/Nell remarks "Nice pen*s" to the guy standing next to him at the urinals. That has got to be one of the funniest scenes ever and a spot-on observation about (primarily) heterosexual male mores in our culture.
Of course it ends as it does -- what would one expect, a startling plot twist? Like they never return to their own bodies and Nell/Woody becomes a lesbian and Woody/Nell becomes a Catholic priest? Besides, the end is realistically and romantically different in that Nell decides to take a year sabbatical before starting Yale (much to her mother's dismay) so she and Woody have time to develop their relationship. Although it's not explicit it would seem Woody has made the same decision unless the "sh*tkicker" college he'll attend is local or very close to home. The end makes no sense if Nell is taking a year off and Woody is moving away to attend college.
I've read several negative remarks about how many references are made to male/female anatomy but they weren't gratuitous or as overdone as some have said. If you woke up in the body of the opposite gender wouldn't you be a tad surprised and dwell on the differences? Woody can't believe he has tits and Nell is terrified by the strange object sticking up in the middle of her bed. Even the last reference to anatomy is amusing since Woody's biological functions take hold while he's physically close to Nell and he, as Nell, is disgusted by the fact of adolescent erections. Come on, guys, we all know what it was like as a teenager when an embarrassing thing just popped up, so to speak, at the wrong time.
Sure body swap movies have been done but so have a zillion other genres. It's a Boy Girl Thing can hold its own with similar fare. Samaire Armstrong is especially good as "Woody," walking and moving and acting "like a guy" and Kevin Zegers is good also but his characterization is more understated. His walk, facial expressions, mannerisms, etc. change noticeably as Nell but it's more subtle.
It was pretty decently written and what it may have lacked in the script was compensated for by the main characters and the director. Some of the secondary characters were not as good as the rest but the parents, Nell and Woody, even brainless Breanna were believable.
One of the main aspects I like is the understanding Woody and Nell achieve when they literally walk in each other's shoes (yeah, OK, that's a plot device in many body swap movies but "what the heck?") . Nell realizes her animosity toward Woody is mostly snobbery and Woody sees his loutish behavior for what it is. They both realize they are better people than that. The scene with Woody/Nell asking Nell/Woody "How does it feel to be a cheap slut?" makes Woody really understand how Nell feels for the first time. Nell sees Woody's parents are decent humans who are not, as her mother thinks, objects of scorn because they are not well educated. Everything piles up on Woody when Nell's mother declares Woody is "stupid and a loser" and adds "You told me so" to Nell/Woody, causing Woody to see how his treatment of Nell has made her despise him. Also, unlike Nell, Woody sees he's always gone along with the crowd without much introspection.
Since the movie apparently spans only one week it's a bit of a stretch to expect characters to evolve so quickly but that's a minor quibble (they're both intelligent kids, anyway...). IABGT made me laugh and smile more than most new movies I've seen in ages. I'd watch it just for the bathroom scene when Woody/Nell remarks "Nice pen*s" to the guy standing next to him at the urinals. That has got to be one of the funniest scenes ever and a spot-on observation about (primarily) heterosexual male mores in our culture.
Of course it ends as it does -- what would one expect, a startling plot twist? Like they never return to their own bodies and Nell/Woody becomes a lesbian and Woody/Nell becomes a Catholic priest? Besides, the end is realistically and romantically different in that Nell decides to take a year sabbatical before starting Yale (much to her mother's dismay) so she and Woody have time to develop their relationship. Although it's not explicit it would seem Woody has made the same decision unless the "sh*tkicker" college he'll attend is local or very close to home. The end makes no sense if Nell is taking a year off and Woody is moving away to attend college.