Whatever It Takes (2000 film)
Whatever It Takes is a 2000 American teen comedy film directed by David Raynr and starring Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, and James Franco. It was first released in the United States on March 31, 2000.
| Whatever It Takes | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Raynr |
| Produced by | Matt Berenson Bill Brown Vicky Dee Rock Paul Schiff Mark Schwahn |
| Written by | Mark Schwahn |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Edward Shearmur |
| Cinematography | Tim Suhrstedt |
| Edited by | Ronald Roose |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date | March 31, 2000 |
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $32 million |
| Box office | $9 million |
Plot
Ryan (Shane West) is a bit of a geek with eyes for the school sex bomb, Ashley (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), which induces cringing in his neighbor and best friend, Maggie (Marla Sokoloff), a cute, intellectual girl. But popular jock Chris (James Franco) has his eye on Maggie, and he offers to help Ryan win Ashley if Ryan will help Chris with Maggie. So begins a two-headed variation on Cyrano de Bergerac; Ryan composes soulful e-mails for Chris, and Chris advises Ryan to treat Ashley like dirt, which seems to be the only way to get her attention. At first, neither finds it easy to change their ways; Chris comes on too strong, and Ryan is too nervous to be a jerk. But as they start to succeed, Ryan begins to see Maggie in a new light and wonders if he's pursuing the right girl. He realizes Ashley is not meant for him, and tries to convince Maggie about Chris's affection for her. Maggie is reluctant to take him "back" at first, but then realizes Ryan has a change of heart.
Cast
- Shane West as Ryan Woodman
- James Franco as Chris Campbell
- Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Ashley Grant
- Marla Sokoloff as Maggie Carter
- Julia Sweeney as Kate Woodman
- Aaron Paul as Floyd
- Colin Hanks as Cosmo
- Kip Pardue as Harris
- Manu Intiraymi as Dunleavy
- David Koechner as Virgil Doolittle
- Richard Schiff as P.E. Teacher
- Kevin Ruf as Security Guard
- Scott Vickaryous as Stu
- Eric Kushnick as Stoner
- Nicole Tarantini as Marnie
- Christine Lakin as Sloane
- Shyla Marlin as Shyla
- Vanessa Evigan as Vanessa
- Nick Cannon as Chess Club Kid
Home media
Whatever It Takes was first released on VHS and DVD in North America in August 2000. It was released in Australia later that year, then released in the UK in 2001.
Reception
The film has an approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 16% based on 67 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Whatever It Takes is another run-of-the-mill teeny-bopper romance flick. Cliche jokes and a tired plot capture few laughs".[1] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said the film had "ersatz versions of stars who, in this case, are fairly vanilla to begin with".[2]
Accolades
- Teen Choice Awards
- Choice Comedy Movie: Nominated
- Choice Movie Sleazebag: Nominated
- Choice Movie Hissy Fit: Nominated
References
- "Whatever It Takes (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- Gleiberman, Owen (March 31, 2000). "Whatever It Takes". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 June 2020.