Whatever It Takes

(2000)

★ 5.8 IMDb · 308 votes

Genres: Drama, Comedy, Romance

Year: 2000

Runtime: 94 мин

Country: United States of America

Director: David Raynr

Cast: Джоди Лин О���Киф, Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Джеймс Франко, Аарон Пол, Колин Хэнкс, Джулия Суини, Ричард Шифф, Kip Pardue, Ник Кэннон

Plot

A nerdy teen, Ryan Woodman is smitten with the popular and gorgeous Ashley Grant, who apparently has no interest in him. Meanwhile, dim star athlete Chris Campbell has his eye on Ryan's brainy and beautiful friend, Maggie Carter. The two agree to help each other in their romantic quests, but, as they come closer to their goals, both Ryan and Chris suspect that they might be pursuing the wrong girls.

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.