It’s not uncommon for a high school student to feel uncomfortable in his or her own skin.
Movies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off have all taught us that adolescence is several grueling years of heartache, personal disappointment and teenage angst.
In his latest movie, The Hot Chick, Rob Schneider takes the idea an amusing and startling step forward.
Jessica Spencer (Rachel McAdams) is perfect.
Graced with looks, a fantastic body and privileged existence, she is the girl at school that everyone wants or wants to be.
Her only flaw is that she doesn’t know how lucky she is and is therefor self-centered.
Thanks to cinematic karma, Jessica receives a bit of payback.
A magic earring switches her mind from a gorgeous teen body into the hairy and out-of-shape physical frame of Clive (Rob Schneider).
Now she must figure out how to get back into her old body, win the Cheer Competition, go to the prom and keep her quarterback boyfriend – all as a guy.
Watching Schneider mimic the walk, talk and style of a teenage girl is highly amusing.
He capably captures the nuances and attitude, and delivers some hysterical scenes.
Anna Faris (Scary Movie) is Jessica’s best friend April, a perfect foil for Schneider’s trademark slapstick.
Faris is a natural comedian, and matches Schneider laugh for laugh.
Perfectly cast as Jessica’s quarterback boyfriend Billy is Matthew Lawrence, an innocent bystander in a bizarre comedy or errors.
Supporting the leads is a group of talented and hilarious supporting actors and actresses, all adding unique chemistry to the carefully constructed plot.
Longtime Schneider pal Adam Sandler also provides an important (as well as amusing) cameo.
This movie is just plain funny.
Every scene is sidesplitting.
It would be easy to pigeon hole The Hot Chick as Deuce Bigalow In A Skirt, or The Animal II: The Female.
Still, this movie offers a lot more than expected.
Without being heavy handed, Schneider and director Tom Brady subtly raise the issue of acceptance – the acceptance of self, others and family.
Issues about sexuality, body images, racism, gender roles and social status are all touched upon, while character motivations are explored for a comedic payoff.
It’s probably not often that anyone will claim to have gained some spiritual insight from a Rob Schneider movie, but The Hot Chick may have come as close to mixing important social issues with belly laughs as any film possibly could.
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