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"SYDNEY WHITE" (2007) (Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor *Heavy None Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None None None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence *Heavy None Minor Moderate Mild QUICK TAKE: Comedy: A tomboy goes off to college with hopes of joining her mother's sorority, only to run afoul of its mean president, and thus ends up housing with seven nerdy students, all while falling for a dreamy frat boy who might be her Prince Charming. PLOT: Sydney White (AMANDA BYNES) is a self-acknowledged tomboy who enjoys hanging out with the guys at construction sites where her plumber dad, Paul (JOHN SCHNEIDER), works. Yet, she's been accepted to Southern Atlantic University, her late mother's alma mater, and thus sets off for college life and the hope that she can join her mom's old sorority, Kappa Phi Nu. Unfortunately for her, it's run by Rachel Witchburn (SARA PAXTON), a vain and condescending young woman who uses the likes of sorority sisters Christy (LIBBY MINTZ) and Katy (LAUREEN LEECH) to do her dirty work. Moreover, and despite Sydney being a legacy, Rachel doesn't want her to join her exclusive Greek club. Others at the school are more accepting of her, including her spunky roommate Dinky (CRYSTAL HUNT), who also pledges Kappa Phi, while Tyler Prince (MATT LONG) is a nice frat boy who takes a liking to Sydney. That doesn't sit well with Rachel who thinks of herself as Tyler's girlfriend, and thus she banishes Sydney from the sorority. With nowhere else to go, she ends up bunking in a rundown shack known as the Vortex. Among the students there is Lenny (JACK CARPENTER), a hypochondriac she earlier met and ditched as part of her sorority pledge requirements, as well as Spanky (SAMM LEVINE), a self-proclaimed but less than successful ladies man. Also living there is brainiac Terrance (JEREMY HOWARD), the always-grumpy Gurkin (DANNY STRONG), the dopey George (ARNIE PANTOJA), bashful Jeremy (ADAM HENDERSHOTT) who always talks through his hand puppet, and the perpetually sleepy foreign exchange student Embele (DONT BONNER). As they try to help her look and act more like a girl -- in terms of winning over Tyler -- she sets out to help them upon learning that Rachel plans to have the Vortex torn down and replaced with a Greek center. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Fans of Bynes or anyone else in the cast might, with this one seemingly most appealing to the tween set. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For some language, sexual humor and partying. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: AMANDA BYNES plays a self-acknowledged tomboy who goes off to her mom's alma mater with plans on joining her sorority, but runs afoul of Rachel. Banished from the sorority house, she ends up housing with the seven nerds in the Vortex (where she fits in). While trying to win over Tyler (in an awkward, embarrassed way), she sets out to save the Vortex and defeat Rachel. SARA PAXTON plays the self-proclaimed, vain, and condescending queen of the sorority who takes an immediate dislike to Sydney, especially after she sees that Tyler likes the new student. She then does everything in her power to undermine Sydney. MATT LONG plays the nice frat boy who takes a liking to Sydney. JEREMY HOWARD plays the brainiac of the bunch who's always doing science experiments. JACK CARPENTER plays the hypochondriac, the first of the Vortex residents who Sydney meets, and he remains friends with her despite her ditching him during a sorority pledge event (she acted on orders from Rachel). SAMM LEVINE plays the self-proclaimed but less than successful ladies man in the Vortex. DANNY STRONG plays the always-grumpy student who lives there, while ARNIE PANTOJA plays the dopey one. ADAM HENDERSHOTT plays a bashful student who communicates through his hand puppet as a means of coping with social and personal stress. DONT BONNER plays the perpetually sleepy foreign exchange student. CRYSTAL HUNT plays Sydney's spunky roommate who also pledges the sorority and thus must also put up with Rachel's command. LIBBY MINTZ and LAUREEN LEECH play Rachel's sorority sister minions who do her dirty work for her. JOHN SCHNEIDER plays Sydney's plumber dad who wants the best for her. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 slang term for sex and another possible one for female genitals, while milder expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue and other material is present, as are varying amounts of cleavage (sometimes quite a lot) and male nudity that's just off-screen. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (all played for comedy), and several instances of slapstick style material and such is also present. College students (some presumably still underage) drink (some in a drinking stunt, others appear passed out on the ground outside a sorority house). Some of that behavior may be enticing to imitate, while some crude humor also occurs. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Tyler states he has to go and pick up the keg for later. We see passed out college girls on the lawn and in shrubs after an unseen party the night before (with talk of them out-partying others sororities - and the thought that at least some of them here and in other scenes are still underage). During a nerd argument, there's talk of drunken pirates. To get students over to their campaign tent, Sydney yells out "free drinks!" and everyone comes running. We don't see any liquor then, but later see some people carrying what look like bottles of beer. Students drink at a frat party, including one who drinks from a keg nozzle while held upside down on top of it. Terrance then does the same, but breaks the record for doing so (with others cheering him on). Some Hasidic Jews raise a ceremonial toast of some sort. BLOOD/GORE Lenny states that some of the nerds wet the bed, and some even wet the hallway. We see the female pledges cleaning the guys' bathroom, and when one walks in to use the urinal, the others flee in terror, while Sydney just turns away and smiles. Sydney tells Tyler she spends a lot of time in bathrooms, but then says it's not like that, but she then says she does spend time there, depending on what she ate. Lenny sneezes and then, moments later, wipes his hand on Tyler's shirt. One sister lies to Rachel to try to keep her from coming into a room (and seeing that Sydney has surpassed Rachel on a popularity list) and says, "You can't come in here, I just farted." DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The following is all played for exaggerated comedy. We see a flashback to young Sydney sitting with her adult male construction friend who does a catcall to a shapely woman who passes by in tight attire. Not missing a beat, Sydney then does the same to a young boy passing by. Rachel has a conceited and condescending attitude toward others (especially Sydney), and her minions have them as well for following her orders. Rachel drives through the marching band as they practice. Rachel refers to those who live in the Vortex as "freaks" and plans to tear down their college home in favor of a Greek building. A football player ogles various college women with binoculars (and we see close-ups of their shapely bodies in tight-fitting attire). A football player tries to hit one of the nerds with a thrown football, but Sydney catches it first. She then throws it back hard enough to send that guy, who catches it, to the ground. When asked what to do regarding the incoming pledges, Rachel's sorority underlings say in unison, "Avoid fat losers." Rachel relegates one sister to kitchen duty for gaining weight. She later says all in the sorority are a size 2, except for that one girl. Even later, when that girl says she lost five pounds, Rachel looks at her clothed butt when she walks away (that we see in close-up) and says, "I think your ass found it." Seeing Sydney with a hearty appetite for pie, one sister says, "It's a sorority, not a ho-rority." Rachel tells Sydney she must ditch Lenny (after she desperately picks him up for a pledge related date), and so Sydney tells him to meet her in bathroom. But when she doesn't show and he then comes out, everyone is gone, and he's stuck with the bill for all of the others. Rachel serves as the fashion and beauty police for her sorority underlings, including belittling others about their clothes and looks, etc. While accepting pledges into the sorority, Rachel makes a public scene to out Sydney as a liar (about her dad's work, etc.), all to humiliate her. That includes wanting back the dress she earlier loaned Sydney, so the latter strips that off and walks out in just her tight slip. Mad at something else, Rachel pushes a guy off a dock and into the water. Dinky likes Lenny, but when Rachel sees that, she makes her leave. Various sisters fake coming on to the nerds at a frat party, telling them to join them in an outdoor hot tub, but they do this only to humiliate them in public by having them strip down to use the hot tub naked (we don't see any explicit nudity). We learn that Terrance already graduated but has stayed in school (he's kicked out upon that revelation). Rachel pays a guy (in snack food) to hack into Sydney's laptop and delete her files. FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS We see a flashback to some of the nerds sparring with swords during some fantasy game. We see machine gun fire in a first person shooter video game. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Wouldn't know her Gucci from her poochie," "Your lady tubes," "Ho" (whore), "That thing has touched boobs," "Hey, sexy," "I like it when you get rough," "Hook up," "Raise a little hell now and then," "Freaks," "Official dork," "Fat losers," "Welcome to hell, shanks," "It's a sorority, not a ho-rority," "Get your lazy ass up," "You don't know what the hell you're talking about," "Pirates get booty," "You're so bad," "You dope," "Douche-baggery," "The bathroom babe," "I'm gonna go work the Spanky magic," "Shut up," "Are you kidding me?" "I think your ass found it," "Loser," "Crap-hole," "Bitch," "Dude's a freak," "Have you lost your mind?" "You look like Barbara Walters," "I will kick your ass," "Babes," "What the hell /are you doing here?" "Screwing with our plans," "It was a hell of a date," "You freaks," "Dorks," "Wussies," "Eat lead, sucker," "Damn, he just kicked your ass," "Get the hell out of here," "Pissed," "Screwed us over," "You really are a dork," "It's just you and your dorks," "I'm a dork" and "You're such a bitch." We see a flashback to young Sydney sitting with her adult male construction friend who does a catcall to a shapely woman who passes by in tight attire. Not missing a beat, Sydney then does the same to a young boy passing by. Dinky wears a midriff revealing top. A football player ogles various college women with binoculars (and we see close-ups of their shapely bodies in tight-fitting attire). The sorority girls do a chant about she's hot and cool, but not a "ho" (whore), and then do a rhyming bit with "class," but end that by slapping their clothed butts instead of saying the word for that. Rachel and her sisters do some hazing of the pledges, including waking them up at night with noisemakers and such. Lenny sneezes and then, moments later, wipes his hand on Tyler's shirt. Students drink at a frat party, including one who drinks from a keg nozzle while held upside down on top of it. Terrance then does the same, but breaks the record for doing so (with others cheering him on). While protesting and carrying signs, one of the nerds passes by Rachel and says, "Hi ho." We see a miscellaneous guy with a Mohawk haircut, while others sport various tattoos. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 slang term for sex ("hook up"), 1 possibly as slang for female genitals ("poochie"), 1 for breasts ("boobs"), 7 hells, 4 asses, 3 damns, 1 crap and 4 uses of "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY Some viewers may not see the following as adult enough to warrant the heavy rating, while others might. We see a flashback to young Sydney sitting with her adult male construction friend who does a catcall to a shapely woman who passes by in tight attire. Not missing a beat, Sydney then does the same to a young boy passing by. We see a flashback to young Sydney's widowed dad trying to give her the facts of life talk, with him discussing the fallopian tubes by using a bunch of plumbing parts assembled to resemble them. He refers to them as "Your lady tubes," and awkwardly tells her that every month she lays an egg, but that only leaves her confused. Rachel is pleased to be at the top of an online website's "Hot or Not" list. Sydney shows varying amounts of cleavage throughout the film in various outfits, Rachel does some of the same, as do various college girls (some of them quite a bit). A football player ogles various college women with binoculars (and we see close-ups of their shapely bodies in tight-fitting attire). The sorority girls do a chant about she's hot and cool, but not a "ho" (whore), and then do a rhyming bit with "class," but end that by slapping their clothed butts instead of saying the word for that. Rachel relegates one sister to kitchen duty for gaining weight. She later says all in the sorority are a size 2, except for that one girl. Even later, when that girl says she lost five pounds, Rachel looks at her clothed butt when she walks away (that we see in close-up) and says, "I think your ass found it." Rachel says that one girl isn't Kappa material and wouldn't know her "Gucci from her poochie" (it isn't clear if that's referring to slang for female genitals or something else). Rachel tells Sydney she must ditch Lenny (after she desperately picks him up for a pledge related date), and so Sydney tells him to meet her in bathroom. He then has an excited look on his face, but nothing happens, as she never shows. We see the female pledges (some in very small shorts, all sweaty, including some visible cleavage) cleaning the guys' bathroom, and when one walks in to use the urinal, the others flee in terror, while Sydney just turns away and smiles. Sydney then meets Tyler who's shirtless in the hallway when he's headed for the bathroom. During a nerd argument, it's said that pirates get booty (said innocently, but film turns that into innuendo). Sydney apologizes to Lenny "for what I did to you in the bathroom" (ditching him there as part of her sorority pledging), prompting Spanky to want to know what she did (thinking it was sexual in nature). While accepting pledges into the sorority, Rachel makes a public scene to out Sydney as a liar (about her dad's work, etc.), all to humiliate her. That includes wanting back the dress she earlier loaned Sydney, so the latter strips that off and walks out in just her tight slip. Seeing Sydney outside their place, Spanky refers to her as the "bathroom babe" and says he's "gonna go work the Spanky magic." When she's later introduced to Jeremy and his puppet, she says the later is fine "as long as he doesn't try to hump my bunny slippers." Some of the nerds stand in awe of Sydney's sports bra hanging in front of them, with one saying, "That thing has touched boobs." One then comments about it being designed to maintain mammary elasticity (or something along those lines). We see Rachel and two other sisters in cleavage-revealing bikinis while sunbathing (we also see a shirtless guy who isn't with them). Terrance spots Sydney shaving her legs (and thus exposing a lot of skin). That unsettles and distracts Terrance who then turns and runs into a doorframe. Working out in the school gym, Spanky rolls over on a medicine ball to take a closer look at a young woman who's working out on some exercise equipment where she repeatedly spreads her legs to move the weights aside (she's in small shorts, but nothing is seen). Tyler finds Rachel waiting for him in his room and she says, "Hey, sexy." When Tyler asks the nerds what they think he and the frat guys do all day, one nerd says, "Just have sex with girls all of the time." Various sisters fake coming on to the nerds at a frat party, telling them to join them in an outdoor hot tub. When one nerd says they don't have their swim trunks, one sister says they don't either. We then see a chest and up view of the nerds walking outside at night, apparently nude. One of the girls then opens the shades to reveal those guys standing outside the window, sans clothes. We don't see anything as foreground objects block any explicit views, but Rachel jokes that it must be cold out there, and Sydney tells one of the guys to put on some clothes. Angry about that, Tyler grabs Rachel by the arm, prompting her to say, "I like it when you get rough." We see some hula type dancers in grass skirts and bikini type tops, shaking their hips and such. A young woman meets one of the nerds, an Internet publisher, and tells him that she swore if she ever met that creator, "I'd hook up with him." We see a miscellaneous guy in just a towel. During group confession, one nerd says that he's never had sex with a girl before, but really wants to. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Sydney's mom died when the girl was 9. We learn that Sydney is going to her mom's college, and she then reads a letter penned by her now dead mom from long ago (wishing her luck, etc.). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The film's use of "Snow White" as the basis for the plot. Accepting others for who and what they are. Sororities and fraternities, and the pledging and hazing that often occur with them in college settings. Tomboys. Sydney rambles when nervous, especially around Tyler. Sydney approaches various college groups for support of her candidacy, including the Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender one (we see what looks like a guy in drag starting to do a solo theater performance, and later see him/her toward the end of the film). VIOLENCE A football player tries to hit one of the nerds with a thrown football, but Sydney catches it first. She then throws it back hard enough to send that guy, who catches it, to the ground. An older woman hits Lenny with her handbag repeatedly after catching him in the ladies room (waiting for Sydney where she told him). Terrance is shocked by a reversed rat experiment (he's okay and it's played for laughs). Mad at something else, Rachel pushes a guy off a dock and into the water. Some plaster or other ceiling material falls on George's head (he's okay). Terrance spots Sydney shaving her legs (and thus exposing a lot of skin). That unsettles and distracts Terrance who then turns and runs into a doorframe. When one nerd tries to lift a light barbell, the weights fall off either end, hitting others nerds on the feet on either side of him. One nerd throws a Frisbee that accidentally hits Rachel on the back of the head. When a balcony railing breaks, Spanky falls off it and lands in the shrubbery below, painfully saying his spleen broke his fall. To get by her, Rachel pushes one sister back to a wall. One nerd tries to scale an ROTC training wall, but instead runs into it hard. A person then helps him over, but does so too strongly and thus sends him flying over the wall. Reviewed August 29, 2007 / Posted September 21, 2007

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