• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • The Wellesley (COVID) 100
      The Wellesley (COVID) 100
    • In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
      In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
    • Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
      Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
      The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
    • Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
      Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
    • No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
      No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Be/longing Centers Connection and Care
      Be/longing Centers Connection and Care
    • No image
      Birds Falling Upwards: Wellesley College Theater’s The Moors is a Must-See
    • No image
      Sometimes you just need to read a YA “Groundhog Day” to feel something
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Health and Wellness
    • February Student Athlete of the Month
      February Student Athlete of the Month
    • Athletics Update
      Athletics Update
    • Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
      Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
      Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
    • Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
      Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
    • Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
      Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Ria Goveas Arts, ReviewsDecember 12, 2021

Hot Take: Addison Rae is a Good Actress; “He’s All That” Has Other Problems

I put off watching “He’s All That” because of all the people who told me that Addison Rae’s acting was subpar, but in-room restriction got to me and I finally gave it a try. I found that the problem with the movie is not with Rae’s acting. If you come into “He’s All That” expecting a charming nod to the original, that is not what you’ll get. The movie follows Padgett Sawyer (Addison Rae), an influencer who bets she can transform Cameron Kweller (Tanner Buchanan), an angsty teen antisocial person at her school, into prom king. It is a gender-swapped remake of “She’s All That.”

The theme and the vibe are completely different from the original movie. The remake involves technology in a relevant way, and its depiction of peer pressure and the need to fit in, while slightly exaggerated, is not too far off from real life. 

Some parts of the movie, like Rae’s character feeling the need to hide where she lives, and how consumed she is by other people’s perception of her speaks to a sad reality in society. The female antagonist of “He’s All That,” Alden Pierce (Madison Pettis), however, is a little too evil for my taste. She is vengeful and deceitful and in my opinion the most unrealistic part of the movie. The male antagonist, Jordan Van Draanen (Peyton Meyer), on the other hand, has no meaningful role except for causing disruptions and conflict, and he seems like an unnecessary plot point that could have been eliminated for a better storyline. 

In the beginning of the movie, Cameron is an entitled, condescending young man who thinks college is a waste of money and considers himself above everyone else. His character is a stereotypical angsty teenager. His backstory does seem to have affected him in a realistic way. We see this in the scene towards the end, where his sister tells him Padgett managed to bring out a part of him that was lost after his mother’s death. Rae acts true to her influencer job, which is also what she does in real life. Padgett’s personality in the movie is slightly different from the typical influencer mean girl, which I think is actually an improvement. 

Every character in “She’s All That” is easy to relate to, but most of the characters in the remake are not. Not everyone on social media is an influencer with a huge following, and Padgett is definitely not your everyday TikTok user. Padgett and Cameron also don’t have the chemistry that Zack and Laney do. Regardless, it is a valiant attempt to make a statement about social media and takes a step away from the underlying sexist themes in the original. 

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleThe Flaws & the Smarts of “Succession” Season 3
Next articleMasterfully Animated with a Magical Storyline: “Maya and the Three”

You may also like

Be/longing Centers Connection and Care

Birds Falling Upwards: Wellesley College Theater’s The Moors is a Must-See

Sometimes you just need to read a YA “Groundhog Day” to feel something

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2022 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top