"Get Over It" is a very enjoyable teen romantic comedy, a pleasant surprise given the glut of mediocre teen fare that Hollywood's been spewing out of late. It is a cleverly written, stylishly directed, and believably acted take on a plot line that pretty much writes itself. The story, featuring the necessary romantic entanglements, has Berke (Ben Foster) jilted by his high school love Allison (Melissa Sagemiller), who immediately starts dating the new guy and former boy-band member Striker (Shane West). Obsessively lovelorn, Berke sets out to win Allison's heart back by joining the school musical version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." (What's a teen movie these days without a Shakespeare play to muck around with?) He enlists his best friend's sister Kelly (Kirsten Dunst) to help him land a role, and of course they develop feelings for each other. So the star-crossed lovers battle it out in rehearsal for the bastardised Shakespeare musical under the direction of the high school drama tyrant Dr. Forest-Oates (Martin Short).
Ben Foster is likeable as Berke, carrying off the right combination of sweetness and self-absorption. Kirsten Dunst, an actor who has consistently made better film choices than practically anyone else of her generation, comes through once again with a great turn as the smart and talented Kelly. The performance of the film, though, belongs to Martin Short, who is constantly hilarious as the drama teacher with little talent and severe delusions of artistic grandeur (a familiar sight to anyone who ever took high school drama courses). His presence is really integral to the film's comic success, and he steals the show in every scene he's in.
The writing, although predictable, keeps the humour clever and mostly forgoes cheap laughs for the more bizarre and abstract. Tommy O'Haver's direction is fresh and original, often side-stepping realism for a more fantastical and stylistic approach. There are great several song and dance numbers, including one of the best title sequences I've ever seen and, of course, the final performance of the jazzed up "A Midsummer's Night Dream." There is actually a lot in this movie that is laugh-out-loud funny. "Get Over It" does what it does remarkably well, with the great performances and original interpretation of the same old material to make it stand out high above its lacklustre peers.
Ben Foster is likeable as Berke, carrying off the right combination of sweetness and self-absorption. Kirsten Dunst, an actor who has consistently made better film choices than practically anyone else of her generation, comes through once again with a great turn as the smart and talented Kelly. The performance of the film, though, belongs to Martin Short, who is constantly hilarious as the drama teacher with little talent and severe delusions of artistic grandeur (a familiar sight to anyone who ever took high school drama courses). His presence is really integral to the film's comic success, and he steals the show in every scene he's in.
The writing, although predictable, keeps the humour clever and mostly forgoes cheap laughs for the more bizarre and abstract. Tommy O'Haver's direction is fresh and original, often side-stepping realism for a more fantastical and stylistic approach. There are great several song and dance numbers, including one of the best title sequences I've ever seen and, of course, the final performance of the jazzed up "A Midsummer's Night Dream." There is actually a lot in this movie that is laugh-out-loud funny. "Get Over It" does what it does remarkably well, with the great performances and original interpretation of the same old material to make it stand out high above its lacklustre peers.
