He’s All That, starring Addison Rae and Tanner Buchanan, recently came out this August, 2021 as a Netflix original. This movie is a modernized remake of She’s All That which came out in January, 1999, starring Rachel Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr. 

She’s All That is a film based on a high school jock, Zack Siler, who makes a bet with his friends making the most unattractive girl at their school into the new prom queen. This all starts after the split with his girlfriend, Taylor, his popularity begins to take a down spiral, once everybody knew the news spread fast, and it was a great dent to his reputation. Then that’s where the bet comes in, the target was Laney, a clumsy art girl who had no interest in any jocks. Although a very typical 90’s rom-com it is always a hit, many wonder if He’s All That will be a hit too.

The movie starts with a popular influencer, Padgett, who gets cheated on by her rapper boyfriend, Jordan, was all caught on video, leading to a great decline in her career and social life. As she loses popularity after the big video, she makes a bet with her friends. Making the most unattractive man prom king, which was Cameron, an introverted photographer, who loves horses and hates any idea of the modern world. 

These two films are extremely similar, both are cheesy rom-coms which everyone usually loves. It was very exciting to hear He’s All That was coming out this year, considering She’s All That is a classic, but giving famous TikTokers acting careers can be controversial. So, when this movie came out in August, many were unhappy or even disgusted to hear about how they remade this classic, while some were more intrigued or curious to see how they decided to remake it. 

While both are good movies on their own, She’s All That is a much better version. He’s All That is too modernized, it all seems extremely fake. The acting was cheesy and there was no true emotion to it. It didn’t feel like you were watching a real movie, it felt more like a video or a show. They could’ve portrayed the real storyline and emotions better. Although, it was cool how they brought back the actor of Laney Boggs in She’s All That to play the mom of Padgett in He’s All That. Also, bringing back the actor of Brock Hudson to play the principal or a teacher at the prom. That was probably my favorite part of the movie was just seeing these actors come back to make an appearance.

Apart from that, She’s All That portrays true emotion. Sure it is still cheesy and romantic, but it still has that feel to it and feels more true to life. Without the phones and the social media, it all feels so much more real, like effort was actually put into it. Love was actually shown, true issues were shown, but all still related to the storyline and the high school experience. He’s All That did not have that true high school experience, the characters acted much older than their age. It all depends on what you prefer, as they are very different films even though they have basically the same storyline.

Many would argue that She’s All That is better, while others will argue He’s All That is better. Both are great films in their own ways, and many love them both. Remakes of classics will always be a great way to keep people talking and interested, who knows which remake may come next!

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