Whatever It Takes (2000 film)


Whatever It Takes is a 2000 American teen comedy film directed by David Raynr and starring Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, and James Franco. It was first released in the United States on March 31, 2000.

Plot

Ryan is a bit of a geek with eyes for the school sex bomb, Ashley, which induces cringing in his neighbor and best friend, Maggie, a cute, intellectual girl. But popular jock Chris has his eye on Maggie, and he offers to help Ryan win Ashley if Ryan will help Chris with Maggie. So begins a two-headed variation on Cyrano de Bergerac; Ryan composes soulful e-mails for Chris, and Chris advises Ryan to treat Ashley like dirt, which seems to be the only way to get her attention.
At first, neither finds it easy to change their ways; Chris comes on too strong, and Ryan is too nervous to be a jerk. But as they start to succeed, Ryan begins to see Maggie in a new light and wonders if he's pursuing the right girl. He realizes Ashley is not meant for him, and tries to convince Maggie about Chris's affection for her. Maggie is reluctant to take him "back" at first, but then realizes Ryan has a change of heart.

Cast

Whatever It Takes was first released on DVD in North America in August 2000. It was released in Australia later that year, then released in the UK in 2001.

Reception

The movie has an approval rating of 16% based on 67 reviews. The critical consensus reads, "Whatever It Takes is another run-of-the-mill teeny-bopper romance flick. Cliche jokes and a tired plot capture few laughs".
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said the film had "ersatz versions of stars who, in this case, are fairly vanilla to begin with".