The film opens with a song called "Love Stinks", that should be retitled "This Film Stinks", because it does, from director Robert Iscove (She's All That). Basically Ryan Walker and Jennifer Burrows met each other as youngsters on a plane, and seven years, they encounter each other again in UC Berkeley high school. Jennifer (Meet Joe Black's Claire Forlani) is quick, witty, ironic, literary and independent, and Ryan (I Know What You Did Last Summer's Freddie Prinze Jr.) is deliberate, literal, serious and studying structural engineering. They become best friends, consoling each other over break-ups, and Ryan shares his plans, Ryan's roommate Hunter/Steve (American Pie's Jason Biggs) is surprised they aren't getting together. Jennifer is going to Italy after graduation, and surprisingly they spend a night together, after which she skitters away saying they should just be friends, and he is withdrawing also. In the end though, very predictable, Ryan and Jennifer end up on the Italy plane together, and they do accept they love each other, while Hunter (in a small subplot) finds his perfect girl with Jennifer's friend Amy (Final Destination's Amanda Detmer). Also starring The Blair Witch Project's Heather Donahue as Megan and American Pie's Alyson Hannigan as Betty. Prinze Jr. is too good looking to be a nerd with glasses, Forlani is the wrong person for the character, and Biggs with his weird coloured hair is just too much like Jim with a tiny bit of Stifler added, and what was with that extra scene in the credits where he farts with some models?! Hardly funny and too predictable, it just doesn't have the same spark as something like American Pie. Pretty poor!
Review of Boys and Girls
