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Sorority Boys
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Wikipedia article
'Sorority Boys' is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Wallace Wolodarsky, about a group of college boys who dress up as girls in order to prove their innocence for a crime they did not commit. The film starred Barry Watson, Michael Rosenbaum and Harland Williams.
Plot
Three college friends, Dave, Adam, and Dooferwho are head of the Social Committee in a fraternity house called Kappa Omicron Kappa ("KOK" sounds like a slang word for penis)are living the party lifestyle. The KOKs are known for wild parties in which they objectify women. For example, they take photographs of women waking up after having sex with a KOK. They discriminate against the all-girl sorority group Delta Omicron Gamma ("DOG" is a slang word for "unattractive woman"), who regularly protest the actions of the KOKs as rude and sexist. The socially awkward frat president, Spence, accuses Dave, Adam, and Doofer of stealing money from the frat treasury. The three are subsequently run out of the house.
Doofer suggests that they find the real thief by reviewing tapes from Adam's room, which is rigged with a video camera hidden in his closet, which he uses to surreptitiously record his sexual conquests. The safe containing the frat's money is next to his bed. In order to enter the house, the three dress up as women to attend a ladies night party at the frat. The KOK's mistake the three boys for tall, ugly girls and throw them out of the house. They are dumped on the front steps of the DOG house.
The women of the DOG sorority rescue Dave, Adam, and Doofer, thinking they are "plus-size girls" and invite them to stay at their sorority house. For the rest of the movie, the boys switch back and forth between male and female identities in their efforts to enter the frat house and find the tape that will prove they are not thieves. Along the way, they "Adina," "Roberta," and "Daisy" become friends with the DOG sisters, help them win a football game against a rival sorority, and learn just how badly they and the KOKs had been treating women.
Adam learns that a KOK member named Jimmy has moved into his old room. He decides to dress as Adina and seduce Jimmy so he can get the tape. He plans to give Jimmy a roofie pill to make him fall asleep. However, Jimmy, thinking Adam is a woman, slips him a roofie as well. Both pass out. Daisy (a.k.a. Dave) had been supposed to back Adam up, but he instead spends the night with DOG president Leah, with whom he was falling in love. It's later revealed that Jimmy raped Adam/Adina while the latter was still passed out.
The three boys learn that the KOKs are bringing Adam's tapes onto the annual KOK-Tail Cruise to serve as pornographic entertainment for the alumni. They help the DOG sisters win an all-girl football game, knowing that tickets to the cruise are the prize. Leah dances with Daisy and confesses to wanting a relationship. Daisy, knowing the ruse will end soon when the group finds the tape, tells Leah she is moving back to Minnesota. After temporarily showing himself as Dave in order to interview with an alumnus and secure jobs for himself, Adam, and Doofer, Leah walks in while Daisy and Adina are embracing in celebration, and mistakenly thinks that they are in a relationship, and the "Minnesota" excuse was fake. She storms out with Daisy following her.
The alumnus later grabs Leah on the rear and she slaps him across the face. He calls for Leah to be thrown overboard. Daisy reveals her true identity as Dave to stop the men, while Roberta is also exposed as Doofer when he is caught with the tape, and Adina is exposed as Adam. The KOK "High Council" convenes to determine their fate, with Dave lamenting the way they have historically treated the DOGs and states he no longer wants to be a member of KOK. Dave accuses Spence of stealing the money, and Doofer produces the tape to prove it. At first the tape shows Adam having sex with a woman but then the tape cuts to Spence stealing the money. The KOKs throw Spence overboard.
Later, at the KOK house, Adam is named president. Dave meets with Leah and starts their relationship over, truthfully this time, and Doofer begins a relationship with one of the DOG girls.
Cast
Reception
The film was panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 12% based on 65 reviews, with an average score of 3.22/10. The website's consensus reads: "A sloppy fratboy movie, 'Sorority Boys' offers up a parade of gross-out gags and sex jokes, while insulting and ogling women." On Metacritic, the film has a rank of 25 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
The film barely made back its $12 million budget, grossing a worldwide total of $12,517,488.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of 'Entertainment Weekly' gave the film a score of a "B", saying that "There are moments of real funniness in this smarter-than-anticipated goof-fest".
Ed Gonzalez of 'Slant Magazine' gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, explaining his reasoning by the fact that "'Sorority Boys' only confirms the threat posed to the film industry when homo-wary frat boys are allowed to play director".
'The New York Times's A. O. Scott criticized the film's director, saying that "[he] has made a film that even a rabid lowbrow like Homer Simpson (or, when the mood strikes, this critic) would find beneath his dignity".
See also
*Cross-dressing in film and television
References
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