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It's a Boy Girl Thing
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = It's a Boy Girl Thing
| image = BOYGIRLTHING POSTER.jpg
| caption =
| director = Nick Hurran
| producer = Steve Hamilton Shaw
David Furnish
Martin F. Katz
| writer = Geoff Deane
| starring =
| music = Christian Henson
| cinematography = Steve Danyluk
| editing = John Richards
| studio = Icon Entertainment International
Rocket Pictures
Scion Films
Alliance Atlantis
Propspero Pictures
| distributor = Icon Entertainment International
| released =
| runtime = 95 minutes
| country = United States
Canada
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = 7,385,434
}}
'It's a Boy Girl Thing' is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Nick Hurran and written by Geoff Deane, starring Kevin Zegers and Samaire Armstrong and set in the United States but produced in the United Kingdom. The producers of the film are David Furnish, Steve Hamilton Shaw of Rocket Pictures and Martin F. Katz of Prospero Pictures. Elton John serves as one of the executive producers.
'It's a Boy Girl Thing' was produced by Elton John's motion picture company Rocket Pictures and independently distributed by Mel Gibson's Icon Productions and was released on 26 December 2006 in the United Kingdom and has since then been released in some countries in cinemas, in others directly to DVD, and in others as a TV film. Most of the school scenes were shot at Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario.
Plot
Woody Deane (Kevin Zegers) and Nell Bedworth (Samaire Armstrong) are neighbors and former childhood friends who go to the same high school, but are otherwise completely different. Woody is a popular varsity football player while Nell is a girl who loves literature but lacks social skills. They loathe each other and are constantly in dispute. One day their class goes on a school trip to a museum and they are forced to work together on an assignment. They quickly begin arguing in front of a statue of the ancient Aztec god Tezcatlipoca. As they argue, the statue casts a spell upon themcausing them to wake up in each other's bodies the next morning. When they arrive at school, they immediately blame each other for the body swap, but agree to pretend to be the other person until they can find a way to switch back. At first, they seem to succeed, but quickly return to arguing when they each feel the other is misrepresenting them in the opposite body, such as Woody (in Nell's body) answering a question oddly and surprising a teacher.
The following day, Nell (in Woody's body) arrives at school wearing "Chinos and an Oxford cotton button-down" making Woody's appearance look "dorky" which frustrates Woody, and he is even more frustrated after he hears about how Nell (in Woody's body) failed Woody's football practice the previous day. As payback, Woody (in Nell's body) dresses in inappropriate and provocative clothing the following day. After school, Nell, in retaliation, breaks up with Breanna (Brooke D'Orsay), Woody's girlfriend, much to the disappointment of Woody. The humiliation competition continues when Woody (in Nell's body) drives off with a biker boy, Nicky (Brandon Carrera), and makes Nell think she is going to lose her virginity. However, Woody decides it is "so gay" and leaves Nicky just as he is removing his clothing.
The following day, rumors are being spread around school by Nicky about his night with Nell. When Nell finds out, she gets very upset. When Woody finds Nell, he admits that he didn't actually lose Nell's virginity and that everyone was simply spreading Nicky's lies. However, Nell is still let down and so Woody decides to confront Nicky. It turns out that Woody (in Nell's body) can't fight him, and Nell (in Woody's body) runs up and punches him in the face. After this, Nell and Woody reach a truce and realize the statue of Tezcatlipoca at the museum had something to do with their body swap. They head down to the museum and even after confronting the statue, they fail to return to their original bodies. They realize they are going to have to help each other in two important upcoming events. Nell must learn how to play football for Woody's Homecoming game and Woody must learn about poetry and literature for Nell's Yale interview. Later that night Nell (in Woody's body) is getting drunk at a party while Woody (in Nell's body) is stuck at a slumber party listening to all the gossip about himself, and is surrounded by nail polish, pajamas, slippers, and gets a bikini wax.
After spending so much time together, Nell and Woody become very fond of each other and start to understand each other better. The night before the interview and the game, they agree to go to the Homecoming Dance together, as "not a date." The day of the interview and match, Woody goes to Yale for the interview and at first messes things up and is asked to leave, but he starts to talk about poetry in rap, which impresses and astonishes the interviewer. After that, he goes to the football game and watches Nell run in the winning touchdown in the closing seconds. A college recruiter witnesses his good performance and wants to talk to him later. After the game, they congratulate each other for their successes. Shortly after this, the spell lifts and they return to their original bodies. The scene finishes with Woody being kissed by Breanna and Nell going home very upset about it.
The following day, Woody tries to talk to Nell, but is stopped by her mother, who sees Woody's family as uneducated. Nell receives an acceptance letter from Yale, meaning that her interview (done by Woody in her body) was successful; however, she is still upset with Woody and decides not to go to the Homecoming Dance. Meanwhile, Nell's father has a talk with her on the porch about Woody, during which she confesses she truly likes him, and her father surprises her with a dress and shoes for the dance. Woody and Breanna are selected as the Homecoming King and Queen. As the Homecoming King and Queen prepare to dance, an upset Woody sees Nell and both confess their love for each other. They leave the school together and share a kiss in front of their houses. The following day, Nell tells her mother that she is taking a year's sabbatical before attending Yale, and hops into Woody's car as they drive off together.
Cast
Soundtrack
The movie's soundtrack features a range of music. Tracks include a cover version of "I Think We're Alone Now" by Girls Aloud, "Let's Get It Started" by The Black Eyed Peas, "Be Strong" by Fefe Dobson, "High" by James Blunt and "Push the Button" and "Red Dress" by the Sugababes, as well as other songs by the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Orson, Marz and many more. (Woody, as Nell, refers to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" as "crappy music!").
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 9 critics.
Empire magazine gave it a score of 3 out of 5.
See also
* Body swap
* 'Dating the Enemy' (1996)
* 'Switch' (1991)
* 'The Swap (2016 film)'
References
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