There is something to be said about "I Love You, Beth Cooper," and that within in its opening moments the movie really has you in its grasp and it doesn't let go. The movie surprises us during these opening moments with a high school graduation speech by nerdy valedictorian Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust), who announces in his speech that He Loves Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere, of TV's "Heroes"). Later that night, she and two friends crash a makeshift party at Denis's house, and she proceeds to show him the night of his life.
Denis gets beaten to a pulp numerous times throughout the night by Beth's crazy, coked-up military ex-boyfriend Kevin (Shawn Roberts), has a few beers with his would-be girlfriend Beth and her girls, and his friend Rich (Jack T. Carpenter, who may or not be gay), makes nice with his high school tormentor, crashes a rich b****'s party, breaks into their high school after-hours, and comes to the realization that Beth is a lot more than just his dream girl.
"I Love You, Beth Cooper" is a great way to lose yourself in some raunchy, "PG-13"-rated teen comedy for 102 minutes. I guess one of the main reasons I liked the film so much was because I graduated from high school in 2004 and have very few decent memories of my experiences; thus, that is why I took such a special liking to Paul Rust's Denis Cooverman character. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why Larry Doyle wrote his novel of the same name, from which this film is obviously based and why he wrote the screenplay, from which Chris Columbus directs.
Doyle's script hurdles from one comically absurd set-up to another. I was a high school nerd/loner, who also happened to have his own "Beth Cooper" for four years during that time. No, I wasn't a high school valedictorian and no, I didn't profess my love for her in front of the whole school and almost ruin my graduation proceedings. And no, she didn't show up at my house one night and proceed to show me the night of my life. Maybe that stuff works in the movies, but not in real life. To this day, however, we remain good friends. For the time being, that's really all I need.
"I Love You, Beth Cooper" does have a number of amusing set-pieces, many of which I just described. The irony of Cooverman's speech is that not only does he call out numerous people from his high school class for their flaws and insecurities, but the set-pieces over the course of the film allow him to confront these people head-on, and the results are often quite funny and at the right time, touching. A primary example of this would be when Denis reconciles with his bully, and said bully later saves the day when Denis is attacked by Kevin and his two drones.
Paul Rust is good as the typical high school nerd who loves the PPG (pretty popular girl - trademark). He has the mannerisms, etc. that make you believe that he's a nerd. He also just looks like a high school nerd who didn't have many good moments during his four years in high school. The real surprise is Hayden Panettiere as Beth Cooper. Panettiere, who played one of my favorite characters from "Heroes," Claire Bennet, is good at playing a hot high school dream girl who while she may appear outwardly perfect in every conceivable way, does show some vulnerability and sensitivity, which makes her character much more likable and believable. Such emotional sensitivity does come as quite a shock to Cooverman, who slowly comes to realize over the course of the night that Beth Cooper is indeed much more than she appears to be. She is Beth Cooper; she's not perfect, but she's close enough to perfection for Denis Cooverman.
"I Love You, Beth Cooper" is a good little high school film, no more, no less. Anyone looking for anything deeper will be sorely disappointed.
7/10
Denis gets beaten to a pulp numerous times throughout the night by Beth's crazy, coked-up military ex-boyfriend Kevin (Shawn Roberts), has a few beers with his would-be girlfriend Beth and her girls, and his friend Rich (Jack T. Carpenter, who may or not be gay), makes nice with his high school tormentor, crashes a rich b****'s party, breaks into their high school after-hours, and comes to the realization that Beth is a lot more than just his dream girl.
"I Love You, Beth Cooper" is a great way to lose yourself in some raunchy, "PG-13"-rated teen comedy for 102 minutes. I guess one of the main reasons I liked the film so much was because I graduated from high school in 2004 and have very few decent memories of my experiences; thus, that is why I took such a special liking to Paul Rust's Denis Cooverman character. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why Larry Doyle wrote his novel of the same name, from which this film is obviously based and why he wrote the screenplay, from which Chris Columbus directs.
Doyle's script hurdles from one comically absurd set-up to another. I was a high school nerd/loner, who also happened to have his own "Beth Cooper" for four years during that time. No, I wasn't a high school valedictorian and no, I didn't profess my love for her in front of the whole school and almost ruin my graduation proceedings. And no, she didn't show up at my house one night and proceed to show me the night of my life. Maybe that stuff works in the movies, but not in real life. To this day, however, we remain good friends. For the time being, that's really all I need.
"I Love You, Beth Cooper" does have a number of amusing set-pieces, many of which I just described. The irony of Cooverman's speech is that not only does he call out numerous people from his high school class for their flaws and insecurities, but the set-pieces over the course of the film allow him to confront these people head-on, and the results are often quite funny and at the right time, touching. A primary example of this would be when Denis reconciles with his bully, and said bully later saves the day when Denis is attacked by Kevin and his two drones.
Paul Rust is good as the typical high school nerd who loves the PPG (pretty popular girl - trademark). He has the mannerisms, etc. that make you believe that he's a nerd. He also just looks like a high school nerd who didn't have many good moments during his four years in high school. The real surprise is Hayden Panettiere as Beth Cooper. Panettiere, who played one of my favorite characters from "Heroes," Claire Bennet, is good at playing a hot high school dream girl who while she may appear outwardly perfect in every conceivable way, does show some vulnerability and sensitivity, which makes her character much more likable and believable. Such emotional sensitivity does come as quite a shock to Cooverman, who slowly comes to realize over the course of the night that Beth Cooper is indeed much more than she appears to be. She is Beth Cooper; she's not perfect, but she's close enough to perfection for Denis Cooverman.
"I Love You, Beth Cooper" is a good little high school film, no more, no less. Anyone looking for anything deeper will be sorely disappointed.
7/10