Fridae

“Save the cheerleader, save the world.” So goes the famous line in TV’s hit series Heroes. But actress Hayden Panettiere, who plays the cheerleader in Heroes and I Love You Beth Cooper, won’t be able to do much to save her latest movie from sinking into ignominy. 

Cheesy and predictable, I Love You Beth Cooper brings absolutely nothing new or even likeable to teen flick genre. At its worst, it borrows raunchy humour from the American Pie formula book but ends up being both unfunny and annoying. 

Paul Rust plays a dork who uses his valedictorian speech at his graduation ceremony to tell cheerleader Hayden how much he fancies her.  Hayden is embarrassed but intrigued, and later accepts his invitation to party at his house. Of course, Hayden’s boyfriend (Shawn Roberts) doesn’t like the idea one bit, and arrives at the party to beat Paul up.

Paul, Hayden and their friends flee into the night – a night that will lead Hayden to realize Paul isn’t such a geek after all…

Gee, what a plot. The worst thing about this movie is that it’s directed by Chris Columbus, who did such a fine job with his previous comedies such as Mrs Doubtfire and Home Alone, as well as the first two Harry Potter films. I Love You, Beth Cooper is one of his weakest works, as he displays neither care nor flair in directing a standard teen flick like this.