In Sydney White, Amanda Bynes plays the title character, an awkward tomboy in a modern retelling of the classic tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Sound familiar? If it does, then you probably remember Bynes’ last leading effort, She’s the Man, in which she played – you guessed it – an awkward tomboy in a modern retelling of another classic tale.
Amanda, come on now – it’s time to branch out.
Now 21, the former Nickelodeon star’s latest turn on the big screen feels all too much like her previous work. Sydney White not only has Bynes essentially playing the same character she has in previous films, but also includes the same predictable plot, stereotypical characters and dull slapstick comedy. The lack of originality ultimately drags the film down, and the result is another bland tween comedy on Bynes’ resume.
While She’s the Man was a modern twist on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Sydney White is the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs set against the fictional Southern Atlantic University’s Greek community. Sydney (Bynes) was determinedly raised by a single father (John Schneider, Smallville) after her mother died nine years ago. Embarking on her freshman year at SAU, Sydney opens a letter her mom wrote prior to her death. In what is a surprisingly touching moment, the letter saved for Sydney to read on her first day at college describes the great times her mother had as a student at SAU and as a sorority sister in Kappa Phi Nu.
Wanting to follow in her mother’s footsteps, Sydney pledges to become a Kappa. She is disappointed, though, to see that over time the sorority has turned into a collection of superficial, elitist snobs under the leadership of its president, Rachel Witchburn (Sara Paxton, Aquamarine). In an attempt to follow in her mother’s footsteps, Sydney decides to pledge anyway. However, when Rachel sees Sydney flirting with her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Prince (Matt Long, Ghost Rider), she decides Sydney will never be a Kappa.
Embarrassed and isolated, Sydney finds refuge at the Vortex, a run-down campus house known as a haven for outsiders. Each of its seven residents has rather absurd quirks, ranging from only speaking through a hand puppet to apparently being mentally trapped at childhood. Of these, only Danny Strong (Gilmore Girls) as the surly but likable Gurkin actually feels like he could resemble a real person.
In fact, director Joe Nussbaum (American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile) keeps the shallow characters coming early and often. The sorority sisters and frat brothers, as well as the “seven dorks” who reside at the Vortex, are all little more than one-dimensional caricatures. The cast doesn’t help with this problem either, as Crystal Hunt (Guiding Light) and Jack Carpenter (Lipshitz Saves the World) in particular turn in unnecessarily over-the-top performances as two of Sydney’s friends.
Realizing nearly all of SAU has been taken over by the domineering Greek community, Sydney convinces her outsider friends to challenge Rachel and the Greeks’ control over the student government by running for office. As the campaign grows more intense and Sydney finds herself growing even closer to Tyler (in a terribly under-developed subplot), tensions between her and Rachel drive the story toward its expected climax.
Most of the film’s problems can probably be attributed to Chad Creasey’s (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) screenplay. Although the film is set at a college, most of the humor would hardly crack a smile from anyone out of junior high. Bynes does her best to use her charisma and charm to give the film life, but her over-acting only compounds the problems caused by the script’s countless corny jokes and clichéd dialogue.
The film does makes it a point to constantly remind the audience of its roots with references to Snow White in both clever (a poisoned Apple computer virus is sent to Sydney) and dull (last names like Witchburn and Prince could have been a little more subtle to say the least) ways. The magic of Snow White, however, was its imagination and creativity, and those are key elements Sydney White is sorely lacking.
tfloyd1@umd.edu
