Amanda Bynes does a fantastic job playing a girl who’s a boy and sometimes a girl – sort of a Dustin Hoffman teenage version of the classic “Tootsie”. Viola (Bynes) is a soccer-girl-tom-boy better than her female contenders. When she wants to desperately join the boys’ team, their coach tells her that it’s a “scientific fact – boys are stronger and faster than girls.” Wanting to prove him wrong, she doubles as her twin brother Sebastian, in order to try out on his prep school’s team. All goes according to plan until (like “Tootsie”) her roommate falls for “Viola,” Byne’s fall for him, and the girl he wants, falls for the missing brother “Sebastian” aka Byne’s in drag. Translation: Byne’s has to do a lot of quick wardrobe changes to be both a boy/girl at once. A cute, safe movie for tweenies and even teens that shows girls should be taken seriously. Its only downside is its portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship, insisting that today’s mom would not be supportive of an athletic daughter, only a debutante in ruffles. Three tiaras
