It's A Boy Girl Thing

''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 filmed and produced in Canada and 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 Western Technical Commercial School in Toronto, Ontario.

Plot

Woody Deane and Nell Bedworth are neighbors and former childhood friends who go to the same high school, but are complete opposites. Woody is a popular varsity football player while Nell loves literature but lacks social skills. They loathe each other and are constantly at odds.

One day, on a school field trip to a museum, 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 them—so they wake in each other's bodies the next morning.

Arriving at school, they immediately blame each other for the body swap, but agree to be the other person until they can switch back. At first, they seem to succeed, but quickly return to arguing when they feel they are misrepresenting each other, such as Woody (in Nell's body) answering a question oddly in class.

The following day, Nell (in Woody's body) arrives at school dressed "dorky" in "Chinos and an Oxford cotton button-down", which frustrates Woody. He is even more frustrated after discovering how badly Nell (in Woody's body) failed at football practice.

As payback, Woody (in Nell's body) dresses provocatively the following day. After school, Nell, in retaliation, breaks up with Breanna, Woody's girlfriend. The humiliation competition continues when Woody (in Nell's body) drives off with biker boy Nicky, making Nell think she is going to lose her virginity. However, Woody cannot do it and leaves Nicky just as he is removing his clothing.

The following day, Nicky spreads rumors around school about his night with Nell. When Nell finds out, she gets very upset and Woody finds her. Admitting he didn't actually lose Nell's virginity, he explains that everyone was simply spreading Nicky's lies. As Nell feels let down, Woody confronts Nicky. Woody (in Nell's body) isn't strong enough, so Nell (in Woody's body) punches him in the face. Afterwards, Nell and Woody reach a truce and realize the Tezcatlipoca statue at the museum caused the body swap.

At the museum they discover that just confronting the statue fails to switch them back. They realize they will 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) gets drunk at a party while Woody (in Nell's body) is stuck at a slumber party. He listens to all the gossip about himself, and is surrounded by nail polish, pajamas, slippers, and gets a bikini wax.

Spending so much time together, Nell and Woody become very fond of 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 initially botches the Yale interview. But when told the interview is over, 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 make the winning touchdown in the last seconds. A college recruiter witnesses his performance and gives him his card.

After the game, Woody and Nell congratulate each other for their successes. Shortly afterwards, the spell lifts and they return to their original bodies. The scene finishes with Woody being kissed by Breanna and an upset Nell going home.

The following day, Woody tries to talk to Nell, but is stopped by her mother who sees his family as uneducated. Nell receives an acceptance letter from Yale, meaning that Woody successfully completed her Yale interview; however, she is still upset with him so decides not to go to the Homecoming Dance.

Meanwhile, Nell's father talks with her 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 they 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 she is taking a year's sabbatical before attending Yale, hops into Woody's car and they drive off together.

Cast

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack features a range of music including 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.

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.

References

External links

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{{Nick Hurran

2006 films
2006 romantic comedy films
2000s teen comedy films
British teen comedy films
Films directed by Nick Hurran
Films about body swapping
Rocket Pictures films
Alliance Atlantis films
Icon Productions films
Canadian teen comedy films
English-language Canadian films
2000s English-language films
2000s British films
2000s Canadian films
English-language romantic comedy films
Films scored by Christian Henson
English-language teen comedy films