''Picture This'' is a 2008
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film directed by
Stephen Herek
Stephen Robert Herek (born November 10, 1958) is an American film director. Herek was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin.
Career
His career as a film director took off in 1986 with the cult horror classic ' ...
. Starring
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles in television and theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatr ...
and
Kevin Pollak
Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Grump ...
, the film was released on July 13, 2008, on television by
ABC Family
The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...
, branded as an
ABC Family Original Movie, and on July 22, 2008, on DVD. The film is produced by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
and drew 5.3 million viewers.
Plot
The unpopular Mandy Gilbert lives with her strict father Tom and has only two friends, Alexa and Cayenne. She is bullied and mocked by the popular girls at her high school, particularly Lisa Cross. Lisa happens to be the girlfriend of Mandy's dreamboy love, swim team captain Drew Patterson. Mandy is about to turn 18 and wants her life to change.
Mandy decides to try out for the swim team, but loses her glasses at the pool and falls in the water unconscious. When she awakens, she learns that Drew gave her
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
and they talk to each other. Lisa thinks Mandy is a threat and tries to humiliate her by taking Drew to the pet shop where Mandy works. Instead, Drew does not care that Mandy works there and invites her to go out with him the next day.
Mandy turns 18 and her father surprises her by replacing her old glasses and phone with an expensive video phone and contact lenses. Her father reveals his intentions to join her when she moves to attend
UCSB
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
next year, but Mandy is too afraid to say anything about it. Later that day, Mandy flirts with Drew at the lake near school against her father's wishes. When Lisa discovers that Mandy is with Drew, she becomes outraged and uses Mandy's phone to film them. Lisa accidentally drops the phone to show Tom, who confronts Mandy. Before going home, Drew asks Mandy to his party on Saturday and Mandy happily accepts. At home, Tom is disappointed in Mandy's actions and bars her from going out or using electronics.
Mandy tells Alexa and Cayenne she wants to tell her father the truth about her whereabouts. When she does, Tom tells her he trusts her, and asks her if he has been a good father. Mandy tells him he is a great father, and decides not to tell she is actually at a party. Mandy attends the party with Drew. Since Alexa and Cayenne have told Mandy about the Patterson legend, she expects the worst. To her surprise, the "tower" actually turns out to be Drew's photography studio, which is filled with pictures of his family, friends, pets, and one of Mandy that he took at the lake. Seeing this, Mandy is relieved and realizes he just wants to spend time with her.
Drew goes to the bathroom to wash his hands, but does not tell Mandy what he is doing. Mandy thinks he is taking a shower and leaves after she becomes uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Lisa has been drinking all night and Alexa films her vomiting from under a glass table. The clip is shown playing on video screens as the girls exit the party.
Back at home, Tom shows Mandy an updated detachable version of the model home he built for them. However, Mandy sees this as a metaphor for their relationship, and explains that she does not want to feel detachable. Tom says that he trusts her and feels he should let her go.
Afterwards, Mandy and her friends attend their
senior prom
A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school ye ...
. Drew, the prom king, is about to crown Lisa as prom queen, but realizes that he truly loves Mandy. Drew brings Mandy up to the center stage and crowns her as the prom queen, as they share a passionate kiss.
Cast
Production
The film was executive produced by Tisdale's company Blondie Girl Productions and directed by
Stephen Herek
Stephen Robert Herek (born November 10, 1958) is an American film director. Herek was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin.
Career
His career as a film director took off in 1986 with the cult horror classic ' ...
.
[ Tisdale said, "When I read the script for ''Picture This!'', I just fell in love with the lead character Mandy, this goofy, unpopular, girl next door who knows what she wants, but isn't willing to sacrifice who she is to get it... Mandy's real and I think a lot of kids will relate to that. It reminds me a lot of when I was in high school."][
The film was shot on location in ]Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, during the summer months of 2007. Fender instruments, Juicy Couture
Juicy Couture is an American casualwear and dress clothing brand based in Arleta, Los Angeles, California. Best known for their iconic velour tracksuits which became a luxury staple in the 2000s, the company was founded by Pamela Skaist-Levy and ...
, and Swiss Army
The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...
all contributed props to the film. The freeway scene was actually shot in the borough of LaSalle. The mall scene was shot at Fairview Pointe-Claire
Fairview Pointe-Claire (corporately styled as "CF Fairview Pointe-Claire") is the largest shopping mall in the West Island and one of the biggest on the Island of Montreal. It is located in the city of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada, at the interse ...
. The school scenes were recorded at École secondaire du Chêne-Bleu in Pincourt
Pincourt () is a municipality on the island of Île Perrot, off the western tip of the island of Montreal, Quebec. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 14,305. The town shares the island with the three other municipalities of Notre-D ...
.
Music and sound
The soundtrack of ''Picture This'' was never available to download in stores. It features Pat Benatar
Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...
's 1980s single "Shadows of the Night
"Shadows of the Night" is a song composed by D.L. Byron explicitly for the 1980 film ''Times Square (1980 film), Times Square'', which tells the story of two young runaways in New York City. The song did not make it into the movie and Byron's ow ...
", performed by Tisdale. The song " 4ever" by The Veronicas
The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso.
In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled '' The Secret Life of...'', which peak ...
could be heard on the promotional movies spots.
Soundtrack
DVD release
The film was released on DVD in the United States on July 22, 2008.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Picture This (Film)
2000s high school films
2008 romantic comedy films
2000s teen comedy films
2000s teen romance films
ABC Family original films
American high school films
American romantic comedy films
American teen comedy films
American teen romance films
American comedy television films
Films directed by Stephen Herek
Films shot in Montreal
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Romance television films
2008 films
Films about father–daughter relationships
American direct-to-video films
2008 direct-to-video films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer direct-to-video films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films