Playing Doctor

This teenage rom-com, erm, "coming of age movie" (sounds better) is squarely aimed at a teenage market, and, let's face it, it has about as much depth as a puddle of camel urine in the desert on a blistering day. Drop-dead gorgeous young actors are pretending to be experiencing the same romantic woes of spotty little butterballs like you and me. The boys' chests are shredded and waxed, the chicks are waifish and perfectly groomed. It may not be how I remember my highschool daze, but it's certainly a lot nicer to look at. The story is simplistic (boy is after chick a, then realizes that he's always been in love with chick b) but it's well acted and has tolerable dialogues. I especially liked how the music fuses in perfectly, and how the movie manages to weave in a few modern elements along the way, e. g. one of the characters has to negotiate the sex he sees in internet porn with making love to a real girl.

For girls, boys and parents, there are also a few good pointers of what is expected of girls, boys and parents these days.

Curiously, the movie also uses the age-old plot where girl A who is blonde, wears the brighter make-up and "knows what she wants" is ultimately shunned in favour of girl B who is more homey and demure. It's as if the Hays Code was still in function.