I Love You, Beth Cooper
(2009)Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire director Chris Columbus spins us a yarn about Denis Cooverman - a superb young gentleman, an over-achieving valedictorian, a patently obvious dork. Denis has played it safe his whole life, and feeling the itch to get more out of life he proclaims his love for the hottest and most popular girl in school – Beth Cooper (Heroes' Hayden Panettiere) – during his graduation speech. Much to his surprise, Beth shows up at his door that very night and decides to show him the best night of his life.
-
Directed by Chris Columbus
Starring Hayden Panettiere, Samm Levine, Alan Ruck, Lauren London, Cynthia Stevenson, Shawn Roberts
Written by Larry Doyle (based on his novel)
Out Now (On-Demand,
DVD or Blu-Ray)
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 1 providers
Flicks Review
BY Flicks Writer
This reviewer only wrote one sentence in his notebook tonight. It said - optimistically - "at least I Love You, Beth Cooper's title demonstrates the correct usage of a comma." Beyond grammatical accuracy though, there's very little to recommend here.
Maybe it was the casting of Alan Ruck that sealed its fate. Once upon a time, in a wild tale about high school partying, Ruck played the buddy of teenage superhero Ferris Bueller. 23 years later, the actor is cast here as a father figure forced to watch a bunch of kids do the exact same thing. Pity we, the audience, have to as well. I Love You, Beth Cooper has a lot of gags that have already been done a hundred times before, by movies that were much funnier.
The film's episodic nature doesn't help. Each scene features a group traveling from 'Point A' to 'Point B' and messing something up along the way. Even reliable actors like Hayden Panettiere and Paul Rust can't salvage a meaningful conversation from the script. Perhaps director Chris Columbus didn't give his actors enough room to improvise, or maybe he really has lost his sense of comic timing.
Whatever the reasons, I Love You, Beth Cooper is a derivative, crass and - perhaps worst of all - humourless genre picture.
The Peoples' Reviews
Your rating & review
Rate / Review this movieRate and/or review
I Love You, Beth Cooper
The Press Reviews
Of the two co-stars, what I can say is that I’m looking forward to their next films. Full Review
Painfully unfunny, I Love You, Beth Cooper is more likely to elicit the opposite reaction. Full Review
Although the teenage audience is notoriously undiscriminating, it's hard to imagine many kids turning out for this laugh-free comedy. Full Review
Not a remake -- it just feels like one. Full Review
Drab and incoherent teen comedy. Full Review
Aiming for the heartfelt hilarity of "Superbad," I Love You, Beth Cooper is just super bad. Full Review
A would-be blend of John Hughes and American Pie that can’t find the right balance between heart and other body parts. It’s a madcap journey for sure, but one that ends up mired in predictable hugging/learning territory. Full Review
Peaks early -- like, during the first three minutes -- and rapidly goes downhill from there. Full Review
Care to comment?