Cheesy cliches and comedic timing in movies that perfectly encapsulate the early 2000s and the career of Amanda Bynes
When it comes to icons of the early 2000s, Amanda Bynes is one of the best. Beginning her career on Nickelodeon, Amanda Bynes was quickly given her own sketch show at the age of 13 that later became a breeding ground for other childhood icons. Bynes eventually made her way to the silver screen, cultivating a backlog of girly movies and comedies perfect for any girl’s night and sleepover. However, I believe there exists a superior order in which to watch her movies to best appreciate her comedic timing and acting that turned her into an icon people continue to love today.
Directed by Dennie Gordon, What a Girl Wants is the perfect cheesy movie to begin a night of Y2K vibes with your friends. The movie follows Amanda’s character American teen Daphne after she learns that her father is a wealthy British politician played by established actor Colin Firth. She sets off to let him know she exists and to build a relationship with her father, but her presence quickly causes issues with his new family and political ambitions. Meanwhile, Daphne gets closer to local musician and emo-boy Ian Wallace, adding a romantic subplot that fulfills every desired cliche (cliches are popular for a reason and it’s a good, cheesy time). What a Girl Wants came out in 2003, and while it’s not the best movie ever, it lays the groundwork for Amanda’s continued growth as an actress and comedian, wrapped in a package of Y2K fun that introduces her as a star of the early 2000s.
After What a Girl Wants, Amanda Bynes’s 2007 sorority rom-com Sydney White brings you deeper into her talent, showcasing a more mature comedic timing with just as much cheesy fun. People always discuss Selena Gomez and Hilary Duff’s modern Cinderella remakes while Bynes’s Snow White remake seems to slip from people’s memory. The movie follows the titular character when she rushes the same sorority her late mom was a part of but her low-key “not like other girls” attitude threatens the sorority president, inspired by the Evil Queen. Eventually, she is kicked out of the sorority and befriends a group of “losers” that resemble the seven dwarves and encourages them to help her change the Greek-life-centered culture of the school. While the movie definitely highlights some negative female stereotypes, aging it somewhat poorly, it remains a fun movie to watch with friends with Amanda Bynes always being able to command the screen.
After two movies in a row that frame Amanda at center stage, Easy A (2010) starring Emma Stone is the perfect palate cleanser before the big finale of Girl’s Night. Loosely based on The Scarlet Letter, the movie follows Olive Penderghast after she lies about losing her virginity and the story is spread throughout the school. Amanda Bynes plays an overzealous Christian girl who involves herself in Olive’s life, harassing her to drop out of school. After being cast as the relatable all-American teen in the last two movies, seeing Amanda’s campy performance of her character Marianne is a welcome change that explores the teen icon’s range and, once again, her great comedic timing. Easy A is also seemingly the most critically acclaimed of Bynes’s movies and continues to be considered one of the best teen romantic comedies to come out after the 2010s.
The movie that best encapsulates Amanda Bynes’s incredible talent as a comedic actress and, in my opinion, her best movie, is She’s the Man starring her as soccer star Viola. After the women’s soccer team is cut from her school and the boy’s team and their coach refuse to allow the girls to try out, Viola impersonates her twin brother at a rival school to prove that girls can be just as successful in athletics as boys. Featuring incredible one-liners and Channing Tatum as her love interest at his most attractive (Magic Mike has nothing on Duke), the movie emphasizes Bynes’ range as she switches between acting as Viola and pretending to be her brother. The side characters are just as hilarious throughout with the cheesy romance being the cherry on top of the movie and any Girl’s Night in which it is a feature. Being loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night gives the movie a great and engaging structure in the same vein as movies like Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You.There’s not much else that can be said without spoiling the movie but its exploration of gender stereotypes and early 2000s “girl power” makes it perfect for the girlies and Amanda’s performance encapsulates her talent and reminds us all why she was an icon of the early 2000s.
Amanda Bynes went on to struggle in her personal life and now lives mostly out of the spotlight, but her time as an icon of the silver screen is forever immortalized in her performances in What a Girl Wants, Sydney White, Easy A, and She’s the Man. Her movies embody the subgenre of “sleepover movies” and Y2K vibes that are perfect for any movie night.