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Sydney White | 2007 | PG-13 | - 4.4.4
Teen comedy that toys with the Snow White fairy tale: Sydney White (Amanda Bynes) is an attractive young woman who goes off to college and pledges with the once dignified sorority where her mother was a member. But the sorority is now controlled by a domineering and overbearing classmate, and Sydney is banished to a dilapidated house along with seven socially awkward young men. Also with Matthew Long, Sara Paxton, Jeremy Howard and Crystal Hunt. Directed by Joe Nussbaum. [1:30]
SEX/NUDITY 4 - A young man kisses a young woman in order to wake her up. Several young men and young women kiss. A young man and a young woman nearly kiss (they are interrupted).
► Several young women invite several young men to join them in a hot tub; it is dark, and the young men remove their clothes but the lights are switched on while several people watch (we see their bare chests and abdomens). A young man wears a short bathrobe and tries to seduce a young woman (he is ushered out of her room). A young man is shown wearing boxer shorts and his bare chest is visible.
► Young women dress for a formal occasion (we see one young woman with a towel wrapped around her revealing cleavage and bare legs) and the others wear dresses that reveal cleavage and bare shoulders. A young woman shaves her legs in a bathroom (we see her bare legs under a short bathrobe) and a young man panics when he sees her. Several women wear grass skirts and bikini tops made of coconut shells and dance the hula. A young woman tears off her dress and throws it over her shoulder (she wears a short, black slip underneath). Three young women wearing bikinis sunbathe. A young woman wears a low-cut top and a short skirt that reveals cleavage and bare legs, and young women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes.
► A young woman exercises by opening and closing her legs while seated and a young man watches with interest. A young woman eats whipped cream pie and young men at the table watch her with interest.
► A father talks to his young daughter (she's 10 or 11) about the menstrual cycle, he uses a model built out of plumbing supplies as a diagram of the female reproductive organs and he talks about girls "laying an egg" once a month.
► A young woman says to a young man that she wants to "hook up with him." A young woman waits in a young man's dorm room and says, "Hey sexy" when he enters the room (they argue and she leaves). A young man talks about imagining that fraternity brothers "have sex with girls all the time." Several young men serenade a young woman in a library. A young man says to a large group of people: "I've never had sex with a girl before but I really want to." Several young women sing a song describing themselves as "hot" and not "hos." A young woman tells a young man with a dog hand puppet not to, "hump my bunny slippers." A young man talks about having access to a sex offenders list. A young woman instructs other young women to "target cute pledges" and to escort "fat losers" to the Koi pond and ditch them. A young man argues that pirates are better than Ninjas because they get "bootie." A young man asks a young woman if she needs any "lady products."
► Young men and young women dance in a couple of party scenes. A tall and muscular man hugs a young woman tightly and she complains that he is crushing her.
► Several young men stand around a sports bra hanging from a hanger and one talks about it having touched a young woman's breasts. A young man waits for a young woman in a bathroom anticipating something sexual might happen (she does not come).
► A young woman flirts with a young man and it is implied that they had a relationship but broke up. A young man is shown dressed like a woman in a few scenes. Male construction workers whistle at a woman walking by and a young girl whistles at a boy walking by.
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - Young women pledging a sorority are hazed: They are awakened with air horns, they are forced to clean men's bathrooms with toothbrushes, to grab young men they do not know and take them on a date, and one young woman is sprayed with water from several super soakers.
► A young man falls from a balcony and lands in shrubs (he complains about landing on his spleen but seems OK). A young man is shocked several times when a mouse in a cage touches a button (we see the young man twitch). A young woman screams and shoves a young man off a pier and into water. A piece of a ceiling falls on a young man's head (he appears dizzy for a moment). A young man jumps toward a climbing wall, crashes into it and falls to the ground.
► A young woman drives a motorized cart through a marching band practicing in a field (no one is hurt but we see several people jumping out of the way to avoid being struck). A woman strikes a young man repeatedly with her purse when she finds him in the women's restroom.
► A young woman shoves another young woman against a wall, then two other young women tackle her and all three fall to the floor (no one is hurt).
► A young man drops free weights onto the feet of two other young men who are standing near him (they yell and we see nothing else). A young woman is struck in the head by a Frisbee.
► A young woman is humiliated in front of many other people at a formal event. Young women are criticized for their appearance (their hair, eyebrows, weight, etc.).
► A young woman slams a model of a building down onto another model crushing it. Two young men face off in a video game, and we see things explode (including piñatas). A young man cocks and loads a paintball gun (he does not use it). A young woman screams in frustration in several scenes.
► A young man throws a football at another young man nearly striking him in the head; a young woman catches the ball and then throws it back at the young man knocking him to the ground. Several young men play swordfight. A young woman falls off a bench and onto the ground. A tall and muscular man hugs a young woman tightly and she complains that he is crushing her.
► A young woman says that another young woman "must die a social death." We hear that a young woman's mother died when she was young. A young woman says that she hates another young woman and that she has a voodoo doll of her and sticks pins in it. A young woman instructs other young women to "target cute pledges" and to escort "fat losers" to the Koi pond and ditch them. A young man talks about having access to a sex offenders list.
► We see a sorority house that is described as a house of partiers and we see several young women passed out on the front lawn or stumbling toward the entrance, apparently intoxicated. A young man sneezes sloppily in several scenes and complains of being allergic to everything. A young woman wears a green facial mask.
LANGUAGE 4 - 7 sexual references, 2 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, 14 mild obscenities, name-calling (dork, freak, losers, dumb, fat), 1 religious exclamation.
SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown guzzling beer from a keg at a party while being cheered on by a crowd, we see a sorority house that is described as a house of partiers and we see several young women passed out on the front lawn or stumbling toward the entrance apparently intoxicated, and it is implied that people drink alcoholic beverages at a tailgate party (we don't actually see anyone drinking). A young man uses an inhaler of OTC allergy medication.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Growing up, death of a parent, privilege, leaving home, making your own path, humiliation, fitting in, being an outsider, oligarchy, Apartheid, friendship, disappointment, transvestites, disenfranchisement, sororities, the Greek system, jealousy, shallowness, stereotypes, powerlessness, legacy pledging, superficiality, oppression.
MESSAGE - Follow your own path and surround yourself with good people.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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