May 10, 2008

This film, a modern retelling of the classic fairytale Snow-white and the seven dwarfs, spotlights Sydney White (Amanda Bynes) who’s heading to Southern Atlantic University to join her mother’s prestigious sorority house, Kappa Phi Nu as a legacy. Left motherless at nine, Sydney was raised by her plumber father. Self-obsessed student council president, Rachel Witchburn (Sara Paxton) rules Kappa Phi Nu and the college itself. Rachel believes she is the fairest girl around and checks an online poll everyday to prove it. Unlike in the past, good-hearted girls are no more in Kappa Phi Nu which now consists of mean, prissy blondes. Since Sydney’s a tomboy, she faces difficulty in becoming a Kappa sister. After Rachel's love interest, Tyler Prince, shows an interest in Sydney who was about top in the “Hot or Not” poll, Rachel humiliates and expels Sydney from the sorority. Stranded on a stormy night, Sydney seeks shelter in a communal house, Vortex — the home of seven non-Greek misfits and befriends the geeks; hypochondriac Lenny, brainy Terrence, maniac Gurkin, jetlagged Embele, allergic Jeremy and dopey George and Spanky, Soon, Rachel decides to have Vortex razed and replaced with a new elitist stronghold.

After their home is threatened, Sydney campaigns to fight for the rights of outcasts everywhere in the student council elections against the powerful Greeks who have run the student body for years. Sydney’s friendly nature makes the seven nerds to become compete against the Greek Rule on campus. Director Joe Nussbaum has brilliantly connected the movie to its inspiration; the magic mirror being the online poll and the poisoned apple being a virus that wipes Sydney’s Apple laptop hard-drive. Peppered with a strong message about self-confidence, this film will entertain you in its runtime of 90 minutes.

                                                                                                                                  Fatima Siddiqi