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  • Body swap movies are nothing new and here the premise is the same; what raises it above are the two central perfromances which are strong and the overall sense of fun mixed with some good tackling of stereotypes...

    While pretty much forgettable, while watching we found it fun and charming and full of the right kinds of energies.

    If you've got young teenagers but still want a film you can all watch - and aren't embarrassed by the sexual innuendo that runs through this - then this is not a bad choice.

    Watchable.
  • The next door neighbors Nell Bedworth (Samaire Armstrong) and Woody Deane (Kevin Zegers) have opposite behaviors and hate each other: the virgin geek Nell is polite, sensitive and well-prepared to go to Yale, while Woody is rude and his greatest expectation is to join a mediocre university due to his abilities playing football. When Nell and Woody are assigned to visit together a museum, they argue in front of the statue of an Aztec god. During the night, their souls swap bodies, bringing difficult situations to them. They first try to damage the reputation of the other in the high-school, but sooner they discover that their dream of joining college would only happen with mutual respect and support.

    There are many movies of swapping bodies; therefore "It's a Boy Girl Thing" is not original. However this predictable story is very funny and this movie is an enjoyable entertainment. Samaire Armstrong and Kevin Zegers show a great chemistry and have excellent performances. My vote is seven.

    Title (Brazil): "Coisas de Meninos e Meninas" ("Things of Boys and Girls")
  • if you get over the fact that the human body neglects its own hormonal instincts of the host and transports the brain of a different owner and get over the fact that basically the people are practically falling in love with themselves and are over the idea that they are interested in someone who looks exactly like them as the movie progresses (not really hard things to get over because it's a movie and genre that is reliant on the suspension of disbelief -- esp. if you liked something as cute and fun as "she's the man") then i think this movie is tremendous with a kind of weak ending (in execution, not in conclusion).

    i think this movie is tremendous in moments but i never really laughed. the strength is in the lead actors really and probably the dad of the girl who was pretty cool. the theme of the movie is positive and i guess if you boil things down its all about trust. trust in following the characters, attaching yourselves to them (while knowing the ending) and trust in deciding to leave your brain at the door. i recommend this movie.
  • I'm not going to lie, really the only reason I had any interest in It's a Boy Girl Thing was because my man candy Kevin Zegers was a main star. Having said that, I thought It's a Boy Girl Thing was genuinely and truly a funny, enjoyable and nice little film to watch. It was entertaining and though the main gist has been a bit butchered, they were able to come up with fresh material that became indisputably likable and I was very pleased with the outcome of this movie.

    First of all, I thought the performances were believable and likable. Armstrong and Zegers have a cute chemistry and their individual performances were delightful. Even though the film is predictable, I really wasn't going to give it a hard time for that, because the performances are charming, the movie itself is well done and just a fun time, and I really don't think a film should be judged just because you know what's going to happen; it can still be satisfying and good fun. It's not meant to be an Oscar winning masterpiece, and it shows, but with the material they try to work with, they pull off a current, fun, teen rom-com.

    In the end, It's a Boy Girl Thing is nonetheless just a nice film to watch from time to time if you enjoy it for what it is. Armstrong and Zegers, as well as all the supporting actors and actresses, look like they have a fun time giving pleasant and congenial performances. The material is fresh for a plot that's running out of ideas and the movie is just well done from start to finish. I am glad I had the chance to watch it.
  • An up-tight, straight-A student swaps bodies with her diametrically opposite in the form of the popular quarter back. Antics unfold as the two are forced to (literally) spend sometime walking in the others shoes.

    Variations of this theme have been done before in "Big", "All of me" and of course "Freaky Friday."

    The format lives or dies by the actors and how effectively and how humorously they can enact the transposition.

    It worked for me, the characters were interesting and I became embroiled in their personal issues. I also liked the actors and was impressed with their skill and the direction.

    At the end of the day this is a teen flick which has to serve a specific audience. It has the obligatory dose of teen angst and goofy comedy. But this all works well and I found it highly enjoyable.

    Good Film Flex fodder
  • Not bad at all! I was expecting something extremely silly, like Not another teen movie, with a light base on the romance story aspect, & just scenes of slapstick humor.

    But this movie is more romance based,and has a deeper storyline than than comedy. Its similar to all the other American teen films, like she's all that, she's the man, etc. But the romance factor is kicked up a notch or two.

    Some parts were totally lame, some parts were unique to this movie.

    Which is why i gave it a 7. Samaire Armstrong makes me want to give it an 8.

    Trust me, not a bad watch, Usually i hate American teenage movies.
  • The actors are mostly likable. The plot is amiable enough too. Thing is, it's been done before, and done much better. Consider Debbie Reynolds and Toni Curtis in 'Goodbye Charlie' (1964), or the Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin masterpiece, 'All of Me', where he acts out the movie while being possessed by a woman. Or one-hit-wonder Joyce Hyser's 'Just One of the Guys', where she becomes a guy (I forget why). Or the semi-good 'The Hot Chick', with the creepy Rob Schneider and the ever-so-hot babe, Anna Farris. All those movies explored the notion of girls and boys living in each other's bodies. Weener jokes, 'Hey, I got tits!' jokes, stumbling in high heels, 'delicate flower' young ladies belching at the formal dinner table, etc., etc. There is even a cinemagraphic grammar about that whole thing by now.

    Not to say there wasn't some appeal here. The cast is likable. Although the dude did seem really, really gay, even when he was not being possessed by a girl, but supposedly his own male self. I couldn't tell the difference. But the young woman actor who had to play a guy trapped in a girl's body managed really well. But there was also the obligatory black guy side kick, bitchy bimbo girl rivals, an unsympathetic 'Desperate Housewives' type mom, and cool slob parents, played by Sharon Osbourne (yaaay!) and Maury Chaykin (also yaay, but for different reasons).

    All in all, nothing 'wrong'. Nothing unpleasant nor unlikeable. Just kind of shallow, and very derivative. There was a group of what seemed to be 14 year old kids sitting up in the back of the movie theater I attended, and they laughed and oohed and ahhhed a little bit at some lame-ish jokes. Well, great! I hope they liked it. But I suspect that they are probably the major audience that would find this movie appealing or interesting. And that's OK. I gave it a 5 out of 10--- nothing bad, but also nothing great... just ordinary.
  • When " A Night At The Museum" was sold out at my local multiplex, I reluctantly purchased a ticket for "Boy Girl Thing". The reviews that I read were fairly miserable and I was expecting a clunker.

    I was completely surprised by how brilliant it was. Hilariously funny. Surprisingly moving. Great soundtrack. I was completely hooked by the journey that Nell and Woody went on in each other's bodies. I think both Kevin Zegers and Samaire Armstrong are the stars of tomorrow. They might have been a little old for their roles, but it didn't matter. I was completely caught up in their journey. Even Sharon Osbourne made me giggle.

    It won't win any awards, but if you are looking more light-hearted fare that leaves you with a smile on your face, it's a complete winner.

    I guess it really shows what stupid idiots critics can be.
  • There's an inherent problem with British audiences: they're quite fickle in regards to what they'll watch, especially the younger generations. While the storytelling and film-making of a brit-made flick may be good, setting a movie in Britain (British schools, British football, British women, etc.) is never as glamorous as the US counterparts. I always wondered why the British film industry didn't just go and make movies in the US with American actors. Which is why I was surprised to learn this was exactly the case with 'It's A Boy / Girl Thing'.

    Samaire Armstrong and Kevin Zegers are the gorgeous headliners for the story - a girl and a guy switching bodies. The story's been done a hundred times over, and the script was especially very poor (sadly the first indication of it being a typically British film.) But the director took this script and did what he could with it, and he managed to turn it into something so wonderful that you forget about the bad lines and clichéd story elements and end up appreciating the overflowing emotion (not fake Hollywood emotion - it feels much more real), great cinematography (another indication of a British film), and the stunning music score (the football game scene is a work of art.)

    It was a very interesting and refreshing shift in paradigm to have the leading role change from Samaire to Kevin 30 minutes into the story. However it was, at times, difficult to keep track of who each character was referring to (for example, the female character would say to the male character, "your mother…" but she would actually be referring to the girl's mother. All very complicated!)

    The British director, Nick Hurran, turned a very clichéd and badly written script into something soft and emotional. He really did some amazing things to lift this movie above the typical and tacky romcoms, and took the acting, the music, and the camera, and harmonized it into an enjoyable experience for both sexes.

    A very American movie, inside of a very British film. Worth seeing for this refreshing experiment alone.
  • I like body switch-a-roo movies (Freaky Friday, many others) and this seemed like a good choice.

    Both Samaire Armstrong and Kevin Zegers have impressive resume's for being so young, so they should have dazzled through this upper middle-class ditzy comedy with ease.

    They don't.

    The plot is very predictable but solid. The problem is an over-the-top deluded script that no actor of any talent could ever deliver convincingly. People in real life just don't talk like that. Completely unbelievable.

    The screen play itself also delivers an immense amount of visual clichés that grew tiresome after 30 minutes.

    I did find myself having some genuine laughs here and there, but as soon as it looks like the story is about to take off, it just sinks again. The light at the end of the tunnel only keeps disappearing.

    I believe this movie would be highly entertaining for teens and pre-teens, but I think most adults will easily dismiss it as undeveloped rubbish.

    Not a 'bad' film per-say, just one that fails to launch.
  • I have to admit first that I am a fan of this genre, although when I went in I was expecting something pretty run-of-the-mill. However, this is no teen B-movie but is actually a really funny premise and has a story with a surprising amount of emotional depth. I'm surprised no-one has made a movie about this before, but they haven't. It seems quite an obvious premise. A boy and girl who despise each other, end up swapping bodies and are thus forced to deal with each other's lives. It's like Freaky Friday but with a bit more edge and all the adolescent teen stuff which is what keeps it fresh. Whilst this stuff is funny it is the love story that really gets you and I was amazed to find myself getting emotionally drawn into the characters. Not often I say that about an American teen movie. Only negative is Sharon Osbourne who kind of pulls you out of the movie a bit, but other than a satisfying movie experience and a really pleasant surprise.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    It seems everywhere you look nowadays there's a "feel good body swap comedy" creeping out of the woodwork, and this one is no exception.

    It's the age old story, Boy meets Girl, Girl and Boy hate each other, Boy and Girl switch bodies thanks to some mystical mumbo jumbo the writers can't be bothered to explain, and then Girl and Boy fall hopelessly in love while figuring out their "Hilarious" predicament.

    Actually, this light hearted tale isn't too bad. and the gorgeous but under rated Samaire Armstrong is easy on the eyes, while the sound track is a delight to the ears. But sadly the story is crammed full of under developed background characters who never really get a chance to tell their side of things.

    Needless to say, just like every other movie of this kind, everything is neatly resolved at the end to everyone's relief, But it's a sweet addition to the genre none the less.
  • It's a Boy Girl Thing I went to see the movie because it is a new movie, it is a college romance and it has been long since I saw one. I knew it was not a seriously romantic – but that is okay. I expected nothing special from this movie, something light, and I think it was delivered.

    The story is about a boy and girl – who are also neighbors and study in the same school, same class and hates each other. Things start changing when the boy and girl switch bodies (by a visit to a museum – in front of an ancient statue). They still continue dis-liking each other, but adjust to the fact of living like that; till they find a certain likeness and compatibility that ends up in love.

    As you noticed the movie has a very noticeable known storyline. There are quite a few funny moments in the movie. There are at least three small scenes that distract the main story line. The amusing parts were the most when the boy and girl explore the sexual side of other body. There are also good romantic moments (in the later half of the movie) that adolescents would like to see.

    The lead pair Samaire Armstrong and Kevin Zegers are both TV stars and last year (2006) has been quite eventful in their career as both got good breaks in movies. This is the first and second movie in lead roles for Kevin and Samaire respectively. Samaire is a bit over-expressive but suits well the role when she plays the boy part. Kevin is good – a typical American youth. Nick Hurran (the Director) is also comes from television background.

    If you are not a teenager, just pretend to be one while watching the movie and chances are you will the like the movie – as I did.

    (Stars 5.5 out of 10)
  • This film using the body swap trope had a lot of opportunities to succeed and I really wanted it to. But, we don't always get what we want. Kevin Zegers is cute enough to pull this off and the romance aspects of this work to some degree but the parentals are cringe-worthy, the gay character is used for comedy only in the most juvenile fashion I've seen in a long time. Definitely a Vito Russo test Failure. Even the boner jokes won't get a rise out of most people. They say that beauty is only skin deep, but if that's tha case, then this movie is only for the really thin skinned folks. It's not torture, but it's not very entertaining either. Just One of the Guys (1985) did the themes more justice 20 years earlier.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I know I should say that this was the worst movie ever.

    However I was surprised I actually liked the movie. Not as good as She's the man, but pretty enjoyable. After a visit to museum, enemies find themselves in each other bodies. Girl in boy's, and boy in girl's. What what follows is struggles with every day life and of course prom.

    The plot was interesting and of course there is a "hidden" message that you should try to understand people before judging.

    The acting wasn't the best there is, but I've seen much worse. There were actually moments, when the main actors did their job well.

    Of course, when enemies first, you know what they will be at the end. But for some odd reason even that didn't bother me.

    I was prepared to hate and despise this movie, but to my surprise it was funny and entertaining. Not sure I would watch it again, but for one time thing it was okay and didn't feel waste of time.
  • Nell Bedworth (Samaire Armstrong) is a brainy virgin girlie girl. Her dumb jock neighbor Woody Deane (Kevin Zegers) has fun picking on the nerd and she hates him. Woody has shallow cheerleader girlfriend Breanna (Brooke D'Orsay). Woody and Nell are on a field trip to the museum. As they argue in front of a statue of the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, a spell is cast on both of them. The next day, they wake up in each other's body. Things go downhill as each try to one up the other in destroying the other's reputation.

    This is more sexual than the Disney body switch movies. As a rom-com, it works sometimes. At other times, the movie fails to navigate the fact that he's in a girl's body and she's in a boy's body. For example, Woody in Nell's body would never go off to that guy's trailer. He would pretend to go and then lie about it afterward. The whole trailer scene is a ridiculous attempt at some slapstick that fails. The movie works half of the time. The other half is a bit awkward. Both actors do the switch well and this kinda works.
  • I saw this movie earlier today with a free ticket and almost feel as if I had been ripped off.

    I only took a seat as I arrived at the cinema too late for another Happy Feet. The whole idea of a teen body-swap film had me cringing and feeling embarrassed as I asked the cashier for a ticket.

    I was surprised to see quite a few people in at the screening and even more surprised to see many parents taking young children. This movie is not for young kids as the jokes are mostly to do with erections and breasts.

    The only people that might actually like this movie are young teens and any serious movie goer is sure to be disappointed.
  • We have had several body swap movies but this one offers something that is a little different. It is very funny but at the same time has characters that you believe in and care for.

    This film gets plenty of laughs out of the sexual differences that other body swap movies have not dared to explore but don't think that this film is full of cheap jokes because it is not. There is so much more to this movie that it should appeal to all. The sound track is also excellent and a good cameo role for Sharon Osbourn.

    The target audience is the teen market but I think everyone can fine something to enjoy in this film.

    I went with my wife and two children aged 10 and 12, my wife through it was funnier than White Chicks and they also approved by saying we should purchase the DVD when released.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    This is your typical mind-swap movie, wherein two characters wake up to find themselves in each other's bodies.

    Then there's a small amount of American-Pie-style humor, as the two characters are of opposite sexes so they get to explore their new genitals.

    Near the end, the two characters are falling for each other, and it looks as if the film will finally turn a corner and present something new, but instead the characters inexplicably return back to their original bodies without even having to go to sleep, ending their obvious enjoyment they were getting out of their unexpectedly new futures.

    But of course, as Ghost proved a generation ago, the tender sensibilities of the US can't have minds in opposite-sex bodies, because that's too transgressive.

    While I'm disappointed that Elton John was associated with this homophobic project that actually includes the line "that's so gay", I'm not surprised. He's become quite the Gay Uncle Tom in his later years. Had I known he was involved, I would have avoided this film.

    For the Kinky Boots writer Geoff Deane to be involved in this is frankly baffling. This film is the anti-Kinky-Boots. And that's why I'm turning that 9 upside down and giving it the 6 it deserves, entirely based on Kevin's cuteness, which is about all this thing has going for it.
  • gantymj17 January 2007
    MY WIFE and I take it in turns to choose which movie to see, this was her choice but I did not complain too much as I had laughed out loud at the trailers and thought it might be amusing.

    Thats about as good as it gets... it is amusing but like so many movies these days all the funny parts are in the trailers so the rest of the movie is chick flick padding

    THE TWO LEADS HAVE GOOD CHEMISTRY AND DO A GOOD JOB BUT ITS ALL BEEN DONE BEFORE AND BEEN DONE BETTER TO, THE HUMOR CANT DECIDE WHETHER IT WANTS TO BE GROSS OUT OR JUST SUGGESTIVE SO GETS STUCK SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE WITH POTENTIALLY GOOD GAGS FALLING FLAT AS THEY NEEDED AN OLDER CERTIFICATE.

    All in all a harmless date movie but definitely a chick flick.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    It's a Boy Girl Thing is a blooming masterpiece! Even without comparing it to US movies it's still a funny, intelligent, and even moving film.

    I've read several negative remarks about how many references are made to male/female anatomy but they weren't gratuitous or as overdone as some have said. If you woke up in the body of the opposite gender wouldn't you be a tad surprised and dwell on the differences? Woody can't believe he has tits and Nell is terrified by the strange object sticking up in the middle of her bed. Even the last reference to anatomy is amusing since Woody's biological functions take hold while he's physically close to Nell and he, as Nell, is disgusted by the fact of adolescent erections. Come on, guys, we all know what it was like as a teenager when an embarrassing thing just popped up, so to speak, at the wrong time.

    Sure body swap movies have been done but so have a zillion other genres. It's a Boy Girl Thing can hold its own with similar fare. Samaire Armstrong is especially good as "Woody," walking and moving and acting "like a guy" and Kevin Zegers is good also but his characterization is more understated. His walk, facial expressions, mannerisms, etc. change noticeably as Nell but it's more subtle.

    It was pretty decently written and what it may have lacked in the script was compensated for by the main characters and the director. Some of the secondary characters were not as good as the rest but the parents, Nell and Woody, even brainless Breanna were believable.

    One of the main aspects I like is the understanding Woody and Nell achieve when they literally walk in each other's shoes (yeah, OK, that's a plot device in many body swap movies but "what the heck?") . Nell realizes her animosity toward Woody is mostly snobbery and Woody sees his loutish behavior for what it is. They both realize they are better people than that. The scene with Woody/Nell asking Nell/Woody "How does it feel to be a cheap slut?" makes Woody really understand how Nell feels for the first time. Nell sees Woody's parents are decent humans who are not, as her mother thinks, objects of scorn because they are not well educated. Everything piles up on Woody when Nell's mother declares Woody is "stupid and a loser" and adds "You told me so" to Nell/Woody, causing Woody to see how his treatment of Nell has made her despise him. Also, unlike Nell, Woody sees he's always gone along with the crowd without much introspection.

    Since the movie apparently spans only one week it's a bit of a stretch to expect characters to evolve so quickly but that's a minor quibble (they're both intelligent kids, anyway...). IABGT made me laugh and smile more than most new movies I've seen in ages. I'd watch it just for the bathroom scene when Woody/Nell remarks "Nice pen*s" to the guy standing next to him at the urinals. That has got to be one of the funniest scenes ever and a spot-on observation about (primarily) heterosexual male mores in our culture.

    Of course it ends as it does -- what would one expect, a startling plot twist? Like they never return to their own bodies and Nell/Woody becomes a lesbian and Woody/Nell becomes a Catholic priest? Besides, the end is realistically and romantically different in that Nell decides to take a year sabbatical before starting Yale (much to her mother's dismay) so she and Woody have time to develop their relationship. Although it's not explicit it would seem Woody has made the same decision unless the "sh*tkicker" college he'll attend is local or very close to home. The end makes no sense if Nell is taking a year off and Woody is moving away to attend college.
  • I rate this 7 which to me means a decent film, I just came across it and gave it a go. I enjoyed it for what it is, a feel good about yourself whoever you are type film. It's no must see, but enjoyable if you've the time. If any ladies say ditto, I'm going to stop it right there.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    It's not a new concept, by far. It's definitively not 'Freaky Friday' and especially not 'All of Me.' But, surprisingly, 'It's a Boy/Girl Thing' wasn't terrible. Sure, predictable as all hell, clichés abound and homophobia very much present (I'm shocked one of the producers was Elton John , which is like George W. Bush helping write a Michael Moore film) and still the cast, namely the "boy" and "girl," did as best of the job they could and did so enthusiastically. Unfortunately, you'll have to suspend your disbelief beyond the soul/swapping main plot, such as how quickly they learn each other's functions, like walking in heels. (And that's not something someone could learn in a few seconds as portrayed, especially for the "jock" as he's referred.) Strange, they kept going back and forth on if they want to be kid-friendly afterschool special (locker-room/slumber party cover ups) then to hard/sexual references and flashes of nudity, a la 'American Pie' raunchiness. 'It's a Boy/Girl Thing' starts with the obvious love/hate relationship between the jock and the smart girl, followed by the soul-swapping (no need to explain how, it seriously could've just as easily been they bumped their heads,) and after the inevitable jokes/revenge segment – seen from a mile away – they "learn" how to walk in each other's shoes and help each other out. I did like the clearing of the stadium in the climax, showing their POV, but not enough to save the film. It wasn't great, the secondary characters were boring, clichéd and an annoyance, and had a credit scene that was embarrassing to watch, yet, if you have 90+ minutes to fill, watch 'All of Me,' 'Tootsie,' any 'Freaky Friday' film. Then if you're still up, you can view this.
  • Jamiec52312 October 2022
    I'm not someone who is big on teen movies but I wanted to give this one a try and I'm glad I did. This movie has some good humor and has the ability to get you to care about the main characters and how they're going to get out of this mess of a "curse" while learning to adapt to their very different and new lives.

    I've seen a few body switching films like "Freaky Friday" and "The Change Up" for example, I found this film to be right in the middle of these two films. It's a family movie with some funny and subtle adult jokes in it. By the end of the movie, I felt glad I gave it a chance for various reasons such as it managed to give me some laughs and it was a reminder that some things we see as "curses" in life are actually blessings in disguise if we learn the lesson it's trying to teach us. If we're able to do that, we may just come out of it as better people in the end.
  • nightfury3726 October 2015
    Warning: Spoilers
    The story is very predictable. The characters don't create strong impact. The friends character were not given enough strength. The fight, which every romantic comedy has just before the happy ending, is not sharp. The hero doesn't look like a soccer player like the way Zack looked in 17 Again. Heroine is cute, especially as the guy. The movie doesn't have much impact story-wise. In a way this is good, to kill time, with nothing to think about.

    I enjoyed the light pace of the movie with occasional chuckles and feel good at the end.

    It deserves a little recommendation, for the way it warms the heart.
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