OK, so I went to see this with my mom who is over 55, my niece who is 15 and I am 26.....so you have assorted ages and opinions and point of views...Well we all thought is was going to be cute and funny but we didn't think we would laugh the whole time and think that it would actually have a good story to it. I thought that my mother and I liked it more than my niece did, I'm not sure if that was because we could relate to the moral of the story but I know she laughed a lot louder than we did at times. But we all laughed. The crowd was mostly teens. Compared to other movies out this summer I think it is worth paying the day or night rate. I would actually go see it again.
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Jay_Exiomo13 September 2006You'd think that a movie called "John Tucker Must Die" will approach the parameters of a gritty look on high school-style existentialism. As the National Geographic Channel puts it, think again.
John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe of "Desperate Housewives") is the star of their high school's basketball team, and he's secretly dating three girls simultaneously. Upon learning how their "serial-cheating" boyfriend is three-timing them, cheerleader Heather (Ashanti), intellectual Carrie (Arielle Kebbel) and activist Beth (Sophia Bush) plot for revenge. They set him to fall for new girl Kate Spencer (Brittany Snow) and have her break his heart later on.
So that's "John Tucker Must Die." It's a film that tries to go for the feel-good parts of the standard teen flick, along with the usual high school relationship subplots. But gritty it's not. Though initially the movie seems to head towards being an effective satirical comedy, it immediately becomes just another stock sleaze. Betty Thomas' direction is breezy enough but she fails to give the film a distinctive bite as Jeff Lowell's screenplay seems not to draw a bead on to the vaguest notion of creativity.
Metcalfe is effective as the eponymous lead while Snow (who I recall as Zoe in "The Pacifier") could have been charming but the problematic script doesn't give her a juicy character that could rise beyond its stereotype and she ends up bland. In fact, one could arguably root more for John Tucker. As for the rest of the cast, they're a mixed bag with Ashanti and Jenny McCarthy as Kate's mom figuring prominently in my head.
"John Tucker Must Die" isn't so much an absolute schlock. Despite its transparent and derivative nature, it does have some of its moments that elicit chuckles. It's that sort of movies I watch on sleepless nights on cable given the right mood. But with a title as toothsome as that, it tantalizingly could have been way better. -
boyinflares21 September 2006...But, Jesse Metcalfe is still hot. Shame about his limited acting ability though, as the infamous John Tucker was simply a more confident version of his "Desperate Housewives" character John Rowland, but nevertheless, Metcalfe seems to enjoy his characters, and certainly makes them come to life. In the case of "John Tucker must Die", Metcalfe's John Tucker is the most popular guy in school and a total player, cheating on three girls from different social circles, who were never meant to find out - until they unexpectedly had gym class together.
The three girls being Ashanti's bitchy cheerleader Heather, Arielle Kebbel's smart hard working Carrie, and Sophia Bush's semi-reject, semi-slutty Beth. The girls all dislike each other very much and argue about who Tucker likes the most, but new girl Kate (played by the lovely Brittany Snow) points out to the girls that instead of fighting each other, they should be uniting to get revenge on the guy that has lied to them all - and thus begins the four girls attempting to bring down John Tucker.
"John Tucker Must Die" is strictly formulaic in terms of teen-comedies in that situations do not go as planned for the girls, causing Tucker to become even more popular (if that is at all humanly possible). Throw into the mix Kate's inexperience when it comes to guys, being caught between John Tucker and the affections of his brother 'the Other Tucker' Scott (Penn Badgley), and her mother (played very well by Jenny McCarthy) who has a lot of man problems herself.
"John Tucker Must Die" is a highly-likable film in terms of some funny moments, a fairly decent cast, a cool soundtrack and things move at a steady pace, but the main problem is that just when some morals are going to be dished out at the end of the film, something happens and the morals are not told. Which is a big shame, because for the target-audience of this film, they could really use some good morals being dished out to them. Nevertheless, "John Tucker Must Die" is an all-round enjoyable film. Oh - and Ashanti can act, but be warned - her fabulous hair often takes up most of the screen and at times over powers her performance. But she has great hair so that's okay. -
My friend and I weren't sure if we wanted to see this movie or wait until it came out on video. Due to us already seeing almost every other comedy out there, we decided to give this one a try. We were not sure if we'd like it, we thought that it was more for a teenage crowd. We found ourselves laughing out loud throughout the movie and came out thoroughly satisfied with this movie. It was definitely worth seeing and I didn't feel ripped off paying the night-time price. The pranks are hilarious in this film. If you want a good laugh I recommend this movie. Men running around in thong underwear, "it's like having your best friend in a silk hammock". The comments are really fun in this movie.
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When I walked into to see this movie, I was not looking forward to it in THE LEAST. I was just coming to see it because a friend wanted to and I hadn't been out of the house in a while. So, I expected the worst possible thing. Now it wasn't the worst possible thing and so that is why I think I didn't mind it very much. That is not to say it is that great. If you are expecting something AMAZING, it's not. It's just a pointless chick flick, reusing familiar jokes over and over. Some of these jokes were funny, but very old and worn out. If you are a female under 18 years of age looking for a non-thought provoking movie, than this is your movie!
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christian12326 December 2006John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) is a guy who can't be trusted by women and when three of his ex-girlfriends, all from different high school cliques, team up for revenge, they do so with the help of the new girl in town, setting her up with Tucker, with the plan to ruin his reputation and break his heart.
John Tucker Must Die offers plenty of eye candy and a good premise yet the final product is pretty forgettable and standard. I'm actually a little surprised that the film didn't turn out to be better since the trailer was entertaining and the premise offered something a little different. I guess I was expecting something as good as Mean Girls and it was really just direct to DVD material. The script was weak and it used so many clichés. Jeff Lowell should stick with sitcoms since he can't come up with enough interesting material to cover a 90 minute running time.
Director Betty Thomas was equally useless and she just used a generic direction. She didn't capture the teen spirit at all and she was just the wrong person for the job. The dialog was predictable and some of it was really corny. Some of the scenes just tried way too hard to be funny. However, the worst part about it was that the majority of the movie was just dull. Sure it looked nice but it only held a little entertainment value.
The acting was, like the film, standard and forgettable. Jesse Metcalfe was average, neither bad nor great. He should stick to supporting roles since he doesn't have the screen presence to carry a film. Arielle Kebbel may not be a fantastic actress but she does have an engaging quality about her and she had a few good lines. Ashanti was so annoying and over the top. She gave the worst performance out of everyone. Jenny McCarthy was just disturbing to look at and her performance was awful. Brittany Snow was cute although she was also enormously bland. Her character was supposed to be bland at the beginning of the movie but even after she went through a change, she was still pretty un-notable. Sophia Bush was pretty good and she had many funny lines. The one good thing about the cast was that they appeared to be having fun and this helped out a little. Overall, John Tucker Must Die is familiar material and it's not really worth checking out. Rating 5/10 -
AscendeSuperius25 October 2021It's obvious that this was a typical teen rom com, and it is a pretty good one at that. It had a strong start. But the ending, well that was a total disappointment. It is as though they had an essay exam and had only got to the climax when they realised they have 10 minutes left to write the ending. It was abrupt and unpolished. Still, it was a fun rom com, nothing special, noting great, but a great way to pass the time, even if the ending was crappy.
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dmanyc13 June 2007I was forced to see this atrocity with my gay roommate, only because he thought the guy playing John Tucker was hot. Thank god it was on HBO and not for rent; this wasn't even worth ten cents. I pity today's teenagers that have to endure crap like this. All the actors looked a decade older than teenagers, the plain-jane Kate looked a lot prettier than the mean chicks out for revenge (how this girl is seen as "invisible" is beyond me), Jenny McCarthy still can't act (isn't her 15 minutes up yet???), and the whole revenge storyline was just plain boring. If they had concentrated on the Kate-having-a-crush-on-John-Tucker's-older-brother storyline and have them hook up in the end, the movie would've been way more interesting. Instead, we had revenge by thongs, estrogen pills, "invisible" Kate playing hard to get. So where's the "killing" part? If you're going to call your film JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE, shouldn't SOMEONE kick the bucket? What a ripoff! Save your money...and your sanity.
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i_am_momo22 February 2022John Tucker Must Die is an interesting film. The story follows a new girl, head cheerleader, hippie, and journalist. John Tucker is a popular guy in school. He is known to be a heartbreaker. The girls decided to have revenge against him. The movie is funny and good for passing time.
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lieslrene128 July 2006Its the typical teenager movie. Unpopular girl becomes popular, snobby girls become unpopular girls friend just to crush the unpopular girl in the end leading to the feel good fairytale ending! PLEASE spare me! I honestly wasn't totally turned off while watching it, there were some funny parts I could laugh at and the story moved pretty quick. But there were some parts that were really unrealistic. First of all the fact that a girl like Kate(Brittany Snow) didn't have any friends was pretty phony! The fact that the head cheerleader HAS to date the basketball captain is just so cliché. The thing that I really couldn't get past was the stupid Boom Mic!!! It was in so many scenes it was almost laughable. Who ever edited this movie might be in the wrong career! If I was staring in this movie I would have been humiliated at the premier!
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greasefreak28 July 2006When I first saw the previews for this film I thought it looked funny, but shallow..and a little trashy. However, after I saw the film I was surprised to find the film uplifting, with some depth , and good actors. Ashanti,Bush,and Kebbel blend together well as they team up against Tucker. Each of their personalities contribute to this film in a special way. Snow (the lead character) was what made the film. She truly lit up the screen.Actors aside the movie as a whole was enjoyable and exciting. This movie maybe was not the most spectacular movie created. But it was fun and worth spending a few bucks to see.
If you are looking for something entertaining, you might want to give this a try.
4 out of 5 stars -
Smells_Like_Cheese12 August 2006The only reason I wanted to see this movie was because I knew a John Tucker in high school, not only that, but I dated him. We're still friends now, but he still talks about all the girls he is dating simultaneously. So, I naturally thought this was a documentary about him. :D Well, I'm kidding. This did look like a crappy movie, therefore I did not want to see this flick. It looked like your typical teen movie and cheesy predictable plot.
Yeah, it had that, but I think in some strange way it offered more. I'm just at least seeing something a little more in this flick. Yeah, it had your typical stereotypical teens, and you could predict everything that would happen in the next scene. But still I think in it's own special way, this will win teens over. I don't think this is a bad movie. You have got to admit that you got a good laugh out of John Tucker trying on the lady's underwear, well, you'll have to see it to understand.
6/10 -
cal112hmb29 July 2006First off, don't go into the theater thinking this is going to be the greatest teen film of all time. It isn't, nor does it try to be. This movie was perfect for what my girlfriend and I were looking for: something light, mildly funny, with a few early 20's actors playing the stereotypical roles. Some might be let down by Sophia Bush's role in this movie, although she did have some good moments. Ashanti wasn't half bad in her head-cheerleader role, Arielle Kebbel was okay (didn't have enough good lines though), and Jesse Metcalfe was truly born to play John Tucker. Anyone who has seen him on Desperate Housewives will agree that he definitely looks the part of John.
The only actor who seemed out of place was John Tucker's brother, played by Penn Badgley, although it wasn't for lack of talent. The character was very out of place throughout the entire movie and didn't really add anything to the plot. When he did get a scene he definitely shined, but they were too few for him to make a difference to the plot.
I think the movie could have been better, but again, it didn't try to do too much in the first place. For a nice date movie that you won't regret spending your hard earned cash on, "John Tucker" is a decent choice. -
leighabc12321 December 2006This movie was unfunny, unoriginal, uninteresting, and unpredict... (oops! I meant predictable!). We should have known that John Tucker would change his ways! Those three girls cannot act their way out of a paper bag. The only time I laughed during this movie was when I saw Ashanti's horrible acting. Ashanti is a fly young lady, but she needs to stick to singing. And the narrator girl who last dated John Tucker was not good. Oh boo hoo! My mother keeps meeting new men and then they leave my mother and we have to move to a new place. That spelling bee scene at the beginning of the movie was copyright infringement from the movie Akelah and the Bee!
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graham-harvey15 July 2021Very watchable popular movie, more aimed at teenage girls.
There are messages about getting even vs learning our own lessons of how we cause situations rather than simply blaming others. -
sreeragmeppadath22 April 2019There's nothing to boast.Its not a masterpiece or something professional.But if you are looking for a movie to enjoy and laugh out,this is your thing.It won't disappoint.Also Brittany snow is so hot
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SnoopyStyle31 December 2013Kate (Brittany Snow) is an awkward invisible teen with a hot mom (Jenny McCarthy). John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) is the rich captain of the basketball team, and a real player off the court. When all the girls are forced into the same PE, it comes out that everybody (Ashanti, Sophia Bush, Arielle Kebbel) is dating John Tucker. The three girls enlist Kate into their schemes for revenge.
It's a silly little comedy. I stress the silly, and downplay the comedy. The jokes don't really work. It doesn't have anything real. The girls are perfectly nice. Maybe that's the rub. There isn't any edge to the humor. They're not taking any chances. -
brookenichole-9805416 July 2020This movie is not bad. It's got great acting, jokes, and a nice plot. The plot can be pointless at times and the characters can get annoying but the bond the girls share is the best part. It's a good movie about girlfriends sticking together no matter what. The acting between the girls feels genuine. Yeah, there is some romance but also a great lesson to teach John Tucker. Overall, it's fun to watch.
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I was dragged to see this movie by a friend, and it was so awful that I had to leave early! I haven't done that since '8 Heads in a Duffle Bag'.(And that's sayin' something!) I really think Betty Thomas should've saved the energy, and made something less predictable and stupid! And this thing about popular chicks in high school has to go!
The movie was predictable from the second it started, to the moment the credits rolled! The whole idea (I know) isn't to make 'Citizen Kane', but to make a funny movie that fun to watch. AND IT WASN'T EVEN THAT! The jokes were really old, and the characters were more boring than the story!
In conclusion, if you see this movie, you obviously don't know what a good movie is. Save your money! 1 out of 10! Be glad it's at least getting a 1! -
herrcarter-921612 August 2023This movie was apparently meant to be a silly teen comedy with a serious side, kind of like Mean Girls. They certainly tried hard, but they missed the mark. This movie has its enjoyable moments, but there are plenty of cringe moments as well.
First, what I liked. The friendship between the vengeful former girlfriends of John Tucker and our heroine Kate was good. You really felt the camaraderie, even though it was mainly based on the all-consuming goal of shafting John Tucker. I liked some of the messages, especially the message about being yourself and not trying to be somebody else. The performances were decent. I especially liked Brittany Snow's performance as Kate. She was likable and relatable, even when she was behaving less than nicely. She's also beautiful. I find it funny that the supposed nerd and outcast girls in some of these teen movies are more beautiful than the supposed hot girls. The comedy was kind of hit and miss, but there were a couple of genuinely funny parts.
Now, what I didn't like. It was ludicrous that they got the outcast girl with no experience in relationships to be the one who made John Tucker fall in love with her so that she could break his heart. All the coaching in the world from the 3 jilted ex-girlfriends of John couldn't make that one work. So much of the plotline was just unbelievable.
Also, they seemed to be going for making John a more sympathetic and relatable character, but it didn't work. If you're going to do this, you have to come up with a really compelling reason for him to be a serial cheater, and they really didn't. Even at the end, when he supposedly reforms and decides he will not lie to girls anymore, all it means is that he will just continue to date multiple girls, but will be "honest" about letting the girls know he is doing so. He basically remains a scumbag, from start to end, and receives little, if any comeuppance. You wish he'd either really gotten his just desserts, or that he had truly and sincerely turned over a new leaf.
I also didn't like the ambiguity of the ending. It implies that John really did love Kate, and that she also may have had feelings for him. But then, he just goes back to being a player, and she just decides to be his friend. Then you have John's brother Scott, who was a much better match for Kate, and you assumed that they would get together in the end. But no, all that happens is that they become lab partners again, with no indication that they will be dating. Very unsatisfying.
Then, there are the cringe scenes, such as the one where John is caught by the girls' coach, wearing only a woman's thong, or the scene where John does an exaggerated version of a woman on PMS after the girls slip him estrogen pills. These scenes were supposed to be funny, but they were just stupid.
So, if you are in the mood for a silly teen movie, this one will probably fit the bill, if you can overlook the cringe scenes and the unbelievable, unsatisfying plot. -
Basic teen movie that will make you laugh, but will leave you wondering "Why did I spend my money watching this?".
The whole movie was cliché. Unpopular new girl, befriends 3 girls who hate each other because they're dating the same guy. Unpopular girl is the peace keeper between the 3 girls, causing the 3 girls to bond like best friends. Jock boy who the 3 girls want to 'kill' falls for unpopular girl. Unpopular girl likes him during the job. After the plan is successful, 3 girls are best friends forever! Talk about original (note the sarcasm!). There is a handful of funny scenes that will make you pee your pants, but you'll be too tired cringing at the horrible acting to even laugh.
Surprinsingly, Sophia Bush who plays the vegan slut Beth, wasn't that bad. And this is coming from a Sophia hater. She plays the part well, adding the touch of bitchy in her voice when a cat fight between her character, Ashanti's character, and Aribelle's character occurs.
Ashanti ... all I have to say about her is, stick to singing.
Brittany was so cute playing the clueless new girl! Her stuttering voice and nervous expression when talking to Jesse's character, her clueless face when she's with the 3 girls, and her devious expression when telling Jesse's character to wear the thong. Brittany Snow was awesome.
The horrible acting, the weak storyline, and the cliché moments, made me give this movie a rating of 2/10.
The funny scenes, the horrible acting, and the cliché moments, make this movie, a perfect teen flick, which will cause all the teenie bops, who 'luv' and idolize Ashanti/Sophia, and who think Jesse is the hottest thing in the planet, to rush to theaters. This will get many Teen Choice Awards and MTV Movie Awards nominations! -
gryffindor2492 August 2006Today it was 100 degrees in New York City and frankly I went more for the air conditioning than the content, but this movie was much better than the trailer or the critics give it credit for. As solid as "Bring it On," it is definitely a notch above the average teen comedy; not quite "Mean Girls" but a good substitute. The girls are all terrific and Jesse Metcafe struts his acting and physique to an even higher standard than what he demonstrated on Desperate Housewives.
Filled with quite a few clever innuendos, it might make a few moms and dads cringe, but I guess kids today have heard worse. Also, it cleverly used remakes of classic songs for the bulk of its score. -
freakfire-130 May 2008What do you get when three ex-gfs get together to take on a man who calls himself a "player"? The answer is a chick flick and by far it is one. Is there really a good reason for saying otherwise? Three chicks get dumped from different cliques. So they align themselves together and hoist up a new girl and create her new persona to attract him. Things then happen where she gets him, but she changes her mind. And in the end, everybody seems to me happy. Even the scheming girls tend to have found peace.
Some funny things happen occasionally. The thong thing at the hotel was nice and so was John Tucker taking estrogen and acting feminine. But then the movie gets slow again.
Overall, its OK. But nothing special. "C" -
bradwhite613 August 2006I am absolutely amazed that other people found this movie enjoyable. I guess I didn't do LSD before it or something because this movie was absolutely and totally horrendous. It is amazing that something so cliché, so terribly acted, with such a terrible story line and stupid stupid dialogue could ever be approved of by others! I see comparisons to Mean Girls, that movie was actually good and pretty well acted. That movie was at least interesting. This movie blatantly tried to copy Mean Girls in certain parts. The girls are the worst actors I have ever seen. This should have been a B-movie of National Lampoons except it doesn't have any nudity and the girls aren't' attractive. Usually I like Teen Movies with stupid humor, but I wish I had my money back. I wish I had those awful two hours back. I wish. But, like "A Perfect Storm", I will never be given that time back in my life so I hope that this comment dissuades people from seeing this movie and wasting their time. I am "Paying it Forward" to all those people bored and willing to spend $10 on a movie. Please do not see this, you will be stupider for it.
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I thought would be a typical teen comedy containing more gratuitous sex scenes and that the story and script would not contain much resembling thought, so this movie turned out better than I thought it was going to be. Yes, the characters were rather stereotypical and yes, the acting could have been better, but one does not expect Oscar-worthy performances of the likes of Road to Perdition or Million Dollar Baby when watching a teen comedy... I thought the story had enough of an interesting storyline (everything they tried seemed to make him more popular when they were trying to do the opposite) and that the moral of the movie was good (that in the end, even in the case to "get even", deception is wrong). Some people seemed unhappy with the ending. I am not sure what other kind of ending people would have preferred seeing. Perhaps they would rather have seen this as a teen horror flick where everyone gets killed in the end...?