Film Information

Jessica as: Yvonne
Production Status: Completed
Directed By: Andy Fickman
Fellow Cast: Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum
Release Date: 17th March 2006
Screenwriter: Ewan Leslie, Karen McCullah Lutz
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13
Runtime: 105 min.

Viola Johnson had her own good reasons for disguising herself as her twin brother Sebastian and enrolling in his place at his new boarding school, Illyria Prep. She was counting on Sebastian being AWOL from school as he tried to break into the music scene in London. What she didn’t count on was falling in love with her hot roommate, Duke, who in turn only has eyes for the beautiful Olivia. Making matters worse, Olivia is starting to fall for Sebastian, who for reasons Olivia couldn’t begin to guess appears to be the sensitive type of guy she’d always dreamed of meeting. If things weren’t complicated enough, the real Sebastian has come back from London two days earlier than expected and arrives on campus having no clue that he’s been replaced… by his own twin sister.

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Trivia

Filming Locations:
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Budget:
• $20,000,000 (estimated)

Box Office:
• $33,741,133 (Domestic)
• $23,453,534 (Foreign)

Facts:
• There are several references to William Shakespeare’s “The Twelfth Night,” on which the movie is based. The school is called Illyria, which is the name of the country where the play takes place. Duke Orsino’s character is based on Orsino, a duke. Duke’s friends are named Toby and Andrew; in the play, Toby is Olivia’s uncle and Andrew is one of her suitors. However, in the play, Viola is not impersonating her brother in particular, just a man, and she calls herself Cesario, which is the name of the restaurant seen where Sebastian/Viola breaks up with Monique and where Duke, Olivia, Eunice, and Sebastian/Viola briefly double date.

• According to the audio commentary on the DVD, the opening to the movie was shot on the coldest day of June in the history of Vancouver.

Critics Quotes

“It doesn’t attempt to redefine the genre, in the manner of, say, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Much of what ends up on-screen feels familiar — the social pariah girl with a retainer echoes a long-ago Joan Cusack; the excellently choreographed soccer sequences recall “Bend It Like Beckham,” but there’s a sweetness about it that wins you over.”
- Los Angeles Times

“t’s a difficult premise to pull off at the best of times, and Bynes’ boyish swagger is faintly embarrassing: the fact that everyone falls for her prank (and no-one mentions the word ‘gay’) makes this more surreal fantasy than sharp teen comedy. The plot holds interest, but that’s more thanks to Shakespeare than the writers of Legally Blonde.”
- Empire Magazine

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