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Review

America, if you have not yet gotten to know Amanda Bynes, you'd better get caught up. From starring in her own sketch-comedy show at the age of 14 ("The Amanda Show", natch) to winning cartoon voice-over work, she is poised to become one of the best (and cutest) comediennes working in Hollywood. Witness She's the Man, a sloppy and derivative mix of Just One of the Guys and "Twelfth Night" that derives full belly laughs from her balls-out performance. Bynes goes undercover as her brother to prove her worth as a soccer player when she's banned from her team because of her gender. A steady stream of convoluted romantic and farcical complications ensue, situations that don't flow organically yet stand alone as terrific set pieces. Every so often David Cross descends from his bizarre plane of existence to liven things up as well. But it's impossible to keep your eyes off Bynes, a real firecracker who can break up an audience with the simplest facial expressions and her perfect comic timing. There's one final quibble though: Unlike Just One of the Guys, the climactic...uh..."reveal" takes place out of the camera frame. When did PG-13 movies get so prudish?

 -- David Gorgos