Just One of the Guys

Lisa Gottlieb
1985

This popcorn (pillow?) muncher is a nice little piece of 80's teen fluff, walking the line between the vacuous yet wish-fulfilling hijinks of Corey filled flicks like "License to Drive" and the sentimental, well-crafted tear-laughers of John Hughes.

Rich teen/suburbanite Terry Griffith (Joyce Hyser) busts her buns to nab the local paper's school sponsored internship but is rejected due to her dull cafeteria food-centric article. Convinced she's a victim of sexism, and exasperated by her obnoxious Ken-doll boyfriend, Terry vows to win the contest by attending another local high school in order to submit a fresh article - in the guise of a male student...

Terry deals with the trials and tribulations of her ballsy plot and attempts to adjust to being the new kid. Navigating the boys locker room, avoiding a weightlifting yet oddly feminine bully, and evading the advances of an in-heat coed (Twin Peaks' Sherilyn Fenn) are but of a few of the wacky ordeals in store. Terry ends up befriending a hunky loner (who looks to be in his late thirties despite playing a teen role), getting him a date for the prom, and then falling in love with him (of course). Let's not forget the great little brother character thrown in for good measure. I don't care how many 80's movies you've seen. You've never seen a hornier little brother character EVER.

Its particularly important to note that Hyser's "guy" impression is in no way convincing. While a baggy outfit, accessorized to the nines, hides her feminine figure, her goofy guy voice is simultaneously preposterous and amusing, giving the film a nice light quality. One of the film's most interesting facets is the near complete lack of parents. Terry and her beer swilling bro swim in the pool and eat pizza off the dining table as if the palatial California home's mortgage was theirs; Mom only calls to check in twice. Of course a lot of this is necessity, seeing as how its much more difficult to skip school for a week in drag with nagging, clueless parents around.

Amongst other delightfully tacky eightiesisms (the importance of a cool car and the fetishization of American Express) The ubiquitous presence of teen alcohol consumption is played to such a casual extent that its comical. Judging by this movie it would seem perfectly normal for an 80's teen to offer a pal a "brewski" after school. That's real teen wish fulfillment for you.

Aside from a few chuckles provided by period wardrobe and wooden acting "Just One of the Guys" never really finds its step. Often taking itself too seriously to be fun or sexy, and keeping the gender bending squarely in the PG ballpark while playing up other risque elements, the film seems to have severe identity issues. Terry isn't questioning her gender in any way, and any concept of sexism and male chauvinism is pretty much abandoned after the first 15 minutes. What's left is a fairly entertaining romantic comedy that oozes missed comic opportunity. There's also this disturbing bit where the little brother takes off his shirt to reveal a totally ripped, muscle sculpted body with an outie bellybutton. Ewww.

Review by Brett A. Scieszka