'He’s All That' was not all that: The Problem with Casting TikTok Stars

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

Netflix has released a remake of the 1999 movie “She’s All That", and it's problematic, to say the least.

‘He’s All That’ stars popular TikTok influencer, Addison Rae and Cobra Kai actor, Tanner Buchanan. Although overdone, the storyline is endurable and remains similar to the original movie but with the gender roles reversed. This time the popular female-lead is giving the standoffish male-lead a makeover.

What lets the movie down, however, is its cast.

Addison Rae excels on TikTok, yet she barely passes as an actress. Her 30 second TikTok dances are clean, crisp and charismatic but, in comparison, her acting falls flat throughout the hour and a half film.

This is the movie’s main flaw. Addison Rae was not cast for her acting but rather her 80m plus TikTok following. She was selected to bring in an audience, which she succeeded in doing as the movie quickly jumped to the top of the “Top 10” on Netflix after its release. I would argue that this is because clips of Rae’s acting went viral, for all the wrong reasons, and curiosity got the better of some. But I suppose Netflix doesn’t care why viewers watch, as long as they’re watching.

In fairness to Rae, she is a good singer and dancer, which she demonstrated in the movie. She also does her best acting in the film when she’s “live streaming” or “influencing”, something she’s used to given her everyday job.

But she is also young and has only recently been thrown into the limelight, perhaps with classes and more experience she’ll become a great actress. In fact, if Netflix had cast her in a smaller role, she probably would’ve done a better job, she just didn't have the skillset to be the lead.

She will have plenty of opportunities to improve, though, as Rae has just announced she has signed a deal to star in multiple films for Netflix; apparently, Netflix hasn’t seen the negative reviews of Rae’s acting plastered all over social media.

Still, it would be unfair to say the movie itself is terrible. The plot may have many holes, and the storyline might be cliché but it is watchable. Given its main audience, though, it’s a little concerning the moral of the story is that you have to be popular and pretty to be successful in life…yikes.

So, if you can’t get past bad acting or substandard plot, this movie is not for you. There was just no need for the remake, the original was more than enough. It was made to make money which I guess explains its misguided casting.