Sydney White (DVD)

It goes without saying, but the Amanda Bynes college campus comedy Sydney White is not a very good movie. Thankfully, it's also not an excruciating one. Heck, if I were a 12-year-old girl I probably would have enjoyed watching it immensely, the film is just light enough on its feet and quick enough with a quip it's hard to work up enough effort to actually loathe it.

The simple fact is that the movie isn't anywhere near as disastrous or anemic as you would probably think it would be. Much like Bynes' somewhat successful take on Shakespeare She's the Man, this one has moments where it's actually kind of a breezy joy. Sure it's overly familiar and not exactly very well plotted, but the actress supplies just enough charisma to make watching the flick nowhere near as tedious an experience as it probably should be.

Don't take that as a recommendation, but for the picture's tween girl target audience I can think of a lot of worse ways for them to be spending their time. Joe Nussbaum might not be the best director in the world, but he is able to get mileage out of his star, smartly keeping her as front and center as humanly possible. Sara Paxton, so good in the underrated and little-seen Aquamarine from a couple of years ago, is a fine bitchy foil, while the cast of newcomers (including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" stalwart Danny Strong) playing the seven dorks are actually kind of endearing.

For those that need to know, the story concerns tomboy freshman Sydney White (Bynes) pledging the same sorority her dead mother was once a superstar at. Running things is Rachel Witchburn (Paxton), and she sees trouble in the newbie from a mile away, forcing her out of the house into a run-down Greek Row lodging housing seven of the college's most unusual geeks and losers. Quickly whipping them into shape, and with the aid of her nemesis' former boyfriend Tyler Prince (Matt Long), Sydney decides to face Rachel on her own turf challenging her to be President of the entire student body. Hilarity and romance hopefully ensues.

It's nowhere near as cute as writer Chad Gomex Creasey obviously thinks it is, and Long is a rather bland Prince Charming. More, the climactic debate final has as much impact as a blow to the forehead by a Nerf baseball bat. All-in-al, it's all pretty thin and fairly unexciting, and if you're expecting something as inspired as say Clueless or Mean Girls you're definitely looking in the wrong direction.

Still, I can't admit to hating it. Thanks to Bynes and Paxton, a time or two, I was actually enjoying myself. While it runs out of steam and doesn't go anywhere I wasn't expecting, if I were to channel surf and came across it on late night cable I might not switch to a different station. I am not sure if this means the film merits a rental, but for families with young girls desperate to find something that's not going to drive them completely around the bend Sydney White might be just the fairy tale they're looking for.

Universal's DVD release of the film isn't exactly inspired. The 2.35:1 Widescreen transfer looked unusually sharp for a non-HD release, I must say. Otherwise there is the usual collection of rather banal deleted scenes, a featurette on Bynes and Long as well as a moderately amusing gag reel. Other than that, there's not exactly a lot to talk about.