JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE

Three girls seek revenge on the school’s most popular boy in the teen film, JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE. John Tucker, played by Desperate Housewives’ Jesse Metcalfe, is the most popular boy in school thanks to his good looks, wicked charm and athletic prowess, and he’s parlayed his popularity into dating several classmates, three in particular, at the same time. Heather, Beth and Carrie all discover that John is playing the field with their hearts, and each of them wants him to pay. Kate, a new student and observer of John’s cheating scheme, provides Tucker’s trio with the necessary know-how to kill John’s ego and social standing.

JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE isn’t nearly as dark or dangerous as its title dictates, and the lack of edge in this slightly satirical high-school comedy limits both its comedic and dramatic impact. Instead, the movie is a mildly entertaining revenge picture, with a couple of cleverly risqué comments and a collection of sub-par sub-plots. The main storyline is MEAN GIRLS light, with three popular and fairly twisted girls, pulling the lead, Kate, an unassuming and relatively innocent girl into their wicked web. The general storyline, and jokes that ensue, work relatively well. The attempted revenge on John, and his attempts at diffusing the situations, are often humorous albeit far-fetched. The film loses its way when the sub-plots create an un-welcomed diversion from the playful payback. Kate’s chemistry with John’s brother, a Heath Ledger/Johnny Depp look-a-like played by Penn Badgley, and her tense relationship with her mother Lori, played by Jenny McCarthy, are both underdeveloped and unwarranted. JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE never goes for the kill, and falls short.

Grade: C+