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JUST ONE OF THE GUYS

Review by Chastity Campbell

Starring: Joyce Hyser, Clayton Rohner, Billy Jacoby, Toni Hudson, William Zabka
Director: Lisa Gottlieb
Video: 1.33:1 Standard Fullscreen
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Studio: Columbia
Features: See Review
Length: 117 Minutes
Release Date: February 24, 2004

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’ve never had sex before, I’ve had lot’s of sex…it’s just that now I’d like to try it with a partner!”

Film **

I was born in 1975, so I don’t have that many memories of the early 80’s, and even the late 80’s at this point in my life are somewhat of a blur.  For some strange reason I find myself fascinated with 1980’s cinema, and continue my quest for a great movie experience on DVD. 

However, I have to admit that Just One Of The Guys, while being a little bit funny, left me glad I’m just one of the girls. 

Joyce Hyser stars as Terry, a disgruntled high school writer who feels she is being overlooked for a possible springboard to stardom because her teachers are too busy looking her body over. 

With a little help from her horn dog brother, she transforms herself from sexy high school sweetheart to a hunky heartthrob in order to get the story of a lifetime, by proving guys have it easier. 

One of the nerdy guys she befriends after being knocked around by the school bully becomes her pet project.   The first thing she needs to do is get him a date.  She needs to spend some time with him first to get to know him better, or maybe she just wants to spend time with him because he’s cute, and she wants him for herself…either way your in for one kooky little ride.

Hyser was pretty believable in her dual role.  As a female she was witty and pretty.  As a guy, she was cocky and self assured which made all the pretty girls swoon.

This movie’s real problem was the fact that it was a mid 80’s John Hughes film wannabe!  Unfortunately, the caliber of the actors and actresses were just not on the same level as those from Pretty In Pink or The Breakfast Club.

The video quality was very poor and the audio quality doesn’t do much to help the overall look, sound or feel of the film.  There was really nothing that stood out about this movie to make it any more special than all the other “B” movies that were spit out during the 80’s. 

I suppose my hunt for that one special DVD will continue, but until I find it they’ll be plenty movies like this to keep me semi-entertained!

Video *

The box says re-mastered in High Definition, but the picture quality says otherwise!

This print was quite dirty from beginning to end.  The colors were washed out and faded with very little attention paid to how the natural lighting effected the filming process.  Also some of the scenes toward the end of the film were out of focus a bit.  While this wasn’t a huge problem, it was noticeable.

Audio **

The soundtrack on this DVD was really very cool.  The audio, while good in some areas did leave a little something to be desired.  I’m not sure how much if any time was spent on the mixing for this film’s transfer to the digital realm.  It doesn’t sound like much when you pop the disc in.  The audio sounds very flat and there’s too much white noise.   The dialogue was sometimes overwhelmed by natural background noises that were not reduced during mixing.  

Features *

Movie trailers for, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Mona Lisa Smile, and Whatever It Takes are included for your viewing pleasure.

Subtitles in English, French, and Korean are included for the hearing impaired, or those of you who like to watch what they say!

Interactive menus, and Scene Selection allow you to navigate this DVD’s extras quickly and easily.

Summary:

Another in a string of 80’s “B” movies, Just One Of The Guys didn’t really impress just one of the girls, namely me.  The video quality wasn’t the best, the extra features were barely there, and the story was weak.   If you’re an 80’s movie fanatic, take her out for a spin.  If you’re not, you might want to give this one a miss.