Sydney White (2007)

A modern retelling of Snow White set against students in their freshman year of college in the greek system.

Director:

Joe Nussbaum

Writer:

Chad Gomez Creasey

Stars:

Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton, Matt Long

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amanda Bynes	...	Sydney White
Sara Paxton	...	Rachel
Matt Long	...	Tyler
Jack Carpenter	...	Lenny
Jeremy Howard	...	Terrence
Crystal Hunt	...	Dinky
Adam Hendershott	...	Jeremy
Danny Strong	...	Gurkin
Samm Levine	...	Spanky
Libby Mintz	...	Christy
John Schneider	...	Paul White
Arnie Pantoja	...	George
Donté Bonner	...	Embele
Brian Patrick Clarke	...	Professor Carleton
Lauren Leech	...	Katy

Storyline

This modern retelling of the classic fairytale follows a beautiful college freshman as she pledges her late mother's once dignified sorority. But after discovering that today's sisterhood is not what it used to be, Sydney finds her new home away from home with seven outcasts. With the help of her socially challenged new friends, Sydney will take on the reigning campus queen to attempt to transform the school's misguided social hierarchy.

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Plot Keywords:

college | sorority | college girl | female protagonist | sorority house | 

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Taglines:

Freshman year is no fairy tale.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language, sexual humor and partying

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Adam Hendershott (Jeremy) and Samm Levine (Spanky) appear in Veronica Mars (2004-2007)

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Goofs

When Katy tells Rachel about Sydney White at the Rush Party, she says the word "Legacy" is three words when it is really three syllables. Kappa members are, for the most part, portrayed as stereotypical preppy blondes. Katy should not be expected to be very smart.

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Quotes

Rachel Witchburn: Sydney, what are the Kappa colors?
Sydney White: Green and White.
Rachel Witchburn: Emerald and Pearl.
Sydney White: Sorry, I'm still learning to speak priss.

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Connections

References Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)

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Soundtracks

Just Getting Started
Written by Ralph Churchwell, Robbie Nevil, and Michael Nielsen
Performed by Sabrina Bryan
Courtesy of Ralph Churchwell and Michael Nielsen

User Reviews

It's no "She's the Man"

Amanda Bynes is an enormously talented actress, and I've really enjoyed all of her roles in the past, especially in the fantastic "She's the Man." For that reason alone, "Sydney White" was a huge disappointment for me. The real reason for my dislike of this film is the poor use of characters. In a good fun teen comedy, its perfectly alright to have a cast of all fairly reality-based teen characters. In "Sydney White," this idea is thrown out the window.

Amanda Bynes makes a fine Sydney, but she is really lacking in a lot of what usually makes her sparkle as an actress. I blame this on the script, which makes her character too bland and restrained, and on the hair/makeup department, which gives her a detestable plastic look and an annoying hair style. The seven "dorks" that Sydney eventually befriends are far worse. They are so dorky that it's impossible to like them or even respect them as characters. They're essentially repulsive gag fodder. As is the story's "Prince Charming," who is completely unbelievable as a character and is about as cheesy as can be.

Perhaps the film's biggest star-to-be (with the possible exception of Amanda Bynes) is Sara Paxton, who's actually very good as the conniving Rachel Witchburn. It's just a shame that the script-writers didn't make her a bit more gray than black.

The plot is basically that of "Snow White." What kills it is that it is too blunt and obvious a re-imagining. The connections to "Snow White" are thrown at us so much throughout the film that they are ultimately annoying and overblown. Prince Charming is unrealistically charming, the "witch" is far too despicably witchy, the seven "dorks" are too dorky, and Sydney is just too pure of heart. Now, this is not to say that the movie is all bad. Though Bynes is forced down by the script, she still has her moments. As does Sara Paxton, who brings physical comedy to the max in her scenes. Sydney's room-mate, named "Dinky" is also great fun as a character. It's a somewhat funny film at parts that is ultimately just too cheesy and clichéd to recommend.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sydney White and the Seven Dorks

Filming Locations:

Church Street Station - 129 W. Church Street, Orlando, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,196,380, 23 September 2007

Gross USA:

$11,892,415

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,620,075

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment, SW7D Productions, Clifford Werber Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1