Entertainment

<< Previous   of   Next >> Joe Lederer / 20th Century Fox  (click to enlarge) Lauren London (from left), Hayden Panettiere and Lauren Storm in "I Love You, Beth Cooper."   ADVERTISEMENT   "I Love You, Beth Cooper" The high-school valedictorian (Paul Rust) uses his farewell speech as an opportunity to declare his crush on an oblivious classmate (Hayden Panettiere). What follows is the usual kind of graduation-night action comedy, from director Chris Columbus. Rated: PG-13 for language, violence, subject matter Showing: Alderwood, Everett, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Oak Tree, Pacific Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, July 10, 2009 'I Love You, Beth Cooper' is a nerd fantasy By Robert Horton, Herald Movie Critic By the time the two buddies in "I Love You, Beth Cooper" have retreated to the hero's bedroom in flight from a trio of school bullies, it comes as no surprise that the only weapon available is a toy "Star Wars" light saber. It had to be. This is a nerd fantasy movie, even if nothing supernatural happens. The hero is Denis (Paul Rust), a high school valedictorian who makes a fateful decision during his graduation speech: He'll publicly declare his love for classmate Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere, from "Heroes"), who doesn't know he exists. This impulsive gesture leads to a long night of parties, car chases and bruising (and all-too-frequent) encounters with Beth's boyfriend. Incredibly -- and this is where the nerd fantasy comes in -- Beth is also around for much of the evening. So are two of her girl posse, plus Denis' buddy Rich (Jack Carpenter), who is, he insists, not gay, although everybody else at school assumes he is. Based on a novel by "Simpsons" writer Larry Doyle, "Beth Cooper" falls neatly into the teen genre, with few variations on the form. Doyle and director Chris Columbus dial down the raunch from recent high school successes such as "Superbad," which is something of a new wrinkle, given the leering style of most comedies today. For Columbus, a well-paid A-lister whose movies include the first two "Harry Potter" pictures and "Rent," this is something of a left-handed endeavor, a little bauble between summer blockbusters. "Beth Cooper" resembles his 1987 directing debut, "Adventures in Babysitting," which had the same night-gone-haywire structure. It works as well now as it did then, but ultimately one wonders: Why bother? Showcasing the petite rising starlet Hayden Panettiere makes sense, and at least Paul Rust isn't a generic male ingenue pretending to be a nerd; he really looks like a nerd. When Alice Cooper and Kiss provide the gnarliest soundtrack moments, you know the film isn't greatly in touch with the present day. Like we needed more evidence that "School's Out" still totally rules. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Some stores, malls to get a jump on ‘Black Friday' 2. $6.5 million lottery ticket purchased in Lake Stevens 3. Fire displaces Arlington family 4. Everett man will take his do-it-yourself ethic to the grave 5. Inmates with mental illness bring extra costs to Monroe prison 6. When the customer is wrong and a jerk 7. Mayor-elect won over Granite Falls 8. Economy may silence Everett Symphony's season 9. Soldier who had lived in Marysville killed in Afghanistan 10. Ongoing road work near schools worries parents 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Eat local this Thanksgiving • Mavericks moving on • Canada's Great Big Sea rolls into Edmonds • A. Murphy finishes 2nd in volleyball • Art Walk features music, demonstrations • EAT LOCAL: Getting the goods • Lynnwood HS history teacher Vic Bennet dies • Wildcats head to semis • CSO Chamber annual show slated Nov. 23 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million