Sydney White

Quick—Name all 7 of the Dwarfs in the Walt Disney movie “Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs”! Half the fun of this movie is matching each cast member to the original Snow White characters. The other half is dedicated to the real plot of the story: Good vs. Evil.

In this 2007 version, the dwarfs are all dorks with various degrees of eccentricities, living in the same “frat house” called the Vortex. The charming Snow White is Sydney White (Amanda Bynes of “Hairspray” and “She’s the Man”), only daughter of a widowed plumbing contractor (John Schneider—Jonathan Kent in TV’s “Smallville”/Bo Duke in “Dukes of Hazzard”).

Tomboy Sydney was raised in the plumbing business and is quite a little handy-person. The story opens with all of “the guys” giving their coworker Sydney a good-bye present for the start of her college career. The college, however, has a lot for Sydney to live up to: it is the same college and the same sorority her Mother had been pledged to. Sydney ends up living in a dilapidated frat house with seven eccentric guys and keeps this movie rating a PG-13 (for some language, sexual humor and partying) It has good direction, a decent (and I mean decent) script and a group of cast mates that are all outstanding.

The storyline is the same—we have the prince to meet, evil “sisters,” and even a computer is a “character”—do you know which one?—but switch to modern-day colleges with the struggles of trying to fit in with new people, new experiences—but the same you. Then, you discover these new people are just like you—they’re trying to fit in, too!

Sometimes it takes only one person to change something that needed changing.

Clothes seemed to get skimpier as the movie progressed. Sydney starts out in t-shirts and jeans and the tank tops she later wears (because everybody else wears them) seem to show more cleavage than necessary. Nothing vulgar.

I could have done without the boys bathroom pee scene. But, nothing vulgar or distasteful here either. Our “Bashful” character is so shy he converses through a dog hand puppet. Asked if she has a problem with that and Sydney replies “As long as he doesn’t try to hump my bunny slippers.” Most tweens won’t probably even catch on to that phrase, but it’d be sad if little Janie asks Grandma to tell her what “hump my bunny slippers” means.

If you’re offended by the term “boobs,” you won’t care for the scene where all of Sydney’s house mates are in the bathroom looking in awe at her sports bra hanging to dry. One says “That thing has felt boobs!”

The Vortex is referred to as the crap hole once.

And, “Damn It” was said once. I do not believe I heard one “Oh My God!”, even.

It seems all ages of kids love to use the word “fart.” In one scene, a sorority sister is trying to keep Rachel out of her room: “You can’t go in there—I just farted!” (Didn’t keep Rachel out.)

One semi-naked scene of all 7 boys. “Semi” because you could only see from the belly-button up. But, you KNEW they were naked because they stripped off their clothing heading for the hot tub at a party. The plan was to get them out there under false pretense (the Kappa girls), turn the lights on and “expose” the boys!

Professor Carleton (Brian Patrick Clarke—lots of tv series exposure: “Baywatch”, “Touched by an Angel”, “ER”) plays an inspirational character that gives his students the idea to “think outside the box” where your connection to the human race is concerned. Here is where just about every problematic theme on the human race is covered: The Jewish People, the Gothic stylists with all the black, ethnic race (Polynesian hula dancers in native dance costume), and even people concerned with gender identity is included.

My opinion of “Sydney White”: Go see it. Take the tweeners or your best pal. It is a cute movie that DOES have a message: the message of Jesus Christ to love one another. We only have one life on this Earth, so be firm in what you believe and see it to the end. A line in the movie near the end: “Step out of your little world to meet others trying to fit in.”

Violence: None / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: Minor

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