Teen dream

>> Down to You isn't too down

by MATTHEW HAYS

It's extremely difficult to judge a film like Down to You. When the final credits rolled, I felt I'd really enjoyed the experience. But after the recent spate of teensploitation movies, I was expecting something so deliriously dreadful that virtually anything would have seemed like top-10 material.

It helps that the two kids involved in the romance are of college age, so as to avoid the truly stupid pratfalls apparently inherent in screenplays involving high-school-age types. Both Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Julia Stiles are vets of the teen movies (She's All That and Ten Things I Hate About You, respectively), but both are allowed to graduate to a better, more involving style here. First-time director/writer Kris Isacsson has his two characters fall madly in love and--predictably enough--find sustaining a relationship and upholding monogamy more difficult than they'd initially expected. Surrounded by rather ditsy friends who are attempting to navigate their own routes around the possibilities of romance, Prinze, Jr. and Stiles find anxiety about their longevity sets in mighty soon after the first kiss.

As with Ten Things I Hate About You, Down to You has Shakespearean overtones, but they don't feel quite as pointed as they did in that earlier film (and are thus infinitely more bearable). As Prinze, Jr. and Stiles manoeuvre their way through the hills and valleys of cinematic relationshipville, Isacsson indicates a solid sense of humour and some stylistic flare (direct address, split screen and various dream/fantasy sequences uncoil throughout).

But if the script isn't entirely brilliant--and it isn't--the true saviours of this film are the two stars themselves. A bisexual's wet dream, Stiles and Prinze, Jr. are truly sexy and charismatic; there's no tiring watching these two--who, despite their aesthetic attributes, manage to avoid looking like they're posing for a Vogue spread (most of the time, anyway).

It's far from perfect, but Down to You does offer a pleasant enough diversion for its 90-odd minutes. It's certainly better than most of the post-Clueless cycle of teensploitation films out there (believe you me, I've had to sit through all of them). If nothing else, attend to get a good gaze at the film's star couple. You'll undoubtedly be seeing more of them. :

Down to You opens Friday, January 21