Whatever It Takes (2000 film)

Whatever It Takes is a 2000 American teen comedy film directed by David Raynr and starring Shane West, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, and James Franco. It was first released in the United States on March 31, 2000.
Plot.
Ryan (Shane West) is a bit of a geek with eyes for the school sex bomb, Ashley (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), which induces cringing in his neighbor and best friend, Maggie (Marla Sokoloff), a cute, intellectual girl. But popular jock Chris (James Franco) has his eye on Maggie, and he offers to help Ryan win Ashley if Ryan will help Chris with Maggie. So begins a two-headed variation on Cyrano de Bergerac; Ryan composes soulful e-mails for Chris, and Chris advises Ryan to treat Ashley like dirt, which seems to be the only way to get her attention.
At first, neither finds it easy to change their ways; Chris comes on too strong, and Ryan is too nervous to be a jerk. But as they start to succeed, Ryan begins to see Maggie in a new light and wonders if he's pursuing the right girl. He realizes Ashley is not meant for him, and tries to convince Maggie about Chris's affection for her. After leaving Chris hogtied to a bed in a thong at a party to be drawn on, laughed at and photographed all night, not knowing how long he was there, totally ruining his reputation and future, Maggie is reluctant to take him "back" at first, but then realizes Ryan has a change of heart.
Home media.
"Whatever It Takes" was first released on VHS and DVD in North America in August 2000. It was released in Australia later that year, then released in the UK in 2001.
Reception.
The film has an approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 16% based on 67 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Whatever It Takes" is another run-of-the-mill teeny-bopper romance flick. Cliche jokes and a tired plot capture few laughs". Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" said the film had "ersatz versions of stars who, in this case, are fairly vanilla to begin with".