“Is He All That?”

This August on Netflix, TikTok star Addison Rae made her movie debut in He’s All That, a remake of the 90’s movie She’s All That, alongside Tanner Buchanan, Peyton Meyer, Madison Pettis, and other young actors. Her transformation from TikTok dancer to movie actress due to the platform she built is remarkable, but some wonder how she reached this point with such little experience.

Addison Rae Easterling (famously known as Addison Rae) is a twenty-year-old influencer who seems to be found on every platform accessible on the internet; before her fame, she was just a small-town girl from Lafayette, Louisiana. One day, Easterling downloaded the app TikTok and quickly amassed millions of followers. She is most well known for dancing on the app. Over the course of 2019-2021, Addison has managed to reach eighty-four million followers.

For many people, it is difficult to understand how someone could gain such publicity for dancing on social media.

On this matter, Sophia Montague, ’23, said, “I don’t understand how someone makes millions for doing Tik Tok dances, but you gotta do what you gotta do, so good for her.”

As a result of her massive popularity, Addison’s fame has managed to spread beyond TikTok into the world of cinema. Many fans were shocked to hear that Easterling would be starring in a movie; yet, this was the case. With little to no acting experience, Easterling would be starring in a new Netflix original film, He’s All That.

In sharing her thoughts on Easterling’s major movie debut, Ceci Piza, ’23, said, “At first, we were a little confused to see a TikTok dancer was starring in a Netflix movie, but I have to admit she definitely made us laugh.”

He’s All That is a remake of the 1999 classic, She’s All That, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. The film was about a popular high school boy who made a bet to try and turn a nerdy girl popular. It follows the two and their relationship throughout the movie.

Like the 1999 film, He’s All That is about a popular high school girl (Addison Rae) who tries to make a nerdy boy (Tanner Buchanan) popular and a candidate for prom king.

Although this seemed promising, for some, Easterling’s first performance missed the mark. Some were skeptical about the quality of this movie, with concerns such as one of the stars having no acting experience and the inaccurate teen dialogue, earning this film a whopping 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, some have other opinions.

After watching the movie, Ilana Gellman, ’23, states that she was impressed to find out Addison Rae was starring in a movie. “Not only is she a star at Tik Toking, but she is also a wonderful actor. She is a woman with range,” said Gellman.

That brings us to the question: Do you think this is a good or bad movie? Take one and a half hours of your time, hop on Netflix, and see for yourself.

Sources:

IMDB

Wikipedia

Famous Birthdays

Rotten Tomatoes