Two out of Five stars
Running time:
86 mins
Disappointing teen comedy, despite Bynes' perpetually perky performance.
What's it all about?
Amanda Bynes (She's the Man) plays 18-year-old Jenny Taylor, who's obsessed with her rock n roll idol, Jason Masters (Chris Carmack), and completely oblivious to the fact that her best friend Ryan (Jonathan Bennett) has a huge crush on her. When Jenny and Ryan both take summer jobs at a Caribbean resort, she's thrilled when Jason shows up as a guest, but things quickly go wrong when the pair of them are washed overboard during an evening cruise and wake up on what they think is a desert island.
When Jason conveniently twists his ankle, Jenny soon discovers that they are actually on a remote stretch of beach just a few miles from the resort. However, she sneakily decides not to tell him, in the hopes of spending more time with him and making him fall in love with her.
The Good
Bynes is a talented comedic actress but she really needs to start picking better projects. Her likeable personality and her infectiously perky performance ensure that the film remains just about watchable, but the script is completely lacking in both wit and invention and the supposedly romantic climax is handled extremely poorly.
The Bad
Carmack displays unsuspected comic timing and Jamie-Lynn DiScala (Meadow from The Sopranos) is fine as Jenny's arch-rival Alexis, plus she obligingly wears a skimpy bikini for almost the entire film. However, Jonathan Bennett is a charisma-free zone as Ryan. There's no chemistry at all between him and Bynes and he spends the entire film either mugging or whining.
Frankly, it's hard to believe that Lovewrecked is directed by the same person that directed Grease (Randal Kleiser), though that piece of trivia will doubtlessly come in handy at a film quiz in the near future, so it's not a total loss.
Worth seeing?
Lovewrecked is a disappointing teen comedy that's only likely to please its target audience of undemanding pre-teen girls.