Former MTV executive Joel Gallen makes his feature directorial debut with this broad spoof of the popular teen comedy genre, lampooning dozens of movies including
American Pie (1999),
American Beauty (1999),
Bring It On (2000),
Clueless (1995),
She's All That (1999),
Road Trip (2000),
Can't Hardly Wait (1998),
10 Things I Hate About You (1999),
Never Been Kissed (1999), and even the teen films of an earlier era such as
The Breakfast Club (1985). At the aptly titled "John Hughes High School," aspiring artist Janey Briggs (
Chyler Leigh) is an outcast because of her plain, bespectacled looks and paint-splattered overalls. Football hero Jake Wyler (
Chris Evans) makes a bet that he can transform Janey into a gorgeous prom queen, a wager he may come to regret as he discovers Janey's true inner beauty. As their relationship blossoms, several other characters are limned, including a Nasty Cheerleader (
Jaime Pressly), a Token Black Guy (
Deon Richmond), a Stupid Fat Guy (Ron Lester), an Obsessed Best Friend (Eric Jungmann), an Undercover Reporter (Beverly Polcyn), the Cruelest Girl in School (
Mia Kirshner), a Cocky Blonde Guy (
Eric Christian Olsen), and several others. A nod to the multiple films that inspired it, Not Another Teen Movie (2001) was originally to have been entitled "Ten Things I Hate About Clueless Road Trips When I Can't Hardly Wait to Be Kissed." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide