He's All That, the social media-infused reimagining of 1999's She's All That, has finally premiered on Netflix after months of anticipation. The ugly duckling saga not only adds iPhones but also flips the gender of its protagonists. High school TikTok star Padgett Sawyer (played by real-life TikTok star Addison Rae) is now the cool girl in school - and online - who undergoes an ill-advised bet with her friends to makeover the loner who probably doesn't even have a TikTok account, Cameron Kweller (Tanner Buchanan, Cobra Kai).
Padgett's adventure to self-awareness begins, as it often does, by getting dumped. When her famous boyfriend Jordan Van Draanen (Peyton Meyer, Girl Meets World) cheats on her, Padgett melts down in front of her followers and realizes her image needs major rehab. Her friends, like Quinn (Myra Molloy, Halfwords) seem supportive of her endeavor at first, but the cracks beneath the surface start to show sooner rather than later.
Meyer and Molloy spoke to Screen Rant about how their characters connect to Padgett and which teen dramas of decades past speak to them the most.
Screen Rant: Jordan is kind of following in the footsteps of Matthew Lillard's original fame-seeking character if you will. Can you talk a little bit about Jordan's relationship with Padgett versus fame?
Peyton Meyer: Yes. Jordan... What a piece of work. He was a clown. It was interesting, because, obviously, they both had this Instagram-slash-music blowing up at the same time. And you got to see the direction of how differently it affected their lives.
I think Jordan obviously carried it the way of, "I'm gonna keep this façade up as long as I possibly can," and I think Padgett went through the real-life situation of, "It hit me, I'm humbled. I fixed it, and I'm back up."
I think it was so cool to be able to watch the differences between the two characters, and what social media can do.
There are also some very interesting and complex female dynamics. Myra, can you talk about Quinn and Padgett's dynamic and how your view of her evolves over the course of the film?
Myra Molloy: I feel like in the beginning, we're just having a good time; just being a normal girl group in high school all having a good time. And Quinn was really there for Padgett. Quinn was like her shoulder to cry on, her support system, and her rock. Just a very loyal and true friend who, at the end of the day, stuck to her morals and supported Padgett in knowing what was right. She didn't veer from that, so I think that's really important to have in a friend and as a human being.
Obviously, Mark Waters has done his fair share of iconic films like Mean Girls. Do you have a favorite film of his or, if you want to be disloyal, you can say just your favorite classic teen film?
Myra Molloy: Hey, Mark Waters, I'm a huge fan. Hey, Mark! I'm a huge fan. I love Mark Waters. I mean, we all do. He was the real MVP. He was such a gem and the most amazing director.
But, sorry, Mark. My favorite romcom is A Walk To Remember.
Peyton Meyer: Honestly, I didn't watch many romcoms growing up. But one of my favorite childhood movies was Lion King. It was the ultimate movie for me; I would just keep replaying it. It's not a romcom, but I didn't watch many of them.
I know you filmed during the pandemic, but how did quarantine affect your relationship as a cast?
Myra Molloy: Honestly, I feel like that just made us bond even faster and more deeply, just because we were spending so much time together. And it was also condensed, so we were compensating for the fact that we couldn't hang out outside.
That relationship has obviously translated through the internet and just keeping in touch virtually, which is super great. Because I love everyone from the set, and they're all my friends now. I feel like we all really bonded, and it's just so great that it worked out.
He's All That is currently streaming on Netflix.
