Reviewed by Max Foizey.

Release Date: September 21, 2007
Directed By: Joe Nussbaum
Starring: Amanda Bynes, Crystal Hunt, John Schneider
Rating: PG-13

The working title of this film was "Sydney White and the Seven Dorks." That's SO CUTE I wish they hadn't shortened the title, but what else do you expect from wicked studio stepsisters?

This veiled retelling of the Snow White fairy tale comes on the heels of Amanda Bynes' last project "She's the Man," a veiled retelling of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." I hope Bynes moves away from this cutesy genre as she gets older, because I can't see the need for a veiled retelling of "Clarissa Explains it All" in ten years. (Actually, I can. I take that back. Please return my calls, Melissa Joan Hart!)

Sydney the college freshman is our Snow White, determined to get into the same sorority as her late mother. But she doesn't make it past the pledging process thanks to our evil witch, Rachel Witchburn (Sara Paxton). She decides to room with the seven dorks, each of whom fills the roles you'd expect, from Dopey to Sneezy to Sleepy and Doc. (I could never name all seven off the top of my head.)

Witchburn's ex boy Tyler Prince (Matt Long as our Prince Charming) starts falling for Sydney, and Syd decides to motivate the seven dwarves, I mean dorks, to take the student government from the evil witch and so, a dork uprising ensues. This is only surprising if you've never seen one of the many "Snobs Vs. Slobs" pictures ("Caddyshack," "Revenge of the Nerds") but I’m not sure the kids watching this movie would have seen those R rated classics, and so it may indeed seem fresh.

If I had a young son or daughter, say 11 or 12, I'd be ecstatic if they watched "Sydney White." You won't find sex, violence, drugs, or 'teen partying' (I'm looking at you, "Mean Girls") in this film, which makes it gosh darn wholesome for 2007. That's not to say it's totally lame, the youngsters in the audience ate the one-liners right up.

Amanda Bynes is the most gifted comedian of her generation, with timing most adults would kill for. I hope her material eventually matches her talent. In the meantime, Bynes is perfect for this type of role, but she should do herself a favor and branch out into more sophisticated comedies soon.

The supporting work in "Sydney White" is quality as well, especially Crystal Hunt as Dinky, in a performance so winning it's easy to imagine her being known as 'Dinky' for years to come. (I mean that in a good way.) And it's nice to see one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's NERDS OF DOOM (Danny Strong) show up as one of the seven dorks. Dude's gotta be in his thirties by now, and still playing early twenties. Sometimes it pays to be short in Hollywood.

The Duke boy himself, John Schneider, shows up as Sydney's dad. Good for this Good ol Boy. He's got himself an entirely new fan base thanks to his role as Superman's daddy on "Smallville," and this can only further his tween appreciation. (Which is a good thing marketing wise, unless your tween appreciation is noted by Chris Hansen.)

One of the things I enjoyed about this film is how much of a tomboy Sydney is. Not just that, but how normal they make it seem. She was raised by construction workers, which is kind of like wolves if you think about it. This gives Bynes an excuse to wear a Baltimore Ravens shirt for much of the film, which I was in favor of.

In addition to hosting 'Max on Movies' on Sunday nights at 7pm on 97.1 FM Talk, Max appears weekly on the Dave Glover Show Fridays at 5pm. A member of the Saint Louis Gateway Film Critics Association, Max has written about film and theatre for various print and Web media, and appeared as guest critic on various nationally syndicated radio shows. Max lives in Missouri and is a diehard Miami Dolphins fan. If only Amanda Bynes had worn a Miami Dolphins shirt in this film. That's worth a five star review right there.