By: debbie lynn elias
With THE TO DO LIST, first time feature helmer, Maggie Carey takes the well-worn, tried and true, teen sex romp/coming-of-age film, and, does some fancy gender-bending, turning it upside down, telling the tale from the female point of view as opposed to the more often than not horny, randy, teen-aged boy. The result is the laugh-out-loud funny THE TO DO LIST. Loosely based on Carey’s own real-life adventures as a teen in the 90’s, THE TO DO LIST fills a void in the cinematic ethos, delivering a smartly written, cleverly designed, female-driven romp that will quickly force parents to lock up their sons. An admitted fan of the raucous and raunchy, male-driven 21 & Over, the comparison between that and THE TO DO LIST was inevitable for me with THE TO DO LIST coming across as a more sex-oriented, less puking drunk-oriented, female-driven version. Having said that, let me just say that I laughed my ass off watching THE TO DO LIST. The comedy is fantastic, the casting divine and the farcical conceptualization absolutely delicious.
Brandy Klark is the girl everyone loves to hate. Class valedictorian, “Miss Priss”, Brandy is the girl who corrects your grammar with every utterance, makes a list for everything, dots her eyes with hearts, walks like she has a stick up her butt and always has a more than dour aura about her. At the top of her game with everything that she does, as her high school years are coming to an end, there is one thing she hasn’t excelled at – dating; well, let’s be blunt. Not just dating, but sex. Brandy is still a virgin, something she wants to remedy over the summer before she heads to college.
Approaching the task with her usual clinical and academic precision, Brandy makes a well-researched list of sexual activities in which she must engage and with the help of her best friends Fiona and Wendy, sets her sights on various and sundry male subjects about town, checking off her list (kept in her handy dandy Trapper Keeper by Mead, of course) as she completes each artful indoctrination – and all of them hopefully with the super hot, Rusty Waters. But, of course, any port will do in a sexual storm and “storming the beachhead” is Brandy’s main goal.
Adding fuel to the fire is her stalwart “Nervous Nelly” father, The Judge, who doesn’t want to think of his little girl growing up let alone having sex. On the other hand, Brandy’s mother, a nurse, believes in open, frank, biologically informative discussions with her daughter, albeit behind The Judge’s back. And Brandy’s willing participants? Ya gotta see ‘em all to believe it. Aiding in her efforts is the fact she’s working at the local municipal pool with a lot of eye-candy for the picking, including her seemingly clueless overgrown child of a boss, Willy. But then there’s the requisite nice guy, Cameron, whose puppy dog eyes and adoration for Brandy are undeniable to all except Brandy.
29-year old Aubrey Plaza easily pulls off being 17-year old high school senior Brandy Klark. Along with her co-stars, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele and Johnny Simmons, all in their mid-20’s, and Scott Porter who is in his 30’s, each is fresh-faced, young and youthful in appearance and attitude. Plaza uses her droll comedic style to best advantage with Brandy’s OCDC obsessiveness with lists, academic approach to life, knowing the scientific and factual basis for everything. You buy it lock, stock and barrel. Unfortunately, what Plaza doesn’t sell is Brandy turning in “come hither” looks and leers. While Brandy is supposed to be inexperienced and rather “stilted” in her people skills, Plaza never alters her demeanor, even as Brandy is checking off sexual experiences right and left on her list. There’s a stagnation. Never do you buy any element of sexiness even for a minute, particularly in the 1:1 moments with Scott Porter’s Rusty or Andy Samberg’s Van. And sadly, this is where the film lacks, losing its vibrant energy and believability and humor.
Alia Shawkat and Sarah Steele are BEYOND delightful and funny, so much so I can hardly contain my joy at them together on screen. As Fiona and Wendy, these two are the Kudrow/Sorvino “Romy & Michele” of the 21st Century. Perfection with their chemistry and comedic timing.
Johnny Simmons is just a doll with his own patented cherubic innocence. You know his Cameron is gonna have his heart broken by Plaza’s Brandy and you just ache for him every time the two of them are on screen together. As Duffy, one of Brandy’s sexual conquests, Christopher Mintz-Plasse adds a layer of lusty nerd sleaziness to the mix while Scott Porter takes his patented tv hotness from “Friday Night Lights” and “Hart of Dixie” and amps it up into a 90’s bronzed, surfer-dude, stud-muffin and Brandy’s lust-filled primary target, Rusty Waters. And Rachel Bilson joyously nails bitchy, self-centeredness as Brandy’s somewhat slutty older sister, Amber.
As The Judge, Clark Gregg is a masterful scene stealer. A kick in the ass as a father whose beyond prim, proper, staid and embarrassed – something directly opposite of a knowledgeable and courtroom commanding judge – just makes the character ripe for laughs and Gregg takes full advantage of the inherent comedic nature of the character construct. Connie Britton’s quiet, calm, pragmaticism as Mrs. Klark is refreshing and not something we normally see from her. As with the tv show “Nashville”, Britton tends to lean more heavily into the histrionic dramatic melodramatic gravitas or go over the top freneticism with humor, so to see this calm, calculated and measured performance just makes the laughs flow naturally. And trust me when I say that Britton gives new meaning to the term “lube job.”
However, the one performance that shines above all others is that from Bill Hader. Starting off as a goof-off Sean Penn-like Spicoli, as pool boss Willy, Hader grew on me as the story progressed. A definite character growth – actually the only real character growth in the movie – and as the story went along, we saw him stepping into a heartwarming almost older brother role to not only Brandy but the boys at the pool. Extremely charming and sweet, and unexpected, aspect to the film.
Written and directed by Maggie Carey, although pushing the comedic envelope of morality and spinning THE TO DO LIST from the female perspective, Carey does adhere to the genre rules about nice guys, bad boys, good girls, slutty girls and scared to death dads. Where Carey excels is in capturing every element of 1993, immersing the audience in this world with such believability that one has to look down to make sure they aren’t also wearing a skort or a Swatch or hiding a picture of Kirk Cameron, Vanilla Ice or Marky Mark in their wallet. Particularly notable within the story construct is the fish-out-o-water disconnect with the “average person” by Brandy, something that is tailor-made to Plaza’s brand of comedy and something that will resonate with everyone in some capacity. Seeing someone rather robotic trying to understand what it means to be human and to connect on a human basis is a strong suit in what could have been a mindless sex romp.
There is not a moment you don’t believe Brandy and her lists nor is there anything disingenuine about her world or the people in it. And no matter what decade, we have all known or know someone like Brandy.
And be on the lookout for an hysterical nod to the infamous pool scene in Caddyshack, the fun of which I will not divulge here.
Establishing the tonal thread that carries the film even moreso than the performances or the story is cinematographer Doug Emmett. Bringing a visual lightness to the film, as Emmett did with Bachelorette and Damsels in Distress (both female driven comedies), it’s through his lighting and lensing that a balance is achieved between the seriousness of what Brandy is doing and the manner in which she is doing it and the comedy fall-out that ensues with everyone and everything around her. A delicate visual balance that makes the film.
Stand-out is the production design of Ryan Berg. Period perfect in every respect right down to the wallpaper and kitchen counters in the Klark house. It’s as if every room, every scene was lifted right out of the late 80’s/early 90’s. Posters on Brandy’s wall are Hillary Clinton (some things never change!), Rick Springfield, Marky Mark. Also notable are little ambient touches such as Mrs. Klark ironing in the bedroom while talking to The Judge. Even the iron and ironing board are of the era. Similarly, clothing is spot-on. From color use to style, kudos to costume designer Trayce Gigi Field and her gang at scouring closets and thrifts stores for authenticity. Completing the ‘93 experience is the soundtrack, compiled by music supervisor Howard Paar, which is a must have for everyone’s collection.
Unfortunately, THE TO DO LIST isn’t all laughs as there are many forced or repetitive moments with Plaza that end up feeling rote and unoriginal with the novelty of the film wearing off quickly. Where Carey loses her footing is with a story shift with assumptions/illusions of Brandy writing a sex manual and her “screw this guy-screw that guy” irresponsibility. There are also a few inappropriate tasteless remarks, such as one pertaining to AIDS, that goes too far in terms of insensitivity. Despite all the requisite elements for this sex-romp with a heart – the actors, the performances, the premise – when the credits roll, although sore from laughing, one can’t help feel like they need a Snickers bar to fill an unsatisfied craving.
A real stand-up first feature from Maggie Carey, put THE TO DO LIST on your list of movie viewing.
Written and Directed by Maggie Carey
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele, Clark Gregg, Connie Britton, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Rachel Bilson, Scott Porter, Johnny Simmons
