Video/DVD Review: Get Over It
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that an attractive blonde female
character is portrayed as the quintessential "dumb blonde."
Frequent moderate profanity, much of it sexually themed. An
obscene finger gesture, with the character mouthing the
action's meaning. Lots of teen drinking (some resulting in
vomiting), and a teacher drinks from a flask. Some smoking.
Teens organize a large party when Berke's parents are away.
Striker cheats on Allison. Striker bribes stagehands to set off
explosives during the play. Some flatulence and jokes about
defecating in the pool. Countless sex-related jokes. Berke's
parents host a relationship advice show; they demonstrate
sexual positions, discuss erotic apparatus, and encourage their
son to experiment sexually. Female characters wear revealing
clothing. A "hormonally imbalanced" dog attempts to mount
various objects. Berke enters the basketball court wearing a
jock strap (rear view nudity). Berke and friends go to a strip
club on sadomasochism night where a dominatrix places Berke in
a suspension harness. Mostly slapstick violence--Berke
drunkenly falls off a roof and is hit by a basketball, and a
rigged explosion launches Striker into the orchestra pit. Berke
and Striker fight. Felix punches Berke for kissing his sister.
An accident-prone girl causes a series of violent mishaps (she
lights someone on fire, hits a man in a wheelchair, etc.).
Kelly points a loaded crossbow at Berke, accidentally fires,
and wounds him.
Families can talk about whether this is a realistic portrayal
of teen life and high school. Do many movies "get" what it's
like to be a teenager? Which ones do, and which don't? What do
you think about how the adults, especially Berke's parents,
behave? Are they good role models?
Like She's All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Clueless, GET OVER IT focuses on teens who are obviously meant to be together but end up taking their sweet time to reach that conclusion. Here, the story centers on high schooler Berke (Ben Foster), whose popular girlfriend Allison (Melissa Sagemiller) leaves him for a handsome new student. In trying to win Allison back, Berke gets a role in the drama department's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. His scheme takes an unexpected turn when he asks Kelly (Kirsten Dunst) to be his acting coach.
Tired genre elements here include the "parents are out of town, let's invite the whole school over" party scene, plenty of gross-out humor, and adults portrayed as idiots. When Berke is arrested during a strip club raid, his parents (played by Swoozie Kurtz and Ed Begley, Jr.), say they're proud of him for getting on with his life after a painful breakup, and encourage him to go home and masturbate. When they catch him hosting a party at their home, they remark "If we had known, we would've sprung for a DJ," and offer him condoms.
The school's drama teacher is equally irresponsible, but laughing at teachers is somewhat of a time-honored institution in teen movies. Martin Short is hilarious as the flamboyant, self-important school musical director. (Parents should note, however that he bullies students and drinks from a flask).
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