John Tucker Must Die

This teen revenge comedy owes a debt to ‘Heathers’, but its refusal to give in to the dark side makes it just another bland adolescent fantasy. Pretty but unpopular Kate (Brittany Snow) is enlisted to help three party girls get even with John Tucker, who’s been dating them all. Kate must be trained in the ways of popular, flirty girls in order to catch Tucker’s eye, so she can then break his heart. Quite why Kate agrees is never clear, although the benefits for the young female viewer are obvious (Tucker is ‘Desperate Housewives’ heartthrob Jesse Metcalfe). And so the wish-fulfilment storyline plods on evenly enough, with the odd laugh here and there. There’s precious little for older audiences: none of the bite of ‘Mean Girls’, and the transparent plotting and gender stereotyping annoy. ‘John Tucker…’ is not the worst of its kind, but few over the age of 14 will find it worth forking out for.