Today we turn our attention to Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, which legend has it was written specifically for a performance at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Whilst there a several versions of the play on film, I have been able to identify three that merely use the premise for their storyline.
Just One of the Guys is a 1985 American teen comedy directed by Lisa Gottlieb and co-written by Dennis Feldman and Jeff Franklin, although according to Gottlieb, she also co-wrote the screenplay together with her writing partner Mitch Giannunzio but then was supposedly denied writing credit by the producers. Just One of the Guys is a loose adaptation of Twelfth Night.
Terri Griffith is an aspiring teenage journalist who feels that her teachers do not take her articles seriously because of her good looks. After failing to get her dream job as a newspaper intern, she comes to the conclusion that it is because she is a girl. With her parents out of town on a two-week Caribbean vacation, Terri decides to remedy the situation. Enrolling at a rival high school, she enlists the help of her sex-obsessed younger brother, Buddy, and her best friend Denise to disguise herself as a boy. Along the way, she meets Rick Morehouse, a nerd who becomes her pet project. After helping him through an image makeover and encouraging him to start talking to girls, Terri starts to fall for him. After many episodes in and out of school, including fending off a group of bullies led by bodybuilder Greg Tolan, dealing with her real college boyfriend Kevin, and being set up on a blind date with a potential new girlfriend named Sandy, Terri manages to be accepted as “one of the guys”.
Motocrossed (2001) The theme of the movie is presented in a similar way as it is in Twelfth Night. The protagonist disguises herself as a male in order to take on a traditionally male role. The protagonist, Andrea, takes on the identity of her brother, Andrew, after he sustains an injury that leaves him unable to participate in his favorite sport, motocross. Andrea disguises herself as Andrew so that she can compete in his place so he won’t lose his ranking. In this disguise, Andrea gains the respect of her peers based on her ability in the sport motocross because they think that she is her brother, much like Viola is able to gain Orsino’s and Olivia’s trust disguised as a male.
Like in Twelfth Night, Andrea begins to have romantic feelings for a guy who has enlisted her help in winning over another girl. Because of her disguise, she is at first unable to reveal her feelings (Motocrossed). The idea that one’s gender determines who is a potential romantic partner is present in both Motocrossed and Twelfth Night in much the same way. As soon as the disguised female character is revealed to be a female, she becomes an instant love interest to a male character.
She’s the Man (2006) is another film that reinterprets the themes of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for contemporary audiences. The theme of gender relations is also presented in a similar way in She’s the Man as it is in Twelfth Night. The plot of She’s the Man is also very similar to that of Motocrossed. Each character is named after their counterparts in the original play. Viola wants to play soccer, but the girls team has been cut so she is unable to do so because of her gender. While her twin brother, Sebastian, is out of town, she devises a plan that will allow her to play on the boy’s team in his place. She disguises herself as her brother and takes his place at his school in order to participate in an all-male soccer team.
Everyone believes Viola to be Sebastian, including his friends, teachers, coach, girlfriend, and other potential love interests. Because Sebastian’s friend, Duke, believes Viola to be Sebastian, he trusts “him” to help him to win over Olivia, similar to the original play in which Duke Orsino employs Viola as Cesario to “woo” Olivia for him (She’s the Man). Had he known that Viola was really a girl, he likely wouldn’t have asked her to help him with another girl since boys and girls are seen as completely different types of people, which is an idea that was prevalent in Shakespeare’s time as well as in modern society. Once Viola’s identity was revealed, she and Duke became a couple. This is similar to the original play where Orsino fell in love with Viola the instant she was revealed to be a woman. As a girl, Viola became a potential romantic interest in both the original play and in the modern adaptation, She’s the Man.
