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Just One of the Guys

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Not to be confused with One of the Guys (film).
For the Jenny Lewis song, see The Voyager (Jenny Lewis album).
Just One of the Guys
A locker room scene
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLisa Gottlieb
Screenplay by
Story byDennis Feldman
Produced byAndrew Fogelson
Starring
CinematographyJohn McPherson
Edited byLou Lombardo
Music byTom Scott
Production
companies
  • Summa Entertainment Group
  • Triton
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • April 26, 1985 (1985-04-26)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$11.5 million[1]

Just One of the Guys is a 1985 American teen comedy film directed by Lisa Gottlieb and co-written by Dennis Feldman and Jeff Franklin. It is a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.[2][3] The film stars Joyce Hyser, Clayton Rohner, Billy Jacoby, Toni Hudson, and William Zabka.

In 2015, the film was ranked number 48 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "50 Best High School Movies".[4]

Plot

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Terri Griffith is an aspiring teenage journalist in Phoenix, Arizona who feels that her teachers do not take her articles seriously because of her good looks. After failing to obtain her dream job as a newspaper intern, she concludes that it is because she is a girl.

Terri decides to remedy the situation with her parents out of town on a two-week Caribbean vacation. She enrolls as a boy ("Terry") at a rival high school, her real identity known only to her sex-obsessed younger brother, Buddy, and her best friend, Denise. On her first day, she meets Rick Morehouse, a socially awkward transfer student whom she finds attractive. Trying to stay close to Rick, Terri helps him through an image makeover and encourages him to start talking to girls.

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."

At the senior prom, a jealous Greg picks a fight with Rick, who ultimately trounces the bully in front of the entire class. When Terri's boyfriend shows up unexpectedly and discovers the ruse, Rick assumes that Terri's big secret is that "Terry" is gay. To prove otherwise, Terri opens her shirt and reveals her breasts to Rick. Although she admits to loving him, Rick rejects her, prompting a desperate Terri to kiss him in front of everyone. To placate the awestruck students, Rick derisively announces that Terri "has tits" before leaving the prom and Terri behind.

Heartbroken and humiliated, Terri retreats to her room and writes a lengthy article on what it is like to be a girl in boys' clothing, detailing all of her good and bad experiences.

Terri returns to her school. When her article is printed in the newspaper, she receives high praise and finally earns her dream job there. Nevertheless, she still yearns for Rick, who has not spoken to her since the prom.

One day during the summer, Rick suddenly turns up after reading her article. Realizing their true feelings for each other, they reconcile and plan another date. They decide to go for a drive in Terri's car, but before Buddy can join them, an attractive blonde on a motorcycle rides up and beckons to him with a smile. Buddy then climbs onto the back of her motorcycle, and both couples happily part ways.

Cast

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Production

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Principal photography began on October 22, 1984, in Phoenix, Arizona, under the working title I Was a Teenage Boy.[5] According to Lisa Gottlieb, she co-wrote six drafts of the screenplay with her writing partner Mitch Giannunzio, but they were denied writing credit by the producers.[6]

Soundtrack

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Just One of the Guys
Soundtrack album by
various artists
Released1985
GenreRock, pop, R&B
LabelElektra
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
  1. "Just One of the Guys" by Shalamar – 3:55
  2. "Girls Got Something Boys Ain't Got" by Midnight Star – 3:56
  3. "Tonight You're Mine, Baby" by Ronnie Spector – 4:57
  4. "Prove It to You" by Dwight Twilley – 3:20
  5. "Jealous" by Berlin – 4:23
  6. "Way Down" by Billy Burnette – 3:34
  7. "Burning" by Brock/Davis – 4:20
  8. "Thrills" by Greg French – 3:15
  9. "Hard Way" by Brock/Davis – 4:48
  10. "Guy Talk" by Tom Scott – 2:29

The songs and music that were played in the film, not on the soundtrack.

  1. "Trouble" by Lindsey Buckingham
  2. "Down on the Street" by the Stooges
  3. "Turn Out Right" by Private Domain
  4. "Comb My Hair" by Johnny Lyon
  5. "Buns" by Bonedaddys
  6. "Gone Too Far" by Neurotica

Release

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Just One of the Guys was released on April 26, 1985. Although the film was not terribly successful in theaters, it was in heavy rotation on HBO and Cinemax for several years thereafter (airing after Sherilynn Fenn had gained stardom on Twin Peaks in 1990).

Home media

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The film was released on Blu-ray Disc under Sony Pictures on April 28, 2020. Special features include filmmaker and cast commentary and theatrical trailer.[7]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10.[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Just One of the Guys (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Wong, Aaron (January 4, 2013). "Fifty Most Iconic Gender Benders of All Time – Joyce Hyser in Just One of the Guys (1985)". The Cut. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. ^ Lewsen, Simon (June 3, 2013). "Shakespeare Helps Us Fumble Through Life". Hazlitt. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  4. ^ "50 best high school movies". Entertainment Weekly. August 28, 2015.
  5. ^ "Just One of the Guys (1985)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  6. ^ Wood, Jennifer M. (May 26, 2014). "18 Things You Might Not Know About Just One of the Guys". Mental Floss. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "Just one of the guys (1985) Blu-ray USA". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "Just One of the Guys". Rotten Tomatoes.
  9. ^ "Just One of the Guys". Metacritic.
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