Though I am not an ardent fan of horror flicks, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is a good movie. Notice that I say "a good movie"; this is, unfortunately, not a great movie.
Oh, it's scary all right. And well-directed, too. An almost flawless film - except for one glitch. And that glitch is...Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Not that those two aren't good actresses; they're terrific. But it seems the nimrod casting director who cast this movie gave these two gals each other's roles!
Think about it: wouldn't Gellar have been a better choice for the role of Julie James? Actually, I think she would have been perfect for the role. She's everything Julie should have been: lean, wiry, athletic, yet with those deep, haunted blue eyes that at once suggest both victim and predator (geez, I'm getting corny here). In retrospect, I can't see anybody else in the role.
But who do we get instead? Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays the strong-willed heroine about as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger would play Hamlet. With her pale, unblemished features and almost bony physique, Hewitt looks as if she would get eaten alive on the back streets of any small town, let alone the streets prowled by the hook-handed fisherman. Sheesh, what's the point of making Julie the heroine if she is going to be so WEAK?
Let me reiterate: Sarah Michelle Gellar would have made a much better Julie, with Jennifer in the Helen Shivers role. If for no other reason, the lead role in this movie would have given Sarah the springboard to fame she would need to build a fan base for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." (Not that that show's fan base isn't doing very well as it is, mind you.)
As for the rest of the movie - pure gold. The supporting players are fantastic. Character actor Muse Watson, who plays the fisherman, brings a palpable menace and also a surprising amount of pathos to his villain role. Also outstanding is Ryan Philippe as Barry Cox, the macho blowhard who turns coward after the fisherman gives him a proper scare. And Freddie Prinze Jr. is...well, Freddie Prinze Jr. 'Nuff said.
Except for the fact that Jennifer Love Hewitt makes a rather wimpy heroine, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is as good a slasher flick as you're gonna get. I haven't seen the sequel yet, but I might soon. I just hope that this time around, Julie James is made of sterner stuff.
Oh, it's scary all right. And well-directed, too. An almost flawless film - except for one glitch. And that glitch is...Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Not that those two aren't good actresses; they're terrific. But it seems the nimrod casting director who cast this movie gave these two gals each other's roles!
Think about it: wouldn't Gellar have been a better choice for the role of Julie James? Actually, I think she would have been perfect for the role. She's everything Julie should have been: lean, wiry, athletic, yet with those deep, haunted blue eyes that at once suggest both victim and predator (geez, I'm getting corny here). In retrospect, I can't see anybody else in the role.
But who do we get instead? Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays the strong-willed heroine about as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger would play Hamlet. With her pale, unblemished features and almost bony physique, Hewitt looks as if she would get eaten alive on the back streets of any small town, let alone the streets prowled by the hook-handed fisherman. Sheesh, what's the point of making Julie the heroine if she is going to be so WEAK?
Let me reiterate: Sarah Michelle Gellar would have made a much better Julie, with Jennifer in the Helen Shivers role. If for no other reason, the lead role in this movie would have given Sarah the springboard to fame she would need to build a fan base for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." (Not that that show's fan base isn't doing very well as it is, mind you.)
As for the rest of the movie - pure gold. The supporting players are fantastic. Character actor Muse Watson, who plays the fisherman, brings a palpable menace and also a surprising amount of pathos to his villain role. Also outstanding is Ryan Philippe as Barry Cox, the macho blowhard who turns coward after the fisherman gives him a proper scare. And Freddie Prinze Jr. is...well, Freddie Prinze Jr. 'Nuff said.
Except for the fact that Jennifer Love Hewitt makes a rather wimpy heroine, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is as good a slasher flick as you're gonna get. I haven't seen the sequel yet, but I might soon. I just hope that this time around, Julie James is made of sterner stuff.