Director Betty Thomas has an interesting history, directing a couple of my favorite films, including “Doctor Doolittle” and “28 Days,” and a couple of my least favorite films, including “Private Parts” and “The Brady Bunch Movie.” Her newest project, “John Tucker Must Die,” is a teen comedy about a popular boy with a reputation for breaking hearts. When his constant girl-juggling is discovered by a few of his victims, they compare notes to determine how to handle John‘s deception.

John Tucker is a god at his school. He’s an excellent athlete, leading most of his school’s sports teams, he makes friends easily, slides through his classes, and of course, the girls love him. Among the many hearts he’s broken, John Tucker dated Beth (Sophia Bush), Heather (Ashanti), and Carrie (Arielle Kebbel). The three girls are each in a different click at school. Beth is an environmentalist wannabe, a vegan who eats nothing that once “had a face,” and very opinionated about making a difference to protect Earth. Heather is a bubbly cheerleader with a penchant for parties, shopping, guys, and … more parties. Kate is the aspiring class valedictorian, has a love of languages and journalism, and big college plans. The three girls only seem to have one thing in common: they were all burned by the same guy and now they want revenge.

The plan they hatch seems simple; they will find a girl to seduce John and then break his heart. They decide on Kate (Brittany Snow), a seemingly plain girl whose focus is on sports and school. After the three schemers give Kate a makeover and a prized spot on the cheerleading squad, it’s only a matter of time before John notices her. Soon he asks her out on a date, and the trap is set. As John begins to fall for Kate, the girls continuously set him up for embarrassing moments, some which backfire, and some that work even better than they’d intended. Soon, the chauvinistic John may realize his gigolo days are over.

The film of course stars several popular young actors who each already have a teen fan following. Jesse Metcalfe’s handsome face is immediately recognizable from his past roles as Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on the supernatural soap “Passions,” and John Rowland on the ABC nighttime soap, “Desperate Housewives.” R&B songstress Ashanti, has appeared in several other films, including “Coach Carter” and “The Muppets Wizard of Oz.” Sophia Bush currently stars on the popular drama “One Tree Hill” as snobby Brooke Davis, and Arielle Kebbel appeared most recently in “Aquamarine.” The film also stars Jenny McCarthy and Kevin McNulty.


The film opens nationwide on July 28th.