I don't know why Hollywood continues to be so cliche. The shy, unpopular kid could get a pretty girl, that I could understand, like when he had his first girl friend. But Emma Watson was by far the prettiest girl in the school, and made this film unrealistic
shareSam (Emma Watson) isn't necessarily pretty in the way that gets the most attention in high school. She also self-identifies as a "misfit" and associates herself with other "misfits". And, on top of that, she claims that she regularly "accept[s] the love of people who treat [her] like nothing", which means she has serious self-esteem issues. Yes, it's a Hollywood cliche for the "nerdy, shy boy" to get the "hot[] girl" but, in this particular film, her relationship with Charlie isn't actually very far-fetched at all.
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When Sam gives Charlie her "welcome to the island of misfit toys" to be a part of their circle, her attractiveness (or Emma Watson's, for that matter) is not so relevant. Fortunately, this wasn't She's All That from the 90's.
Are we beginning to see the possibilities here?
Emma might be the prettiest girl. But in the movie she was not the prettiest girl in school(atleast that's how the movie showed it) cause if she was, charlie would have had a tough time getting close to her considering the number of guys who would have rooted for her. But yeah Hollywood continues to be cliche.
It’s not about knowing. You can never really know someone. It’s really about trust. - Richard Castle
Boys generally don't care about how attractive girls are in high school, but rather about how "popular" or well-known they are (I put popular in quotations because it's a hilariously simple-minded way of identifying people). People are also always going to have different standards about what makes a girl attractive.
shareIn High School, especially in the 90s, pretty means less than popular. Emma Watson did not hang out with the popular kids and hung out with the "misfits," that made her less desirable. It is 100% plausible that Charlie could go out with Emma Watson's character.
I graduated high school the same year as the seniors in this film, 1992. Back in the early 90s, an attractive girl who hung out with the "uncool" kids had no chance to go out with the good looking popular boys. There were several girls in my high school who where attractive, but no boy would ever go out with because of the crowd they hung out with. I remember one kid in my class even went so far to tell an attractive girl, "why do hang out them?" Implying that her friend are holding her back from being popular and getting an attractive boyfriend.
In the 90's being popular was the most important thing to the vast majority of high school kids. The film gave an accurate portrayal when Charlie's own sister abandoned him in the cafeteria.
It interests me that people are saying "this was important back then" like it's not anymore. I graduated high school in 2005 and I was for sure one of those "attractive" girls who couldn't get "popular" boys because I hung out with unpopular kids. If this isn't how high school kids think anymore, at least to the same extent, that's pretty great. I do think people of all ages, but especially young people are becoming more accepting of difference and diversity and these days it is easier for kids to be LGBT for example without getting the same horrible treatment they once would have from their classmates (though of course bad things still happen)
shareI graduated in 2007 and I was a decently popular guy. I didn't win any superlatives but I was nominated for funniest male and most attractive. I also played varsity basketball. I say all this to say, I actually preferred pretty, less popular girls. Everyone has different experiences though.
shareI don't know why Hollywood continues to be so cliche. The shy, unpopular kid could get a pretty girl, that I could understand, like when he had his first girl friend. But Emma Watson was by far the prettiest girl in the school, and made this film unrealistic
Emma Watson is incredibly pretty, yes. But we're talking about the character Sam, not her. This is just an actress playing the character, and they cast who they wanted. I think that it's rare in real life for a shy, unpopular kid to get any pretty girl. Or, like what happens to Charlie, he gets a nice girl just not the one he wants (at first, with M.E.). It's also a thing of Sam's social choices. She's pretty, but if she hangs out with the kids she does for long enough, all the hotshots and popular boys will just back off. It's not worth it, she's weird, they'll say. Her social choices also make it clear that she's not looking for any other type of boy than the real, understanding type that Charlie is.
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