Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Wednesday, May 1, 2024 81° Today's Paper


Features

Summer sexcapades top teenage girl’s ‘To Do List’

"Wow, there are a lot of jobs here," says valedictorian virgin Brandy Klark, scanning the to-do list she’s prepping before heading to college.

Brandy isn’t seeking employment. She’s checking off sex acts all incoming freshmen need below their belts, if friends are telling the truth.

‘THE TO DO LIST’
Rated: R
***
Opens today

As played by "Parks and Recreation" co-star Aubrey Plaza, Brandy is an unlikely erotic adventurer, even in 1993 when "The To Do List" is smartly set as a throwback to carefree teenage sex comedies. Flat-chested and naive, she isn’t fantasy material. Plaza makes her eager to be pleased but clinically insecure about it, approaching sex and its unprintable lingo like another honors project. Plaza is hilariously blunt, in a Sarah Silverman’s brattier kid sister sort of way.

From its 2 Live Crew opening credits to Brandy’s last compromising stand, "The To Do List" is paean to horniness and its fantasy lack of consequences.

Sex is the farthest thing from Brandy’s keen mind until her first kegger and gawk at bad boy Rusty Waters (Scott Porter). He will be her first, she pledges, but there’s lots of research to conduct first, with nice guy Cameron (Johnny Simmons) a willing lab rat.

"The To Do List" always seeks the awkward in Brandy’s journey, no matter how bold or offensive it gets. That includes her prying, clueless parents (Clark Gregg, Connie Britton), constant misunderstandings of filthy euphemisms, a debauched detour with a rock singer (Andy Samberg), and a Caddyshack callback carried too far. Either you laugh, blush or throw up a little in your mouth.

This is an auspicious, outrageous feature debut for writer-director Maggie Carey, striking another blow for the current feminism shift in movie comedies. Anything men can do women can do dirtier, funnier and fresher.

Comments are closed.