Head Over Heels

To say that a movie is the best Freddie Prinze Jr. film so far is a bit like referring to the best root canal experience ever. Nonetheless, Head Over Heels surprises simply by not being as awful as the grinning youngster's usual stock-in-trade, though it does give you pause yet again to wonder what exactly justifies his continuing presence in lead roles. Prinze takes a backseat this time out, as the movie really belongs to Monica Potter, who's sort of like a Lauren Holly-Julia Roberts hybrid, without quite achieving the level of talent that such a combination implies. Potter is Amanda, a struggling young painting-restorer who always falls for the wrong guys. Tired of being hit on by her lesbian roommate, Lisa (China Chow), whom she allows to lie next to her in bed despite obvious awkwardness, Amanda answers an ad for a $500 per month apartment (in New York, no less), which just happens to be a room in a fabulous loft suite owned by four supermodels who say things like "Don't envy us, we're struggling," make jokes about being molested by lecherous uncles, bump into things, and give Amanda lessons in nipple-pinching and butt-clenching. When Amanda first looks at the apartment, she is attacked and humped by a monstrous dog that's being walked by Jim Winston (Prinze), and love at first sight naturally ensues, followed by lust and voyeurism when she realizes she can see into his apartment from hers. And then (Hitchcock reference alert!) she thinks she sees him killing someone. As you may have already deduced, not a single plot point in the entire movie is believable, which gives it a charm all its own: When the truth about Prinze's character is revealed, it's even more preposterous than you expect. Meanwhile, we get to see Freddie taking a dump, and supermodels showered in raw sewage. Enjoy.