I Love You Beth Cooper (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Brad W

  
  I Love You Beth Cooper is a terrible, unfunny, cliche, creepy, and boring comedy and is so bad that I could barely watch.

• Spencer S

  
  Studios who care more about money and less about substance and artistic distinction certainly had their tentacles in when this movie was getting greenlighted. I feel like I've written this foul review a billion times: lacks chemistry between the leads, the jokes aren't funny… More
  Studios who care more about money and less about substance and artistic distinction certainly had their tentacles in when this movie was getting greenlighted. I feel like I've written this foul review a billion times: lacks chemistry between the leads, the jokes aren't funny in any context, the characters are cheesy, the premise is being recycled and the fact that this film exists at all isn't in any way necessary. If you have a bad script, it's circumventable with a stellar cast, but this film is headed by walking hot mess Paul Rust, who is somehow too nerdy and too awkward to pull this off. Panettiere just isn't what the role calls for, and it easily shows. Sure, she knows how to be cutesy as a cheerleader (much like her role on Heroes) but here the lead should be dangerous and shockingly rebellious. With her small stature and Disney ties no one is going to believe the petite blonde is anything but a conservative teenage stereotype. Besides the fact that the premise is built on Rust confessing a deep love for Beth Cooper, there is little originality, not even in the confession. The entire film is a deep exhale, not letting us take anything away from this snooze fest. Rewatch the Breakfast Club instead.

• Lewis C

  
  I'll be completely honest right up front, my interest in this movie was totally based on the fact that it has the sexy pair of Hayden Panettiere and Lauren London in it. And really, you shouldn't go out of your way to see it unless you're doing so for similar reasons.… More
  I'll be completely honest right up front, my interest in this movie was totally based on the fact that it has the sexy pair of Hayden Panettiere and Lauren London in it. And really, you shouldn't go out of your way to see it unless you're doing so for similar reasons. Its not particularly funny, and does absolutely nothing new or notable. It's your typical comedy about a loser high school guy in love with a hot girl, and it's mildly amusing, at best. There's the occasional (slightly) funny situation, but I Love You, Beth Cooper, falls squarely in the category of "generic teen comedy", with all the requisite lessons about idealized crushes, seizing the day, and growing up. It's relatively lite on the raunch, too, if that makes a difference for you one way or the other. I didn't regret watching it, but I'll be perfectly fine with never seeing it again.

• Richard C

  
  The movie sucks. Grade: C-

• Conner R

  
  So incredibly bad and annoying. It takes all the bad parts of high school nostalgia movies and throws them into one. The characters are corny beyond belief and creepy even. The politics of the movie are where it hits the hardest though. It stereotypes everything and has one of the… More
  So incredibly bad and annoying. It takes all the bad parts of high school nostalgia movies and throws them into one. The characters are corny beyond belief and creepy even. The politics of the movie are where it hits the hardest though. It stereotypes everything and has one of the worst messages about life. It's like an anti coming of age movie in that it teaches absolutely nothing to the characters or the viewer.

• Nicki M

  
  Wears out it's welcome a little, but not a total disaster. The acting starts out pretty poor, and the characters are unconvincing, but I did find myself warming to them along the way. Jack Carpenter in particular as Rich is amusing. I wasn't so keen on Paul Rust as Denis.… More
  Wears out it's welcome a little, but not a total disaster. The acting starts out pretty poor, and the characters are unconvincing, but I did find myself warming to them along the way. Jack Carpenter in particular as Rich is amusing. I wasn't so keen on Paul Rust as Denis. I couldn't see anything in him that a popular girl would go far. It seems to be borrowing from a few different 80's movies, even though it is set in current day. Some of it was cute and funny, some of it just stupid. I would not say it is a do not bother type of film, but certainly it's a rental for a boring day.

• KJ P

  
  I Love You, Beth Cooper has the feeling that I hate from a film. It starts off awful and gets increasingly worse! Midway through, it smartens up and becomes normal and actually has something meaningful to say. If you are someone who will no shut a movie off and stick around no matter… More
  I Love You, Beth Cooper has the feeling that I hate from a film. It starts off awful and gets increasingly worse! Midway through, it smartens up and becomes normal and actually has something meaningful to say. If you are someone who will no shut a movie off and stick around no matter how bad this is, you won't hate it as much as you did when it first kicked off. From dreadful to average, I would not recommend this film, but overall, it saves itself from being completely (brutally) bad!

• Sanjaya &

  
  I know it's a heart-breaker fact that this movie was directed by one of my favorite director, Chris Columbus, which already made some great movie that becomes my favorite like 'Step Mom', 'Bicentennial Man', 'Mrs. Doubtfire', 'Home Alone 1 &… More
  I know it's a heart-breaker fact that this movie was directed by one of my favorite director, Chris Columbus, which already made some great movie that becomes my favorite like 'Step Mom', 'Bicentennial Man', 'Mrs. Doubtfire', 'Home Alone 1 & 2', and 'Harry Potter 1 & 2'... The fact that this movie was stupid is bothering me, how can a director like Chris Columbus made a movie like this??? The story was weird, getting the most popular girl in school to spend the night together with the nerdiest kid in school was a stupid idea, especially how they start it with the nerdy boy confess his feelings to the girl in a graduation speech! The acting from the cast was really terrible, I wonder why Hayden Panettiere wants to star in a movie like this, this movie is totally junk, yet her performance in here was just looks like a newcomer's actress, besides the fact that she still young and show a good performance in TV Series "Heroes"... Overall, it's almost can be said a junk movie, do not watch it, especially buy it... If a Chris Columbus fans like me don't like this movie, you should hate it more I think... And I must say sorry to Columbus, but I named 'I Love You, Beth Cooper' the second worst teenage movie after 'Sleepover'...

• Nate Z

  
  Not the train wreck it’s been advertised as, but still nowhere near the term of “passable,” I Love You, Beth Cooper feels like a forgotten relic from a time capsule of 1980s teen movies. It just feels so powerfully dated and yet incompetent when it comes to maintaining a consistent… More
  Not the train wreck it’s been advertised as, but still nowhere near the term of “passable,” I Love You, Beth Cooper feels like a forgotten relic from a time capsule of 1980s teen movies. It just feels so powerfully dated and yet incompetent when it comes to maintaining a consistent comedic tone or building interesting characters. During the valedictorian’s (Paul Rust) graduation speech, he loses his filter, lets people know his real thoughts, and Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere) gets the titular declaration. Thanks to director Christopher Columbus, the movie wallows in shallow stereotypes; geek goes after head cheerleader. The comedy is ramped-up slapstick that approaches cartoon ridiculousness, including Beth’s ex-boyfriend who assaults and destroys everything in sight without anyone ever calling the police. There are some ham-handed life lessons doled out between the PG-13 randiness. The casting also dooms the fick. Panettiere isn’t a strong actress, or a strong figure of desire (admittedly, subjective), and Rust is an actor best described as “highly punch-able.” I was irritated by his every movement and word, and I felt compelled to keep punching him in the face. I’m not a violent person at all but thus was my level of annoyance. There are some fun stretches but nothing that ever sticks or resonates. I Love You, Beth Cooper is not worth adulation or scorn, just indifference. Nate's Grade: C

• Chris G

  
  I Love You Beth Cooper takes the high school standard of "THE" girl that ruled the roost over the four years of education you go through and the infatuations that males had for her and wraps them up in a neat little bow that presents the class geek (Paul Rust) professing his… More
  I Love You Beth Cooper takes the high school standard of "THE" girl that ruled the roost over the four years of education you go through and the infatuations that males had for her and wraps them up in a neat little bow that presents the class geek (Paul Rust) professing his love during graduation. An interesting premise, I must say and it could have worked if the script was written with any kind of sincerity, the direction was worth a damn, and had acting that was above the putrid level of two geeks at a bus stop doing Monty Python skits. What invariably happens is that the geek and his best friend (Jack Carpenter) end up, through a series of circumstances, on the town with the geeks queen Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere) and her entourage. Of course there's the party that gets crashed and the pissed off boyfriend, but it's what happens during this final night of high school insanity that the geek realizes the Venus-like girl in his head is not the wild teenage girl crashing into his parents Volvo. As a plot on paper the film sounds pretty good. It's an age old formula for decades, but it sounds like something different compared to most of the teen comedies out there. But then we get the script, which is an atrocious series of misadventures that zig zag without anywhere to land. There's the psycho, coked up, Army boyfriend (I though they gave drug tests) who is this Superman chasing our harem throughout the night, yet is defeated in a towel fight, never to be seen again. The acting is terrible due to the fact that it rests on Panettiere, who isn't the greatest actress in the first place. A poorly acted movie that's only saving grace is Alan Ruck as the geeks father. Yes, Cameron had a kid (see if you can get that reference). I Love You Beth Cooper is essentially resume filler for the cast with Panettiere being able to say that she had a starring role in a film. This film was directed by Chris Columbus, who quit making the Harry Potter movies after the first two. Now we know why.

• Jason S

  
  Not a bad teen movie and not as crude as the ones we have been having to put up with the last few years. The characters are cookie cutter for the most part but there is an interesting match up as the two school geeks get to spend the night hanging out with the head cheerleaders and… More
  Not a bad teen movie and not as crude as the ones we have been having to put up with the last few years. The characters are cookie cutter for the most part but there is an interesting match up as the two school geeks get to spend the night hanging out with the head cheerleaders and seeing what it's like to be in that scene. There were some silly scenes that took me out of the film here and there but none of them made me dislike the flick. The movie also seemed to be all over the place. We meet characters that seem like they are going to be a big deal until they are quickly taken out of play and not seen again. There are lots of those shots of characters looking longingly at each other from afar, a few fight scenes with the bully, and sexual tension. All in all it was a funny movie here and there with some good scenes where the movie stops and focuses for a few minutes but in the end this flick will be forgotten among the masses of teen comedies out there.

• Manu G

  
  Kinda fun and funny all at the same time, a movie really to watch when you have nothing to do like I did... Buffalo Grove High School valedictorian Denis Cooverman has had quite an academic career -- on paper, at least. Superlative student, conscientious young gentleman and patently… More
  Kinda fun and funny all at the same time, a movie really to watch when you have nothing to do like I did... Buffalo Grove High School valedictorian Denis Cooverman has had quite an academic career -- on paper, at least. Superlative student, conscientious young gentleman and patently obvious dork, Denis has played it safe and made it all the way to graduation day without ever having really experienced some of the joys of higher learning: breaking curfew, destruction of property, over-consumption of alcohol, fist fights, late nights, fast cars or faster women (actually, women of any sort). But all of that is about to change, and all by uttering five little words: "I Love You, Beth Cooper."

• Bradley W

  
  I Love You Beth Cooper is a terrible, unfunny, cliche, creepy, and boring comedy and is so bad that I could barely watch.

• Dillon L

  
  What a surprise, another lame, unfunny and cliched teen comedy.

• Bryce I

  
  While having few funny scenes, and less cliche's than most teen comedies, it's still bad.

• Jeff B

  
  John Q. Moviegoer may not love Beth Cooper, but he surprisingly finds her easy on the eyes. This is not so much a reference to the likeable cast as the plucky story. Director Chris Columbus has channeled some of John Hughes’s ‘80s teen comedy charm (granted, more Pretty in Pink than… More
  John Q. Moviegoer may not love Beth Cooper, but he surprisingly finds her easy on the eyes. This is not so much a reference to the likeable cast as the plucky story. Director Chris Columbus has channeled some of John Hughes’s ‘80s teen comedy charm (granted, more Pretty in Pink than Sixteen Candles) in rendering this harmless and sometimes fun tale of one young man’s rite of passage. Columbus and Hughes worked together on Home Alone and, though this romp is never fall-down funny as that unforgettable gem, it does eschew the graduation comedy mold with a fresh hook...which, alas, is not enough. In his latest, the PG-13-rated teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper adapted by Larry Doyle from his own novel, a high school valedictorian (Rust) declares his secret love for a cheerleader (Panettiere) during his graduation speech, kicking off a night he will never forget. It is a last-night-of-school comedy in the classic sense, but some of the humor – sprung from Larry Doyle’s novel – really hits homeroom. Oh, there are pratfalls, stock characters, and hookups galore, but there are also revelations and a laudable degree of unpredictability kicked off by one valedictorian’s brutally honest and confessional address to his classmates. Every moviegoer has seen this story before (and, if they have not already, will graduate onward from the rigors of high school), but usually as an R-rated sex romp rife with dick and fart jokes. Beth Cooper lacks the witty bite of, say, Mean Girls, but viewers cannot help but admire its simple Hughes-esque appeal. Bottom Line: Grade ‘D’ entertainment.

• Bryan D

  
  Hayden is hot. But not hot enough to make up for the cliche BS and the make believe fairy tale this poorly tries to imitate.

• Angel G

  
  I cant decide if it was a good movie or a bad movie, cause Paul Rust was a bit cheesy, but harmless, but Hayden Panettiere was charming, yet unlikable. She changed her emotions so much you cant tell whether shes nice or shes a slut. It had funny moments and chessy moments, the plot… More
  I cant decide if it was a good movie or a bad movie, cause Paul Rust was a bit cheesy, but harmless, but Hayden Panettiere was charming, yet unlikable. She changed her emotions so much you cant tell whether shes nice or shes a slut. It had funny moments and chessy moments, the plot has confusing things, but can be simple. The movie may have some charming moments or truth moments, but it has chessy moments and cliché, so a C+ for this movie.

• Jackson W

  
  Only minorly funny, otherwise dreadful

• Christopher H

  
  Blah. Saw this for Hayden just because I like Heroes and sadly had to watch Paul Rust too. Please don't let him in anything else. Hardly laughed. Never at Paul Rust.

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