Netflix’s latest movie, “He’s All That,” will feature TikTok star Addison Rae Easterling as an influencer who makes a bet with her friend that she can transform an unpopular classmate into prom king.
The film, a gender-swapped reimagining of the 90s rom-com classic “She’s All That”, will be released on Netflix on Friday.
“A huge part of why this role felt so right for me was because I can relate to this character so much,” Easterling said in an interview.
Easterling plays the role of Padget, a high schooler with a large social media following. Padget experiences a fall from grace after an embarrassing live stream. Easterling said she felt this role was perfect for of her acting debut because of the parallels between her own career and her character’s.
One particular scene Easterling said she related to comes when Padget tells her mom she doesn’t know who she is anymore because she is constantly trying to make others happy.
“I started off like Padget, very cautious and scared, like I want to be perfect because I don't want to disappoint anyone,” Easterling said.
Easterling said she felt pressure to live up to the “She’s All That” standard, but it helped to understand this is a new cast with a new script and it is a good thing for the reboot to have changes from the original.
“We aren't going to be ‘She's All That’ because it's not ‘She's All That’,” Easterling said. “You have to realize that's not realistic, I’m not going to be exactly that”.
“He’s All That” is more of a reimagining of the original fim than a remake, Easterling said.
“I think we all like to say reimagining of the movie just because it is a little bit different and I think that'll open up a new door for people to judge it from a different perspective as well because it's not exactly like ‘She's All That’,” Easterling said. “It has its own spin, but there are nods to the original.”
Reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian joins Easterling in making her film debut. Kardashian, Easterling’s close friend, appeared in the movie as Padget’s social media mentor.
Beyond Kardashian, fans of the original movie will recognize “She’s All That” cast members Rachel Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard. Cook returns as Padget’s mother and Lillard portrays her school principal.
Rebooting a beloved movie is a challenge, but not a challenge “He’s All That” star Tanner Buchanan is unfamiliar with. Buchanan stars opposite Easterling as the unpopular student turned love interest. Buchanan is also featured in “Cobra Kai”, a TV series continuation of “The Karate Kid” films, and said he felt pressure to do the original film justice in this adaptation.
Buchanan said he feels a similar pressure to satisfy “She’s All That” fans, but he has faith in the cast and crew’s ability to deliver. When committing to the role, Buchanan said the quality of writing and directing helped him feel confident in the film.
“She’s All That” writer R. Lee Fleming Jr. returned to write the script for the reboot while Mark Waters, who directed ‘00s hits such as “Mean Girls” and “Freaky Friday,”directed the film.
“We came in knowing that we were going to put hard work into it, knowing that we had good people involved with it,” Buchanan said.
Both Easterling and Buchanan said they were familiar with the original before being cast in “He’s All That”. Buchanan said he loves rom-coms while Easterling said she remembers watching the movie repeatedly with her mom who is a huge fan of the original.
Although the film is different, Buchanan said he wants everyone watching “He’s All That” to get the same feeling they do watching the original.
“It's all about making sure everybody feels nostalgic but at the same time you have to do something completely different,” Buchanan said.
