"No more little white gloves"
All I wanna do is a 1998 comedy film that tells the story of a girl Odette "Odie" Sinclaire, who was forcibly transferred by her parents to attend Miss Godart's preparatory school for girls, because her parents discovered her plans to have intimate relationship with her boyfriend, Dennis. In school she meets her roommates, Verena von Stefan and Tinka Parker, who seem obnoxious and unruly at the first glance, and also other two girls Theresa "Tweety" Goldberg and Maureen "Momo" Haines. These four girls together represent what they call a D.A.R. transcripted as Daughters of American Raviolli. In details we find out about these four girls. Like Verena's parents don't have a happy marriage, though they're loaded but they go through divorce. Tinka isn't such a smart person, but still has her dignity despite her overall image of an easy girl, Tweety suffers from bulimia obviously dissatisfied with her looks, Momo is a hard-working person who wants to achieve great things.
All I wanna do doesn't follow any heavy script, its' idea of girl power and fighting for your rights is easy, but it has a nice message delivered with a good dose of average girl school life.
The movie starts off with Odie arriving at school after being caught and now being showed around by a hall monitor, Abigail. Her new roommates are your first class troublemakers that are against some of the stiff rules, but also it is obvious that especially Verena cares about the healthy school environment the most. The whole idea behind D.A.R. is to help each other even after leaving the school and support each other's aspirations, like Verena wants to have a magazine, Momo to become a biologist, Tweety a psychologist and Tinka to be a movie star. These dreams show girl aspirations towards the future and ridicule the image of the married life with house and two kids. Verena's ultimate goal at the present turn of events is to dismiss one of the school male teachers who shows obvious signs of harrasssment towards young girls, despite his own wife working in same school. In return for D.A.R. to help Odie realize her current goal - become ex-virgin (though she is ridiculed for that, but from other side it showed Odie's stubborness to reach the game end) - she helps to set up the teacher, but the plan fails, instead they have monitor watch at them more closely. Not giving up they think the future will bring new ideas, while Tweety accidentally heard shocking news that their school will become a co-ed and the news will be announced soon. Before that their own school and the boy school will be joining to have a dance evening and a small concert soon.
These news tore the girl group apart, one part is happy about it, but Verena and Momo are especially dissatisfied with that, since they care about the obvious domination of male students when it comes to be chosen from the crowd and girls' chances to get good push before uni almost non-existent. Verena mocks the possible development of events that girls will be too busy to take care of their beauty to study. Tinka argues with her that real world is about it - boys and girl, but Verena claps back that real world is - boys on top of girls. The group splits, with only Verena and Momo planning, Odie stayed neutral in the situation. The plan of two is to make boys look most hideous at the ending of the evening to which they decided to realize through getting boys drunk during dances. The second is to make the grandson of one of the trustees ("Frosty") to have a situation on campus, be naked in a girl's bedroom, to make things even worse.
When the time arrived boy students made a bet during their ride, that one who gets the girl with biggest boobs and also takes photograph as proof will get all the collected money. Boys who arrived to Godart's were taken around the campus grounds to get familiar, each girl had her own date, Verena who signed up to be with Frosty got another boy, but didn't give up all the way and took him around the campus, that allowed her to lead him to girl dormitory after drugging and leave the Frosty naked, but to both surprise Verena who talked with Frosty throughout the day found out that they're very much alike and made her reluctant about her plan in the end, both left by their parents in school, both try everything to get in troubles and by the end of the evening when her plan was almost successful she gave in into making out with Frosty and eventually being caught. From Momo's perspective when the dances came around she distributed magic punch which was alcohol and made all boys drunk, they also threw a bunch of empty bottles into boys' bus to make it seem as if they got drunk there. From Tweety's perspective since she was most plump, she was led around by her date and it was obvious that she was too fascinated, laughing at every joke and being led to a secluded place where eventually her chest was exposed and the photos were taken, the boy ran away laughing with photographer, leaving devastated Tweety alone. From Tinka's side she enjoyed the boy companionship, but was treated as easy-to-get target, before being saved by "Snake" a boy they met in town, who fell in love with her at first sight and they lead a photography club and call themselves 'Flat critters'. They are a bunch of unruly boys, but put into sharp contrast with the school boys, since though they do whatever they want, but they never disrespect girls in a really mean or despicable way. From Odie's side, they took this chance to meet with Dennis at the secret base of D.A.R. which is in the attic of the school, but her bf not only flopped their long-awaited date, but also didn't help when the two were caught. Gladly Odie is helped by Tinka with the Flat Critters who help to get rid off the male teacher.
When the news of school becoming co-ed were annoucned girls barricaded in the dormitory and went on strike, so their voices would be heard instead of silent choice of trustees. Girls were given a choice to think and by vote they represented the will of everyone. The school stayed girls-only school in the end with girls also donating money for school needs. Which led to a big victory.
In the epilogie of the movie all girls were said to achieve their dreams.
Of course there is no such school as well as this is not a biopic, it just takes this non-existent school to set off the precedent. With the ability of its' easy-going storytelling to inadvertently convey and bring up the topics of equality and women struggling in their position. The school itself is the symbol of the stereotypes where school doesn't receive enough funding to continue creating independent and strong environment, just because it's a girls' school. So individually and together girls can show the microcosm and contradictions, as well as show the ability to unite and strive for better not by the means of deceit, but in upright and straightforward way.
I first saw this movie on TV long ago when I was a teen and years later I still watch it for the same reason - yay girl power xD And it might not be a big hit, but to me it conveys more girl empowerment than many modern representatives of such themes.
RATE: 9/10
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