Just One Of The Guys is a film that had I seen it when it first came out I might have dismissed it as an innocuous teen sex comedy. Jane Hyser an aspiring journalism student whose teacher Kenneth Tigar can't quite take her seriously. No one with that much beauty could possibly have a brain in her head.

So she goes undercover as a guy to prove her point. Not even her college boyfriend Leigh McCloskey knows, the only one who does know is her perpetually horny brother Billy Jayne. In the end things work pretty much as they do for characters in films like this.

But if you've seen a film like Boys Don't Cry with the gut wrenching performance that got Hillary Swank her first Oscar as the transgender Brandon Teena her life was anything but amusing. What Jane Hyser does as an experiment was the life lived by Hillary Swank in her film. It wasn't bets, proms, and parties. When the climax comes in fact at a prom I don't think there would be that many laughs in real life.

We guard our gender roles and prerogatives most jealously in this society. You can still get a few laughs from Just One Of The Guys. But I bet the amount of next month's rent that your perspective will change if you see this film and Boys Don't Cry.

Take up my challenge.

High school student Terry Griffith has arrogant college boyfriend Kevin and best friend Denise. Her sex-starved brother Buddy tells her that their parents are away for two weeks. She gets rejected by her teacher for a contest for a newspaper's summer internship. She is convinced that she is being overlooked only because she's a girl. With her brother's help, she turns herself into a guy to enter the contest anew in another school. She befriends new student Rick Morehouse which turns into something more complicated. Sandy sets her sights on Terry. The nerdy students are terrorized by school bully Greg Tolan and Rick likes Tolan's girlfriend Deborah.

Joyce Hyser's biggest assets are located in her bra. Her acting has limitations. This is so 80's. This is definitely a lesser teen comedy. It has a lot of the story elements of the 80's teen comedy. It doesn't have the music. It doesn't have quite the same fun or the feel of a John Hughes movie. It's like a sitcom copy of a great teen comedy of the era. I remember a couple of scenes from way back when but mostly it's a forgotten second tier movie.

*Some mild spoilers, viewer discretion is advised*

I remember watching this on HBO seemingly every day of every summer of my teenage years. Joyce Hyser is flawless. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of Terry. I think it's her voice and her sense of humor. She expresses a lot in her voice and has one of the best senses of humor that I have ever seen in a female. I talk about Joyce Hyser so much, because this may be the only movie that she has a lead in EVER. The movie, which may not fully do her justice, is made better whenever she is on screen. Also she actually passes for the opposite sex(sorry Mr. Curtis and Mr. Lemmon). Joining Joyce is a fine cast including Clayton Rohner(dork),William Zabka(villain,duh),Sherilyn Fenn(love interest),and Arye Gross(House II!, another dork). Terry's boyfriend and best friend do well in their roles, but don't deserve to be named for they are not quasi-famous to me. As for Billy Jayne, I go back forth in liking him and not. He accurately depicts someone obsessed with sex. If you have any interest in the above actors, I don't think you will be disappointed. There is nothing visually stunning. The script is o.k., Buddy gets the best lines. The soundtrack is pure eighties which is always an adventure. All in all, a pleasant distraction with good actors that makes today's teen movies seem dull which of course isn't hard. And one of my favorite topless scenes which is actually essential to the plot in my opinion.

**Rick: Where do you get off having t**s! Terry: Sorry.**