Get Over It (film)
Get Over It is a 2001 American teen comedy film loosely based on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream about a high school senior who desperately tries to win back his ex-girlfriend by joining the school play she and her new boyfriend are performing in, against the advice of friends. The film was directed by Tommy O’Haver for Miramax Films and written by R. Lee Fleming Jr.. The film was released on March 9, 2001, and stars Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó, Shane West, Colin Hanks, Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis, Swoosie Kurtz, Ed Begley Jr., Carmen Electra and Martin Short. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box-office bomb, grossing $19 million against a budget of $22 million.
Berke Landers and his girlfriend, Allison, were the quintessential high-school couple who grew up together and eventually fell in love, but she breaks up with him immediately after the film begins. This leads to an opening musical number of “Love Will Keep Us Together” lip-synced by Vitamin C, imagined by Berke. He seeks advice from his embarrassing parents Frank and Beverly Landers, who are hosts of a relationship advice show called Love Matters, but they don’t help with the situation by instead focusing on his sex life. Allison then starts a relationship with Striker, a “foreign” student who was once the lead singer of a boy band called the Swingtown Lads. When Allison and Striker audition for the school’s upcoming musical, Berke desperately tries to win Allison back by also auditioning for the play, despite having no theatrical talent and having a busy schedule as a member of the basketball team. Meanwhile, Berke’s friends Felix and Dennis try to find a new girlfriend for him.
With the help of Felix’s younger sister, Kelly, a talented songwriter and singer who’s is in love with him, Berke wins a minor role in the play, a modern musical version of Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream called A Midsummer Night’s Rockin’ Eve, written and directed by the school’s domineering drama teacher, Dr. Desmond Oates (Martin Short). Striker plays Demetrius, Allison plays Hermia, Kelly plays Helena, and Lysander is to be played by the school’s star actor, Peter Wong. But after Peter is injured in a freak accident, Striker nominates Berke to take over the role of Lysander, and, still intent on winning Allison back, Berke accepts. He gradually improves with continuing assistance from Kelly, but remains unaware of the growing attraction between the two of them. While searching through props backstage, Kelly accidentally shoots Berke in the arm with an arrow gun, thinking it’s a prop. Meanwhile, Oates blames Kelly’s singing for his own poorly written song and rejects her suggestions to improve it.
Felix and Dennis set Berke up on a date with Dora, a very attractive but accident-prone woman. The date ends horribly when Dora inadvertently causes a fire in the restaurant. Later, the boys try again to get Berke’s mind off things by taking him to an underground sex club. However, their attempts fail when Berke is locked into a harness and whipped by a dominatrix. The night ends with Felix and Dennis abandoning Berke after the police raid the club, who is then picked up by his parents. Much to Berke’s chagrin, his parents congratulate him on his seemingly kinky sexual tastes.
At a party thrown by Felix at Berke’s house, Kelly kisses Berke, but he insists that a relationship between them could not work because she is Felix’s sister. She leaves him, annoyed at his unwillingness to move on with his life, and Felix, coming across the two, punches Berke. At the same party, Berke and Allison catch Striker cheating on Allison with her best friend Maggie, and so Allison breaks up with Striker. Meanwhile, Frank and Beverly return home to find the party and once again congratulate Berke. Berke lambastes them for constantly embarrassing him and not acting like normal parents would in these types of situations.
On the play’s opening night, the first half of the performance goes smoothly except for some onstage scuffling between Berke and Striker. During the intermission, Allison confides to Berke that she wants to get back together with him, leaving him with a difficult choice between her and Kelly. Meanwhile, Striker bribes two of the theater technicians to try and blow Berke off the stage using stage pyrotechnics. Before the play resumes, Felix gives the orchestra sheet music for a love ballad written by Kelly to replace Oates’ unpopular tune.
After the curtain rises, Kelly sings her song so beautifully that Berke is reminded of their time together and finally realizes he loves her. As the fourth act begins, he abandons his lines from the script and makes up his own verse professing his character’s love for Kelly’s character Helena. The audience applauds as Berke and Kelly kiss. Striker protests this change, but unwittingly signals the technicians to set off the explosion, blowing him offstage and into the orchestral section, sending Dora flying into the air. Felix catches her and they become a couple. Dennis kisses Kelly’s friend and his dancing partner Basin, who kisses him back, suggesting that they also begin a relationship. Kelly and Berke leave the theatre after the show that was directed by Allison Wruk & Matt Doss, looking forward to their future together as they discuss the next night’s performance. The film ends with Sisqó and Vitamin C singing and dancing along with the cast to the song “September” as the credits roll.
