''Just One of the Guys'' is a 1985 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Lisa Gottlieb and co-written by

Dennis Feldman Dennis Jeffrey Feldman (born 1946) is a North American screenwriter, photographer, film producer and director. Biography Early life and photography Feldman is the son of Phil Feldman, an attorney who became a Hollywood producer and execut ...

and

Jeff Franklin Jeffrey Steven Franklin (born January 21, 1955) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He is best known for being the creator of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Full House'' and its Netflix sequel ''Fuller House (TV ...

, although according to Gottlieb, she also co-wrote the screenplay together with her writing partner Mitch Giannunzio but then was supposedly denied writing credit by the producers. ''Just One of the Guys'' is a loose adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

''. The film ranked number 48 on ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'''s list of the "50 Best High School Movies".

Plot

Terri Griffith is an aspiring teenage journalist in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, who feels that her teachers do not take her articles seriously because of her good looks. After failing to get her dream job as a newspaper intern, she comes to the conclusion that it is because she is a girl. With her parents out of town on a two-week Caribbean vacation, Terri decides to remedy the situation. Enrolling at a rival high school, she enlists the help of her sex-obsessed younger brother, Buddy, and her best friend Denise to disguise herself as a boy. Along the way, she meets Rick Morehouse, a nerd who becomes her pet project. After helping him through an image makeover and encouraging him to start talking to girls, Terri starts to fall for him. After many episodes in and out of school, including fending off a group of bullies led by bodybuilder Greg Tolan, dealing with her real college boyfriend Kevin, and being set up on a blind date with a potential new girlfriend named Sandy, Terri manages to be accepted as "one of the guys". At the senior

prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school y ...

, a jealous Greg picks a fight with Rick, who ultimately trounces the bully in front of the entire class. When Terri's boyfriend shows up unexpectedly and discovers the ruse, Rick assumes that Terri's big secret was that she was gay. To prove otherwise, Terri opens her shirt and reveals her breasts to Rick. Although she admits to loving him, Rick rejects her, prompting a desperate Terri to kiss him in front of everyone. To placate the awestruck students, Rick derisively announces that Terri "has tits" before leaving the prom and Terri behind. Heartbroken and humiliated, Terri retreats to her room and writes a long article on what it is like to be a girl in boys' clothing, detailing all of her experiences, both good and bad. Terri returns to her own school. When her article is printed in the newspaper, she receives high praise and finally earns her dream job at the newspaper. Nevertheless, she still finds herself yearning for Rick, who has not spoken to her since the prom. One day during the summer, Rick suddenly turns up after reading her article. Realizing their true feelings for each other, they reconcile and make plans for another date. They decide to go for a drive in Terri's car, but before Buddy can join them, an attractive blonde on a motorcycle rides up and beckons to him with a smile. Buddy then climbs onto the back of her motorcycle, and both couples happily drive away.

Cast

* Joyce Hyser as Terri/Terry Griffith *

Clayton Rohner Clayton Montague Rohner (born August 5, 1957) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the comedy ''Just One of the Guys'' (1985), and had subsequent roles in the horror films ''April Fool's Day'' (1986), '' Bat 21'' (1988), ''I, Madman'' ...

as Rick Morehouse *

Billy Jacoby William Jayne Jacoby (born April 10, 1969), known professionally as Billy Jayne and previously Billy Jacoby is an American actor. His siblings, Robert Jayne, Susan Jayne, Laura Jacoby, as well as his half-brother Scott Jacoby are also actors. ...

as Buddy Griffith * Toni Hudson as Denise *

William Zabka William Michael Zabka (; born October 20, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Johnny Lawrence in ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and the TV series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–present). In 2004, h ...

as Greg Tolan *

Leigh McCloskey Leigh Joseph McCloskey (born June 21, 1955) is an American actor, artist, author and philosopher. Throughout his acting career, McCloskey appeared in numerous television series and movies, including the popular American soap opera ''Dallas'' an ...

as Kevin *

Sherilyn Fenn Sherilyn Fenn (born Sheryl Ann Fenn; February 1, 1965) is an American actress and author. She came to attention for her performance as Audrey Horne on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) for which she was nominated for a Go ...

as Sandy *

Arye Gross Arye Gross (; born March 17, 1960) is an American actor, who has appeared on a variety of television shows in numerous roles, most notably Adam Greene in the ABC sitcom ''Ellen''. Personal life Gross was born on March 17, 1960, in Los Angeles ...

as Willie *

Deborah Goodrich Deborah Goodrich Royce (née Goodrich; May 11, 1958) is an American former actress, story editor, and author. She is best known for her screen roles in ''Just One of the Guys'' (1985) and the horror films ''April Fool's Day'' (1986) and ''Remot ...

as Deborah *

Stuart Charno Stuart Charno (born September 29, 1956) is an American actor. He has been a stand-up comic and has starred in film and on television. His first role was in the 1981 horror film ''Friday the 13th Part 2''. Other notable appearances of his include ...

as Reptile *

Kenneth Tigar Kenneth Tigar (born September 24, 1942) is an American actor, primarily on American television, and translator. Life Kenneth Leslie Tigar was born into a Jewish family in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and raised in the Greater Boston Area. He receiv ...

as Mr. Raymaker

Soundtrack

# "Just One of the Guys" by

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

– 3:55 # "Girls Got Something Boys Ain't Got" by Midnight Star – 3:56 # "Tonight You're Mine, Baby" by

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". Ronnie formed the ...

– 4:57 # "Prove It to You" by

Dwight Twilley Dwight Twilley (born June 6, 1951) is an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the Top 20 hit singles "I'm on Fire" (1975) and "Girls" (1984). His music is associated with the power pop style. Twilley and Phil Seymour performed ...

– 3:20 # "Jealous" by

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

– 4:23 # "Way Down" by

Billy Burnette Dorsey William Burnette III (born May 8, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was part of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1987 to 1995. Burnette also had a brief career in acting. Family ba ...

– 3:34 # "Burning" by Brock/Davis – 4:20 # "Thrills" by Greg French – 3:15 # "Hard Way" by Brock/Davis – 4:48 # "Guy Talk" by Tom Scott – 2:29 The songs and music that were played in the film, not on the soundtrack. # "

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

" by

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

# "Down on the Street" by

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

# "Turn Out Right" by Private Domain # "Comb My Hair" by Johnny Lyon # "Buns" by Bonedaddys # "Gone Too Far" by Neurotica

Release

''Just One of the Guys'' was released on April 26, 1985.

Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray Disc under Sony Pictures on April 28, 2020. Special features include filmmaker and cast commentary and theatrical trailer.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

it holds a score of 54% based on reviews from 13 critics, with an average rating of 4.80/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

it has a score of 57% based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * * {{Twelfth Night 1985 films 1985 comedy films 1985 directorial debut films 1980s coming-of-age comedy films 1980s feminist films 1980s high school films 1980s teen comedy films American coming-of-age comedy films American feminist comedy films American high school films American teen comedy films Columbia Pictures films Cross-dressing in American films Films about proms Films scored by Tom Scott Films set in Phoenix, Arizona Teen films based on works by William Shakespeare 1980s English-language films 1980s American films