She's the Man vs. Twelfth Night

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This romantic comedy called “She’s the Man,” directed by Andy Fickman, was inspired by the classic play “Twelfth Night,” written by William Shakespeare.

 

 In both the play and the movie the characters are entangled in a love triangle that leads the audience in laughter and lust.

Twelfth Night

In Twelfth Night the main character's name is Viola. She survives a shipwreck and is in the belief that her brother Sebastien drowned. 

She then disguises herself as a man to find employment at Duke Orsino's court.  

This is where the love triangle comes in and gets a little confusing... 

• Duke Orsino is in love with "Lady Olivia,"  but she has no romantic interest in him.

•  Viola (who is now disguised as Cesario) is the Duke's love letter messenger to Lady Olivia.  

• Lady Olivia falls in love with Cesario... or should we say Viola?

In the tales of unrequited love and mistaken identities, the characters try to keep their secrets in the court of Duke Orsino. Which becomes even more difficult when Sebastian makes it back to Illyria from the shipwreck.                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                    

She's the Man 

In the movie "She's the Man" the main character's name is Viola Hastings, and there is nothing greater than her love for soccer. 

Her school decided to cut the women's soccer team, and she was denied to play with the boys on a co-ed team.

When Viola finds out her brother (Sebastian) is planning on not going to boarding school to pursue his career in music, Viola takes her opportunity.  

Using the excuse of staying with Dad for a few weeks, she enrolls herself at Illyria as her brother in hopes of him not getting caught for moving halfway across the country to make music and of course, so she can play soccer. 

Illyria just so happens to be the rival of her old school, Cornwall Prep. Viola, who is pretending to be Sebastian is roomed with another soccer player named Duke Orsino.  

Now if you thought the last love triangle was confusing.... 

• Duke has a thing for Olivia, a girl at school who is perfect in his eyes.  

• Olivia is interested in the new guy in school, Sebastian, or should I say Viola?

• Viola falls for her roommate, Duke Orsino as she is disguised as Sebastien 

Common themes throughout the book and movie 

• Identity
• love 
• Gender roles and stereotypes 
• Unrequited love 

Recommendation

My recommendation is to watch the movie "She's the Man" because of the way it was adapted to today's world. 

Although this piece written by Shakespeare is a classic and should be recognized for what it was turned into today, it was written in the 1600s. 

The ideas and assumptions like a woman not being able to work rather than not being able to play soccer highlight the societal differences in these two time periods.