Amanda Bynes makes awkwardness funny through physical comedy and emphatic timing. We value her ease in a comic ensemble, but the teen comedies can leave her repeating a manner when they ought to give her more to do.
Fi1m perspective
Amanda Bynes is prepared to look awkward, and to make sure the awkwardness is visible. In She's the Man (2006), playing a girl who passes herself off as her brother gives her energetic physical comedy a practical job to do. Her exaggerated mannerisms belong in that situation. We rate that willingness to be ungainly, though the same emphatic approach is less useful when a part needs more than a comic quirk.
Her sketch work on All That, which she joined in 1996, and The Amanda Show (1999–2002) helps explain the emphasis. A joke has to register quickly in that format. Big Fat Liar (2002) took her into features, but the teen comedies kept asking for much the same comic skills. Sydney White (2007) suggests the limitation: she remains likeable, but the broadness can become repetitive.
Hairspray (2007) puts that likeability to better use as Penny Pingleton, within an ensemble rather than at the centre of the film. Adam Shankman's musical is bright and tuneful, and Bynes's aptitude for supporting comedy fits its good-natured approach. We were cheered by the dancing, because the performers can dance and the film gives us the pleasure of seeing them do it. Nikki Blonsky is the real find, however, and the film's softened treatment of its John Waters source costs it some bite. It is enjoyable company, though we would have welcomed more of the original's sharpness.
Easy A (2010), with Bynes as Marianne, offers another supporting part in a comic ensemble, but it also puts her contribution in perspective. Emma Stone carries the film, helped by an unusually enjoyable adult cast; our recommendation rests chiefly on those performances, rather than on Bynes's presence. The increasingly unconvincing gossip is a weakness the cast cannot entirely repair. Across these films, there is ample evidence of a comic performer suited to teen roles, and less evidence of what she might have done beyond them. Start with Easy A for the company; try She's the Man to see Bynes take the lead.
Biography
Amanda Bynes is an American actress. She was born on 3 April 1986 in Thousand Oaks, California.
Bynes began her career on Nickelodeon sketch comedy series, appearing in All That (1996–2000) and starring in The Amanda Show (1999–2002). She later played Holly Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You (2002–2006). Her film roles include Kaylee in Big Fat Liar (2002), Daphne Reynolds in What a Girl Wants (2003), Viola in She's the Man (2006), Penny Pingleton in Hairspray (2007) and Marianne in Easy A (2010). She has also provided voice work for Robots (2005) and Family Guy.
