Boys and Girls Information

Boys and Girls is a romantic comedy film that was released in 2000, directed by Robert Iscove. The two main characters, Ryan (played by Freddie Prinze, Jr.) and Jennifer (Claire Forlani) meet each other initially as adolescent teenagers. They later realize that they are two people whose lives are intertwined through fate.

Plot

Jennifer Burrows and Ryan Walker meet at 10 years old aboard an airplane and quickly find out that they both have different views on life. Several years later, Ryan is mascot to his high school, while Jennifer is elected Homecoming Queen of hers. During the halftime ceremony between the two schools, Ryan is chased by the rival mascots and loses his mascot head, only to find it run over by Jennifer's ceremonial car. Jennifer later finds Ryan and tries to console him about his costume. The two, again realizing they are too different and do not get along as friends, part ways once more.

A year later, Ryan and Jennifer are students at UC Berkeley. Ryan is in a steady, structured relationship with his high school sweetheart, Betty and Jennifer is in a wild, spontaneous, sex-crazed relationship with a musician. Ryan meets his roommate Hunter (aka Steve), who uses deception and lies as a way to meet women. Jennifer moves in with her best friend Amy after her breakup with her musician boyfriend. Jennifer and Ryan encounter each other through circumstance with Ryan at one point, even dating Amy. Not reciprocating his feelings, Amy has Jennifer "breakup" with Ryan for her. Their friendship blossoms through this and the two slowly start enjoying each other's company. Jennifer is a Latin major who is witty, literary, and an independent free-spirit. Ryan majors in structural engineering, is deliberate, serious, and requires planning in life. They take walks, console each other over break-ups, and gradually become best friends. Jennifer even talks Ryan into dating again, as he starts seeing a girl named Megan.

One night, in a cynical mood towards love, Jennifer breaks down and Ryan tries to console her. To their equal surprise, the two make love. Afraid of commitment, Jennifer's response is to run away from continued intimacy and to remain friends. Ryan is hurt by her response that sleeping together was a mistake. Realizing he loves Jennifer, he breaks up with Megan and withdraws himself to his studies. As months pass, Jennifer graduates and readies herself to travel Italy. After not seeing Ryan for some time, she encounters him at a hilltop overseeing the Golden Gate Bridge. Ryan confesses his feelings towards her and the two try to absolve the tension, but realizing she does not feel the same, Ryan leaves her to her thoughts and wishes her well in Italy.

On the shuttle to the airport, Jennifer passes the same hilltop where the two used to spend time together and realize she indeed loves Ryan. She immediately races back to her apartment and finds Amy frantically getting dressed to greet her. Hunter, or Steve at this point, confidently strolls out of Amy's bedroom and tells Jennifer that Ryan is heading back on a plane to Los Angeles. While waiting for departure, Ryan hears Jennifer confess her love for him in Latin. After a brief convincing, and feeling the wrath of a flight attendant, the two rekindle their romance where they first met "? on an airplane.

Cast

• Claire Forlani as Jennifer Burrows
• Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Ryan Walker
• Jason Biggs as Hunter / Steve
• Amanda Detmer as Amy
• Heather Donahue as Megan
• Alyson Hannigan as Betty
• Brendon Ryan Barrett as Young Ryan Walker
• Raquel Beaudene as Young Jennifer Burrows
• David Smigelski as Homecoming King
• Blake Shields as Homecoming Knight
• Gay Thomas as N.Y. Flight Attendant
• Renate Verbaan as Farting Super Model

Reception

The film garnered mainly negative reviews holding only 11% a rating from Rotten Tomatoes, with seven positive reviews and 54 negative.

Box office

The film opened at #6 at the North American box office making $7 million USD approximately in its opening weekend.