Sleepover (film)

Sleepover is a 2004 American comedy teen film directed by Joe Nussbaum and starring Alexa Vega, Sara Paxton, Mika Boorem, Scout Taylor-Compton, Kallie Flynn Childress, Sean Faris and Jane Lynch.

Plot
On the last day of 8th grade before their freshman year in high school, Julie Corky (Alexa Vega) has a slumber party with 3 best friends, Hannah Carlson (Mika Boorem), Farrah James (Scout Taylor-Compton), and Yancy Williams (Kallie Flynn Childress). As a quartet, they end up having the adventure of their lives. A group of popular girls, led by a former friend of Julie's, Staci Blake (Sara Paxton), challenge the girls to a scavenger hunt. The prize will be a coveted lunchtime seat near the fountain in high school. The losers will have to sit at tables near the school's dumpsters.

The list includes things like a picture of the girls with a date inside an exclusive night club, the insignia from a local private security firm, and a pair of boxers from Steve Philips (Sean Faris), and to dress an Old Navy mannequin with their own clothing. The girls sneak out of Julie's house, and use Yancy's father's Hypermini to travel to various locations and get the required objects. Along the way they dodge a Patroltec security guard (Steve Carell) and try to keep Julie's parents Gabby and Jay (Jane Lynch and Jeff Garlin respectively) from discovering that they are gone. During their scavenger hunt, Steve Philips sees Julie skateboarding in a dress and is impressed. Later the girls meet up at the school dance, but both have acquired all the items on the list.

Staci suggests a tie breaker, where the group which is able to get the crown from the homecoming king or queen will win. Staci catches her boyfriend, Todd (Thad Luckinbill), dancing with another girl who claims that she has been Todd's girlfriend for six months. After the two break up, Staci shares a dance with a scruffy skater friend of Julie's, Russell (Evan Peters). Steve ends up named homecoming king and picks Julie as his partner for a victory dance, giving her the crown and ensuring victory for her friends.

After the dance, Julie and Steve are about to kiss when they get a call from her brother Ren (Sam Huntington) that Gabby is headed home. The girls race home and pretend to be sleeping just as Julie's parents check on them. The next morning at breakfast, Gabby confronts her asking "exactly" what they did last night, showing Julie the scarf she had dropped in the Cosmo club. Surprisingly, she is not mad but confesses it is difficult to believe how fast Julie is growing up. Then Julie says goodbye to her friends and finds Steve waiting inside her tree fort, where the two begin kissing passionately. The film end with a scene of Staci and her friends, now in high school, eating their lunch by the school dumpsters among the trash and the social rejects.

Cast

 * Alexa Vega as Julie Corky, a fourteen-year-old girl who has a sleepover with her best friends to celebrate the summer.
 * Sara Paxton as Staci Blake, one of the queen bees of the school and a typical middle school mean girl. She and her best friend Liz plan a scavenger hunt for her, Julie and her friends, which Hannah ends up changing the rules so Julie, Farrah, and Yancy can sit at "The Fountain" freshman year of high school.
 * Mika Boorem as Hannah Carlson, a girl who is the best friend of Julie, and ends up moving to Vancouver. She is somewhat the leader of the group because of her leadership and determination.
 * Scout Taylor-Compton as Farrah James, Hannah and Julie's best friend and is known for being the fashionista of the group.
 * Kallie Flynn Childress as Yancy Williams, a slightly over-weight girl, who is very self-conscious and worries about what people think about her.
 * Sean Faris as Steve Phillips, the local hottie of high school.
 * Steve Carell as Officer Sherman Shiner, a security officer in Julie's neighborhood, whom the girls encounter multiple times that night.
 * Sam Huntington as Ren Corky, Julie's older brother.
 * Jane Lynch as Gabby Corky, the mother of Julie and Ren Corky
 * Jeff Garlin as Jay Corky, the father of Julie and Ren Corky, who is a plumber. He has his heart obsessively determined on fixing the water in their house during the sleepover.
 * Evan Peters as Russell Hayes, a very clumsy skateboarder who has his heart set on making Julie fall in love with him.
 * Brie Larson as Liz Daniels, Stacy's best friend.
 * Johnny Sneed as Mr. Corrado, the girl's teacher.
 * Ryan Slattery as Peter, Yancy's love interest who treats her well.
 * Katija Pevec as Molly, one of Stacy and Liz's best friends.
 * Eileen April Boylan as Jenna, one of Stacy and Liz's best friends.
 * Thad Luckinbill as Todd, Stacy's ex-boyfriend.
 * Alice Greczyn as Linda, Todd's new girlfriend.
 * Shane Hunter as Miles, one of Russell's best friends.
 * Hunter Parrish as Lance, one of Russell's best friends.
 * Douglas Smith as Gregg, one of Steve's best friends.
 * Max Van Ville as Steve's best friend.
 * Summer Glau as a lonely ticket girl.
 * Laura Monteiro as Jennifer Allen

Reception
The film opened at #10 in the box office with $4,171,226. The film would later make $9,436,390 in the United States and $712,563 internationally, resulting in a $10,148,953 gross worldwide, on a $10 million budget.

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews, although audience reception was more positive. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 15% based on 101 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Tween girls will enjoy this sugar coated fluff, but others will find Sleepover a snooze."

Soundtrack

 * 1) "Imaginary Superstar" – Skye Sweetnam
 * 2) "Freeze Frame" – Jump5
 * 3) "I Want Everything" – Hope 7
 * 4) "That's What Girls Do" – No Secrets
 * 5) "Stuck" – Allister
 * 6) "Havin' Fun" – Planet Melvin
 * 7) "Remember" – Gabriel Mann
 * 8) "We Close Our Eyes" – Allister
 * 9) "Hole in the Head" – Sugababes
 * 10) "Next Big Me" – Verbalicious
 * 11) "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" – Becky Baeling
 * 12) "Wannabe" – Spice Girls

Novelization
Scholastic Inc. released a novelization of the story in May 2004. The novel was written by American fantasy and science fiction author Suzanne Weyn.