Geek Charming

"I was wrong about that cats and dogs stuff!"
—Dylan, nicely summing up the entire movie.

Geek Charming is a Disney Channel Original Movie starring Sara Hyland and Matt Prokop, originating from the novel of the same name written by Robin Palmer.

Dylan is the most popular girl in school and couldn't want anything more! Well, aside from being crowned Blossom Queen at the Spring Formal. But she's unlucky enough to have an actual opponent, Nicole. She decides that she needs to find some sort of edge so she can pull ahead.

Josh is a film geek who wants to win the upcoming Film Festival, so he's looking for an interesting topic. After saving Dylan's purse, he has a great idea, make a movie about Popularity starring her. They strike a deal, Dylan thinking that this is exactly the edge she needs over Nicole.

What follows is an unconventional love story involving a lot of Conversational Troping.

Tropes used in Geek Charming include:
  • Adaptation Decay: The movie was adapted from Palmer's novel and because she refused to look at the script in production, there were many differences. Of note, originally, Josh made the documentary in order to enter a film school, while convincing Dylan that it would help her college application as well. Also, Dylan is a blonde and Amy is a brunette in the novel, while the roles are reversed in the film. In addition to this, the book had more references to drinking and sex. Of course, there's the ending and the matter of who Josh really ends up with...
  • Alpha Bitch: Dylan. Nicole as well. Suffice it to say that two Alpha Bitches competing against each other is not a pretty sight.
  • Adorkable: Josh is called this by one of Dylan's Girl Posse following his makeover.
  • Almost Kiss: An odd twist on the theme. After the dramatic kiss that upgraded them to Official Couple, they almost kiss right at the end. He stops, looks at the camera, and covers up the lens to kiss her.
  • An Aesop: Popularity means more than just dressing the right way or hanging out with the right people. It means having actual friends you can count on.
  • Acquired Situational Narcissism: Surprisingly averted. Although Josh gets a Makeover and start hanging out with the populars, he never becomes a jerkass. In fact, his geek friends actually act more like Jerkasses about it at first before they become more accepting later on.
  • All Women Love Shoes: Dylan.
  • Bastard Boyfriend: Asher.
  • Bland-Name Product: Alexander Sanchez, the designer who makes a lot of Dylan's clothing and even a fragrance for men.
  • Blind Without Them: Dylan usually wears contacts, but when she loses them, she has to pull out her glasses. She tries to go without them, but that doesn't work well.
  • Bollywood Nerd: Ari.
  • Bowdlerization: The original book had references to underage partying and sex. An example of this includes Josh and Dylan sneaking into a college frat party, where Dylan later gets drunk. Naturally, since this was a Disney movie, they were written out of the script.
  • Canon Foreigner: Caitlin, who isn't in the original book.
  • Confession Cam: In the movie, the scenes would sometimes cut into the character's confession cam.
  • Conversational Troping: Dylan and Josh do this a lot.
  • Cool Car: The Dylish mobile.
  • Cool Loser: Averted, the film geeks can do nothing but discuss tropes present in classical movies.
  • The Chick: Caitlin's this for the "Nontourage".
  • Closet Geek: Dylan has hidden smarts.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: The History teacher will repeat a phrase at least three times.
  • Disappeared Dad: Josh's parents are divorced.
  • Dissonant Serenity: After Dylan chases after Asher for thinking she kissed Josh, she does this to throw off her friends.
  • Disposable Woman: The populars treat Dylan like this.
  • The Ditz: Lola.
  • Extreme Doormat: Dylan when it comes to Asher.
  • The Film of the Book
  • Follow in My Footsteps: Inverted. Instead of a parent pushing her lifestyle on Dylan, it's Dylan's deepest desire to be Blossom Queen like her Missing Mom. Of course, given that her Mom is dead, we never to get to hear her opinion on that, but one would assume she would only want her daughter to be happy.
  • Former Friend of Alpha Bitch: Amy to Dylan. Unlike a lot of examples of this trope, Amy bears no resentment towards Dylan for ditching her in favor of popularity and in fact, never stopped seeing her as a friend.
  • Freudian Excuse: Dylan wants to win Blossom Queen because her mother did. Averted with Josh, who seems okay with his parents divorce.
  • Geek: Film geeks. Both the protagonists, yes, Dylan too. Josh's Clique and even Dylan's dad.
  • Geek Physiques: Josh is very tall and gangly.
  • Geeky Analogy: A lot of the film society's dialogue.
  • Girl Posse: Hannah and Lola for Dylan, bonus points for their names rhyming.
  • Give Geeks a Chance: Kind of the point of the story.
  • Granola Girl: Amy, although in contrast to the typical portrayal of this trope, she is played as very reasonable and down to earth.
  • Gratuitous French: Dylan and her Girl Posse use French words regularly for no reason at all (probably to look cool).
  • Hair of Gold: Amy.
  • He Is Not My Boyfriend: Dylan on Josh.
  • Hidden Depths: Dylan is secretly really smart.
  • High School Dance: The Spring Formal Where they crown Blossom Queen.
  • Hollywood Nerd: Mostly averted, it even averts going into the Geek Reference Pools (The characters are film geeks and are obsessed with actual classical movies and their discussions always center around that).
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Asher and Dylan, it doesn't work out.
  • Humiliation Conga: The first part of the movie comes off as this for Dylan, causing her storm out while the people around her laughed at her. Too bad she didn't stick around for the rest, because he actually painted her in a really positive light.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Fashionable: Dylan's way of bonding with Josh.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Even though Dylan seems to be attracted to Josh, she's genuinely supportive of his feelings for Amy. This may be because she blames herself for the end of her friendship with Amy.
    • Caitlin seems to feel this way about Josh after watching his movie.
  • Jerkass: Asher.
  • Jerkass Facade: Dylan
  • Jerk Jock: The volleyball team and by extension, Asher.
  • Last-Second Word Swap: When Josh is carrying Dylan, he is about to call her a bitch. Instead, he calls her a diva. Multiple times. Dylan's reaction really brings it home that he was about to say something a lot worse than just "diva".
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Dylan's Mom is dead and her Dad is almost never home.
  • Lovable Alpha Bitch: Dylan, of course. The story revolves around Dylan learning to show her more lovable side openly.
  • Love Triangle: It starts of as Caitlin -> Josh -> Amy.
  • Makeover Montage: Josh gets subjected to one, in a rare male version.
  • Meaningful Name: Averted with Dylan.
  • Meganekko: Dylan unwillingly has to be this when she accidentally loses a contact lense. She tries to avert it at first, but it doesn't end well.
  • The Mentor: Josh's Film Studies teacher to Josh.
  • Missing Mom: Dylan's mom passed away when she was a kid. Dylan's main motivation for winning Blossom Queen is because her mother was Blossom Queen.
  • Narcissist: Again, Asher.
  • Nerd Action Hero: Josh, when he saves Dylan's purse from the fountain.
  • Nerd Glasses: Dylan has a pair, but typically wears contacts. When she oversleeps and is unable to get her contacts in on time, she goes to school without them, being unable to bear having the student body see her in glasses. Unfortunately, she's Blind Without'Em.
  • Nice Hat: Caitlin and Ari.
  • One Head Taller: Josh and Dylan.
  • The Other Rainforest: Even though it was filmed in Vancouver, Canada, the license plates are all from Washington and Josh is competing in the Puget Sound Film Festival.
  • Pair the Spares: Caitlin and Steven; Amy and Ari. In the book, Hannah and Ari; Lola and Steven.
  • Preppy Name: Asher, Dylan.

Mell Shoenfield: What kind of name is Asher?

Josh: So, I'm thinking sequel?
Dylan: Sequels are never as good as the original. Everyone knows that.

  • Shown Their Work: So. Many. Classical. Movie. References.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Caitlin is kind of weirded out by this trope being broken when Dylan starts hanging out with Josh and his friends.

Caitlin: ....I'm supposed to be the only girl.

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