“Sorority Boys”

Starring: Barry Watson, Michael Rosenbaum, and Harland Williams

Director: Wallace Wolodarsky

*** out of five

You know, there’s just something funny about a man dressed in women’s clothing.

From Dustin Hoffman waltzing down a crowded city street in “Tootsie” to Robin Williams setting his fake breasts aflame in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” audiences always get kicks from seeing Hollywood actors squeezed into miniskirts and teetering dangerously on high-heeled shoes.

This gimmick saves the new college comedy “Sorority Boys” from being another disposable teen flick. Had the roles been played by women instead of cross-dressing Barry Watson, Michael Rosenbaum and Harland Williams, it would have been an indistinguishable flop.

Dead-on performances from the trio plus a sharp, witty script that keeps you laughing makes “Sorority Boys” an entertaining distraction from the post-Spring Break blues.

The plot (yes, there is a plot amidst the cross-dressing madness) focuses on three seniors in the Kappa Omicron Kappa (KOK) fraternity: sensitive Dave (Watson from “7th Heaven”), ladies’ man Adam (“Smallville” star Rosenbaum), and super-senior/stoner Doofer (Williams, “Half Baked”).

Their carefree college days come crashing to a halt when they are framed for the theft of the fraternity’s social funds. Forced out of the house and strapped for cash, the three men disguise themselves as women in effort to sneak inside KOK and find evidence to clear their names.

“We don’t have to be beauty queens, just believable,” Dave assures Adam when they first don wigs and dresses. Much to their aggravation, the trio find themselves thrown out of the KOK party for being “dogs.” Welcomed at the unpopular Delta Omicron Gamma (DOG) sorority by head DOG Leah (Melissa Sagemiller, “Get Over It”), the guys decide to continue the charade to capitalize on the free housing the DOG girls are offering and hilarity ensues.

Fabulous casting was vital to the success of “Sorority Boys.” The trio’s chemistry was off the scale, and they were believable as both cocky frat boys and ditzy sorority girls. Williams, as Doofer/Roberta, stole the show with his unique look and voice. It was hard not to laugh at Williams every time he paraded around in Roberta’s curly red wig and clown-like lipstick. Audiences will crack up when he tries to spearhead a pillow fight or compares hair in the bathroom sink to Chewbacca.

Rosenbaum also impresses as Adam/Adina, who finds himself trapped in his own personal hell every time someone tells Adina she has a “fat ass.” Accustomed to being the campus stud, Adam hates being considered unpopular and unattractive and Rosenbaum does a pretty good job of making this unsympathetic character more likable as the film goes on.

Watson is fine as Dave, who plays the misunderstood one who develops the predictable crush on Leah through her friendship with his alter-ego Daisy. Sagemiller, as Leah, is OK but unmemorable. Grabbing more attention will be fellow DOG girls Heather Matarazzo (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”) as the screechy Katie, newcomer Yvonne Scio as the hairy foreign exchange student Frederique, and Kathryn Stockwood (“Swamp Meet”) as the lumbering Patty.

Directed by Wallace Wolodarsky (“Coldblooded”) and written by newcomers Joe Jarvis and Greg Coolidge, “Sorority Boys” is somewhat predictable. There shouldn’t be any doubts about who is going to win the powder-puff showdown between the DOG girls and the super-blonde Tri-Phi girls — or how things will end up between Dave and Leah, or even if the boys will clear their names.

But the journey is often quirky and enjoyable. Dave and Leah’s first shower together is a hysterical scene and the roots of their lesbian romance is an interesting twist. Adam’s bad advice to a fellow KOK brother about how to get girls into bed comes back to haunt him. And Doofer just keeps things fun, teaching the DOG girls about gravity bongs and the unattractiveness of facial hair.

“Sorority Boys,” though predictable and not particularly memorable, is good for a laugh.

Christopher Reilly is a sophomore magazine major. E-mail him at passpopcorn@yahoo.com.

Published on March 21, 2002 at 12:00 pm