About the Film

SYNOPSIS

This is a story about a geeky girl…

A lucky boy….

And …… a Beetle.

Teenisha is a teenager suffering from more than her fair share of woes.

She has Attention Deficit Disorder, which makes her an outcast at school and an oddity at home. Uncoordinated, unathletic and frequently disorganized, her loving dad, Felix, and stepmother, Jill, worry about the state of her social life- and lack of friends- and the state of her bedroom, which frequently looks as though a typhoon stuck.

Pete is the star of the high school basketball team, and every girl’s dream.

He is very coordinated, athletic and organized. Front and center of the hippest group of kids at school, he has a beautiful, if decidedly snooty girlfriend named Hillary, a supportive dad who is even more obsessed with Pete’s physical fitness than Pete is, and an attention to neatness that would make any marine proud.

What could they possibly have in common?

A whole lot more than they might think.

When Teenisha’s loneliness and her interest in science prompt her to order a rare insect called the Namibian Elephant Beetle on eBay, things really begin to get All Screwed Up.

What Teenisha does not know, is that being bit by the beetle can result in one person’s soul being taken over by another’s. And so once her new ‘pet’ gets loose and bites both her and Pete in his car one day, their lives are about to be totally transformed.

The beetle disappears, and Pete’s soul and personality pass into Teenisha’s body and vice versa.

Teenisha’s parents are astounded at her newfound focus, calmness and organization.

Pete’s friends are astonished at the sudden deterioration in both his basketball game and his relationship with Hillary, even as his dad begins to wonder where his normally masculine son has gone. Hilarious scenarios ensue as Pete/Teenisha tries to acquire the art of applying makeup and Teenisha /Pete learns that shaving facial hair really is a MAN’S job. But living in each other’s bodies also gives these young people the opportunity to see their own lives and the people around them from a different perspective.

Pete begins to feel the pain of Teenisha’s isolation and misery, and starts to see Hillary- one of the leading torturers of the hapless Teenisha- through different eyes. Teenisha meanwhile, is enjoying the thrill of being popular and admired for the very first time.

Unlike Pete, she is not altogether certain she even WANTS back the life she had before.

But a crisis is looming. The school basketball team desperately needs the old Pete back for a major game they need to win.

Searching desperately for a solution, Pete and Teenisha visit a local caucasian Witch doctor, who tells them that unless they break the spell of the beetle by the end of that night-they are doomed to remain as they are forever!

Will they find the beetle in time to break the spell and go back to their own lives- and bodies?

Will Pete be able to play for his team and give them the victory they need?

Will the increasingly suspicious and vindictive Hillary discover why both Teenisha and Pete have been acting All Screwed Up?

In the tradition of other teenage family films including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, All Screwed Up is a funny but all too true reminder of some of the triumphs and trials of growing up.

Screenwriter Bud Rebel uses a hilarious premise and off beat characters to examine how it truly feels to live in someone else’s shoes - and how the lessons we learn from doing so can help us all to grow.

All Screwed Up is fun for the entire family - but gives us all pause to reflect on how we treat those around us everyday.

Because remember – love bites! THE CAST