“Carry on, men,” Aubrey Plaza’s character says blithely, watching a fistfight between two suitors on her front lawn. The same sentiment could be directed at Hollywood, which will continue to churn out movies about randy young dudes on quests to “take” blushing teen girls’ virginity.
But not in “The To Do List,” which flips the script to become a feminist — and funnier — “American Pie.” This deliciously raunchy coming-of-age tale, the feature writing/directing debut of comedian Maggie Carey, sees Plaza hitting her leading-lady stride as nerdy, Hillary Clinton-worshiping high school valedictorian Brandy Klark.
When informed by her older sister (Rachel Bilson) that college is “like one big sexual pop quiz, and you need to do your homework,” the inexperienced teen vows to get extra credit by acquainting herself with the gamut of hooking up — outlined and annotated in the titular list, from “French kiss” on upward — before heading to campus in the fall.
“Let’s get to work, vagina,” Brandy says cheerfully, buoyed by the support of her more experienced friends, Fiona (Alia Shawkat) and Wendy (Sarah Steele), and her nurturing mom (Connie Britton), who dispenses hilariously R-rated pearls of wisdom while Dad (Clark Gregg) wrings his hands in horror.
Brandy also finds a supporter of sorts in Willy (Bill Hader), her slacker boss at the local pool, where town hunk Rusty Waters (Scott Porter of “Friday Night Lights”) is her co-worker and target for the big end-of-summer deflowering.
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The pool is the site of the film’s only real misstep, a gross sight gag that seems out of place in this otherwise gentle-natured sex romp. (Did someone invite Judd Apatow to guest-direct for an afternoon?)
Then there’s the time period: This movie is deeply early-’90s. Which, if you are of a certain generation, you will know by a flood of sense memories triggered by the Spin Doctors, 2 Live Crew, Hypercolor, Snackwell’s, the Macintosh Classic, a Tracey Gold reference, grunge and — my favorite — the skort (“Is this shorts, or a skirt?” asks a perplexed suitor, trying to access what’s underneath it). But nostalgia never obscures the plot, remaining an amusing underline to Brandy’s awkwardness (scrunchies were never sexy).
Sure, “The To Do List” doesn’t reinvent the wheel; we all know the “summer that changed everything” trope. But it’s startling when you realize how rare it is to see a girl chasing sexual experience so doggedly — and with such a lighthearted tone.
Plaza, one of the highlights of the talented cast of “Parks and Recreation,” proves she can handle challenging material — as with Brandy’s first, furiously determined attempt at masturbation (in a “Pro-Choice/Pro-Clinton” T-shirt, no less).
Her amorous encounters with Porter, Johnny Simmons, Donald Glover, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Andy Samberg are full of laugh-out-loud moments — I won’t spoil any of them here — that I’m betting will also have the ladies in the audience nodding wryly. And Carey’s screenplay never judges Brandy for having the audacity to pursue multiple partners, even riffing on the old “Jerry Maguire” line to explain one guy’s appeal (“You had me at ‘eating [slang for vagina],’ ” she tells him sweetly).
Furthermore, it’s unbelievably heartening (and, again, rare) to see a female protagonist so devoid of self-loathing. Even in the midst of her most awkward moments, Brandy has a core of confidence that makes her, as far as I’m concerned, a new icon.
I’d like to see a sequel about her freshman year at college, please. There were still a few items on that list left unchecked.