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The volleyball scene in John Tucker Must Die is arguably one of the most iconic moments in teen rom-com cinema. You remember it, I'm sure: Three high school girls in different cliques (played by Ashanti, Arielle Kebbel, and Sophia Bush) find out they're all dating the same popular jock, John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe), and a slapstick catfight ensues. They hurl volleyballs at one another, one of which smacks new girl Kate (Brittany Snow) in the face. She ends the brawl by screaming at them, "This guy is cheating on all of you and instead of taking it out on him, you're beating the shit out of each other?" The four land themselves in detention, and it's there that they vow to team up to exact sweet revenge on John Tucker.
Honestly, he deserves it. John Tucker is absolutely terrible—the textbook definition of a fuckboy. He calls his girlfriends "baby" and "sweetheart" so he won't mix up their names, regurgitates the same corny lines so they stay invested in him, and even plans identical dates. (That's how Kate first realizes the three are all seeing John; he takes them to the restaurant where she's a waitress.) Metcalfe, who first broke out in 2004 playing a gardener on Desperate Housewives, knew John Tucker was bad news—but he couldn't judge him. Instead, he sought out to understand how John Tucker became, well, John Tucker.
"You have to come from a place of justification in order to keep your characters likable," Metcalfe tells Glamour. "John was, in part, a product of his environment—a high school hierarchy centered around athletic achievement and the entitlement it fosters. This by no means excuses his actions, but in many ways supported them."
Of course, Metcalfe himself doesn't support John's actions. If you're struggling to remember just how slimy the character was, watch this scene in which he brags to his basketball teammates about "uncorking" and "porking" Kate. It was cringe-y then, and it's cringe-y now. "His sense of entitlement, his misogyny, his dishonesty...where do I begin?" Metcalfe says, thinking back on John Tucker's behavior in the film. "There's a total recklessness in which he dealt with the hearts of four adolescent, young women whom he both manipulated and used."
That being said, Metcalfe says he wouldn't change any of John's actions because doing so would ruin the conceit of the film. After all, the fun of watching John Tucker Must Die is that we get to see this gross guy fall from grace. "It's called John Tucker Must Die,'" Metcalfe emphasizes. "If I changed John Tucker and corrected the character, there wouldn’t have been a movie."
That's a fair point, and it illuminates something crucial: Though John's actions shouldn't be taken seriously—this is a light romantic comedy, and he's a caricature of the jock stereotype—we can learn from them. "I thought the movie was a fun opportunity to relive my high school years as the popular jock, while parodying him at the same time," Metcalfe says. "But my own high school experience was nothing like John Tucker’s."
Even so, John's traits and personality are rooted in something real. In many ways, he represents the (often white, cisgender) men who are widely praised and worshipped—and whose bad behavior is easily forgiven. Metcalfe wants these guys to be held more accountable for their actions. Because, if John Tucker hadn't been placed on such a monumental pedestal in high school, maybe he would have treated women with more respect.
"John Tucker’s definitely not the type of guy I’d want my future daughter to be dating," Metcalfe explains. "However, the 'John Tucker' archetype is as old as time, or at least as old as America. We collectively decide who we elevate to the highest positions in our social hierarchy, and I’m hopeful things are changing."
Christopher Rosa is the staff entertainment writer at Glamour. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrosa92.
