High School Musical 3: Senior Year trailer

I couldn't help myself...



(I believe there are actually two versions of the movie trailer: One abbreviates the film's title.)

I know this trailer has been posted everywhere. James of Rants of a Diva and J.D. of Valley Dreamin' already beat me to it.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year is slowly becoming one of the most anticipated movies of the year--for all the right and wrong reasons. But I have no doubt in my mind that this movie will be a hit. The film will not gain all the millions of viewers who watched it for free (kinda) on the Disney Channel, but I believe a lot of kids (and their parents) will show up on opening weekend.

The idea that I'm most likely seeing it on opening weekend makes me feel like a thirteen-year-old girl. I barely know a handful of people who are actually looking forward to this film. (But a lot of girls are looking forward to Twilight. While we're not the subject, I'm somewhat sick and tired of hearing about those series of books because they sound lame. Yet, I find myself being completely drawn to the idea of reading them.)

I guess I like the films because how ridiculously entertaining they are. I guess I also enjoy mocking them. Recently, I even wrote a rant regarding both HSM movies.

So, back to the trailer...

I hate the song that plays throughout the entire trailer. I believe it's called "Now or Never." It is a mix of Disney pop with an slight hip hop vibe. Unlike some of the better songs in the previous movies, it's not fun or catchy. Honestly, it just sounds like a lot of noise--a lot of rushed, sloppy notes mashed together. Sure, I recognize the adrenaline pumping through the song, but no matter how much energy there is, the quality of the song is still terrible. I don't know, maybe it will grow on me in the next three months. Who knows?

I love Zac Efron's hilarious delivery of "What makes you think we're getting diplomas?" I love how, shortly after, he kind of tilts his neck to the side to increase the dramatic tension.

Then behold, Ashley Tisdale's Sharpay does a drama queen faint, which is followed by several flashes of less impressive scenes from the movie. Whoo-hoo, the magic of editing!

The intense flashes are relaxed by Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) on a dance floor. As I expect, this movie will be another cliche-ridden romp. What's senior year without prom? But whatever, I'm in love with Sharpay's attention-grabbing pink dress. Tisdale is totally rocking that dress.

Again, the trailer teases the viewer with another bunch of scenes. The trailer lingers on Hudgens's face while I begin to think that her smile is probably the most natural thing that can be conveyed through her performance in HSM3.

That glimpse of the Wildcat basketball team putting their hood on reminds me of the Ku Klux Klan. Yeah, WTF? Then the trailer jumps to a scene with Troy and Chad (Corbin Bleu) in front of the truck that Troy and his dad fixed up in HSM2 (I think). They look like they are trying to fly. Or something.

A circle-from-above number (looks sort of like "Fabulous"), another prom scene, an excited new(?) character, feet dancing, Troy and Gabriella looking happy, Chad and Taylor (Monique Coleman) embracing since the writers forgot their storyline even existed in HSM2, the HSM girls cheering (probably a basketball game)...

DO I SEE A RYAN (Lucas Grabeel) AND SHARPAY NUMBER?! A GLIMPSE OF THE BEST PART OF THE FILM...MAYBE?!

Then my mind numbs itself to the image of Troy and Gabriella looking happy, again..about something.

Crowds cheer again. A basketball scene--probably the "big game" is taking place--and Gabriella (Hudgens) suddenly stands up and starts singing in the most awkward manner possible in a midst of red. WTF? WTF? WTF? The gym darkens. The spotlight is on Troy (Efron) and he starts singing because his girlfriend is singing, so that obviously means he must sing too. I love that bit at the end of the scene where Efron shakes his fists. That's kind of brilliant.

"THE MUSICAL EXPERIENCE" (yeah right)

Those words are followed by a few other scenes that don't really matter.

"OF A GENERATION" (o rly?)

"This show must go on," says Sharpay in the most fabulous way ever. And it does, indeed.

But that is followed by another glimpse of the Troy-Chad-in-front-of-truck number that flaunts even more of its awfulness. Then that is followed by bunch of scenes that zoom by so fast that I'm not even going to bother to dissect them.

"BECOMES A MOTION PICTURE EVENT" (you got that right...)

Scenes of a cheering crowd. Obviously, the Wildcats won the big game, I assume. Thanks for giving that away, Disney. I could have been gasping for breath during that basketball scene, but now since I know they're going to win for sure, there's no need for suspense anymore. LAME.

Just wondering...is Zac Efron supposed to be Tom Cruise now?

A random short flash of Sharpay with her perfume bottle. Cool, cool, cool.

A weird scene with Troy and Gabriella conversing. "Why are you saying goodbye?" asks Troy. That makes me wonder...kinda.

"FROM WALT DISNEY PICTURES" (hmmm?)

Looking fierce as usual, Tisdale snaps her fingers. The lights turn off. The spotlight's on her. OMG.

Another boring glimpse at the prom scene. We also get several other glimpses of different parts of scenes that were shown earlier in the trailer, except the one with the cast dancing in their caps and gowns. So to answer the Troy's mysterious question in the first scene, I'm now positive that they're getting their diplomas.

Disney, stop ruining the entire movie for me!!! GOSH.

A longer glimpse at the prom scene. Okay, that's nice.

Bright flashes land on the screen to create, "HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3," with a more dimmed light to subtitle it, "SENIOR YEAR." Totally blinded my eyes for a few seconds there...

Later, a short but funny conversation between Troy and Sharpay. As always, Efron and Tisdale have amazing chemistry.

"FEATURING 10 NEW ORIGINAL SONGS" (cool?)

"ONLY IN CINEMAS" (who are you kidding?)

I can't wait for October 24th. Seriously.

"Preliminaries are over. Time to attack."

Antoine and Colette (Antoine et Colette) (short) | rel. 1962 | dir. François Truffaut

Spoilers. You've been warned.

I am fascinated by the idea of unrequited love. It's the longing, the desire, and the temptation that make love stories so interesting. For all those emotions to go on without a definite end is quite depressing--but strangely romantic and interesting, especially as portrayed by popular culture. Love itself is already a complex subject, but unreciprocated love might as well take a life of its own.

For those reasons, I fell in love with Antoine and Colette. Francois Truffaut's short film chronicles the late teenage years of the young protagonist in The 400 Blows. The short was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful collection of short films by other French directors, Love at Twenty. While other shorts in the anthology have become rare and unpopular, Antoine and Colette survives.

Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), who was last seen on a beach after running away from the observation center, is now seventeen years old and working at Phillips, a record company. The voice-over narration tells the audience that he was sent back to the observation center after his escape and was sent to another center with stricter surveillance. With the help of a psychologist, he was able to leave the center and live independently, like he wished. He is passionate about music and frequently attends concerts. One evening, he attends a concert with his old friend René (Patrick Auffay), a glamorous young woman, Colette (Marie-France Pisier) catches Antoine's eye.

Antoine desperately seeks Colette's affections by trading records and books with her, taking her to concerts, moving across the street from her (obsessive much?), and even getting close to her warm, welcoming family. All his efforts are eventually worthless and what is left is the broken heart of a young man who has nowhere to hide from the confines of personal humiliation.

All the emotional endeavors, believing, and dreaming for nothing? That happens and it sucks. Big time.

Even with the pangs of the distortion of young love, Antoine and Colette is a work of superb charm and warmness. Truffaut, perhaps recalling his own experiences of the disappointments of young love, films an even more intimate portrait of life than The 400 Blows. Both Léaud and Pisier are attractive young actors who deliver very natural performances. Surely, Antoine and Colette is not better-made than the previous Antoine Doinel adventure, but it has a certain youthful energy and bliss injected in every frame that is extraordinarily touching. But the film keeps in mind that youth is brief and breezy--and so is the film itself.

I am completely, utterly in love with this lovely film.

Rating: 9.5/10

----

The entire film has been uploaded on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (The video is a tad bright and has several sound problems throughout but it's totally worth twenty-nine minutes of your life.)

"Sometimes I'd tell them the truth and they still wouldn't believe me, so I prefer to lie."

The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) | rel. 1959 | dir. François Truffaut

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing The 400 Blows, a wonderfully moving French film directed by famed New Wave director, Francois Truffaut. Truffaut wrote the script with heavy autobiographical touches to illutraste a portrait of his onerous childhood. But at the heart of The 400 Blows is a coming-of-age story of a troubled young boy, Antoine Doinel--Truffaut's alter ego. Antoine does poorly in school and his home life is marked by the unpleasant knowledge of his mother's infidelity. To escape a conflicted, unhappy life, Antoine is determined to live on his own--even if it turns him towards petty crimes.

On the surface, Antoine is a foolish troublemaker, but he is an extremely sympathetic character as well. Like many people his age, Antoine wants to get the hell out of his home, forget about school, and gain independence. But complete independence requires maturity, and that is something that Antoine doesn't quite grasp yet.

What makes Antoine work so fantastically as a three-dimensional character is Jean-Pierre Léaud's performance. I'm a sucker for child performances, and Léaud's portrayal of Antoine is probably in my top five child performances of all-time. Even in the duller moments of the film, Léaud never fails to mystify me. Léaud's playful boyishness and foolery is accompanied by a magnetic intensity develops the complexity of Antoine's character. Very few actors possess that kind of skill to hold the audience's interest as Léaud does throughout the film.

There is a scene near the end of The 400 Blows that puts Léaud's talents to the test: It is the psychologist scene at the observation school. The psychologist's face is never seen, only her voice is heard. In the audience's point of view, it seems like Antoine is confessing to the camera, a portal that leads directly to the audience. There is such intimacy in that scene, as Antoine spills his emotions and experience, it feels like Antoine is speaking directly to the audience.

The scene works because Léaud keeps the rhythm going at a certain pace that is appropriate to Antoine's character. Antoine answers the questions with crackling innocence and anxiousness that the context of the answers seem surprisingly nonsensical. The questions are calmly answered with honesty and completeness, but there is a lingering anticipation for the next question to be aimed his way.

Antoine just can't seem to wait for the next stage in life--wherever and whatever it might be.

Rating: 8.5/10

We're all in this together, I guess...

High School Musical | rel. 2006 | dir. Kenny Ortega
High School Musical 2 | rel. 2007 | dir. Kenny Ortega

I was going to write this as two separate posts, but what's the point? High School Musical and High School Musical 2 are both rated 6.5/10 in the universe of moi, so there isn't going to be a tremendous difference of opinion anyway. I can easily extract my thoughts about the movies in one post.

I have a feeling that this is going to be an overlong rant that may or may not make any coherent sense. But that's okay. I have lots of meaningless drivel to say that relates to the two movies that I want to get out of my system.

High School Musical's existence entered my life through this girl I knew when I was in eighth grade. Back then, I lived in an abandoned cave right off the coast of a tiny island in Asia so I was pretty much in the dark when this movie first came out. (Simply put, I didn't have cable, thus, no Disney Channel.) At the time, I was a bit of a pretentious snob and would never have sat down to watch a movie that looked like a bunch of ridiculous teenagers prancing around the premises of their high school. Plus, I hated tween romances with a passion.

Tween romances are really just a twelve-year-old girl's fantasy and I guess it's nice for a twelve-year-old girl to see their fantasy on TV, replaced by amazingly aesthetically-pleasing people. That is sort of the point of the High School Musical franchise.

Now, I'm more willing to watch tween romances and accept them as they are. They are not made to be taken seriously or be considered masterpieces. I had to get that through my thick skull several times. Disney is making a lot of money off the franchise by creating a cast set of plastic dolls and printing the film's promo pics on a pillowcase. All the films are completed in a very short time-frame too, so I bet that saves tons of money. It's just pretty hard to take the films seriously even if I really, really try. But hey, not everything is art.

My interest in HSM peaked when I saw the new Disney Channel original movie, Camp Rock. It's supposedly a rip-off of HSM. In my opinion, it's not quite a rip-off, but it's not as guilty pleasure worthy or as entertaining as HSM. But that's a different post altogether...

For those unfamiliar with HSM's basic plot line (which I highly doubt is possible because I feel like I'm the last person on the planet to see the movies), a popular jock meets a brainy girl on vacation and they form a special connection as they sing karaoke together. Turns out, the brainy girl is the new girl at the guy's high school. They have to defeat all obstacles and step out of their comfort zones in order to obtain the lead roles for a school musical.

The entire concept of the film sounded predictable and kind of corny. But whatever. I needed to know what was at the core of all that hype. (Same reason why I want to read Twilight.)

I watched High School Musical almost right after I saw The Lizzie McGuire Movie. I was in good spirits after being charmed by my own childhood nostalgia. There was nothing in the world that could bring me down. And HSM did not bring me down at all. Not at all...

I was pleasantly surprised by the first song in the film, "A Start of Something New," sung by Zac Efron's Troy Bolton (Efron's voice was mixed with Drew Seeley's) and Vanessa Hudgens's Gabriella Montez. It's not a bad song, and in fact, it's truly poplicious in the way Disney songs usually are. (I have a soft spot for all the pop Disney has to offer--that ranges from Hilary Duff to the Jonas Brothers.) Sadly, the film makes no attempt to cover up the fact that all the songs were recorded in a studio and edited before they were inserted into the movie, but that's not a big deal. I don't nitpick too much when it comes to movies aimed at a certain age group, and that's why I gave The Lizzie McGuire Movie an 8/10. I mean, I highly doubt the kids who watch HSM cares if the songs were dubbed in or not. Honestly, I don't really care either.

But I couldn't stop laughing.

Is it just me, or was Zac Efron really exaggerating every muscle in his face in HSM whenever he started singing? He just looks so extremely weird whenever he started singing. When he sings "A Start of Something New," "Get'cha Head in the Game," and "Breaking Free," he looks as if was trying to stretch his facial muscles all the way, until they rip. I don't know if it was due to the fact that he was extremely nervous (I definitely would've been) or that was the way he was told to perform--I have no idea. But it made me laugh pretty hard: I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't really stand or sit.

Enough about how Efron caused my unintentional laughter...

I can't stand the romance between Troy and Gabriella. I mention chemistry or the lack thereof in my reviews very often when it comes to romantic films. A romance can't work if the two leading actors share absolutely no chemistry; it only works when the audience is convinced that the two characters are in love with each other.

Efron and Hudgens did not convince me. There are some sparks in the early karaoke scene, but I think it all went downhill from there. Apparently, they are dating each other in real-life. Whatever they may share off-screen, it doesn't show on celluloid at all. Unless it's some unnecessary publicity stunt by Disney...but who really knows?

I have the same complaints with Camp Rock as well. Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas have even less chemistry than Efron and Hudgens. But they are not "dating" in real-life, so I guess that is a good enough excuse.

HSM has a shining, bright spotlight on one of its young performers and her name is Ashley Tisdale. Tisdale, which many might have been familiar with from the Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, chews up the scenery in HSM, through and through. Forget about Maddie Fitzpatrick, Tisdale will be best-remembered for Sharpay Evans, the drama queen of East High who isn't going to let two newcomers steal the musical scene away from her. Tisdale undoubtedly delivers the best performance, completely overshadowing her sidekick Lucas Grabeel, who plays her brother, Ryan and truthfully, everyone other main cast member as well. Tisdale just leaves everyone in the dust.

In addition to Tisdale playing Sharpay, Sharpay also get all the best songs in the film. "What I've Been Looking For," is sung in a very classy scene with tons of energy and fun oozed all over the screen; it is my favorite song in the movie. "Bop to the Top" is a catchy tune, sung with ambition and personality by Tisdale and Grabeel.

A performance such as Tisdale's pops like technicolor in a movie like this. You watch her and you think, "This girl's got a future in showbiz."

Even though it was probably made on the cheap and shot in a couple of weeks, HSM is not a poorly-made film. The choreography is fantastic, the songs are catchy, and the story is not terrible. The direction by Kenny Ortega is not too bad either. It's sort of like Grease made for the twenty-first century. (I'm probably the millionth person to point that out, even though I haven't seen that movie in like, forever.)

I wish I could give all the same compliments to the sequel, High School Musical 2.

I have no idea how to explain why I would rate HSM2 the same rating I gave HSM since HSM2 is one of those unnecessary sequels that Disney seems to make all the time now. (The previews on my HSM2 DVD had a trailer for the straight-to-video Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True. Yeah, I totally wanted to see that...)

HSM2 is just as entertaining as HSM, though. HSM2 is a hour-and-a-half soap. (Film soaps, I dig. TV soaps, I can't stand.) All that ridiculous drama is probably why I found so much pleasure while watching the film. It was sort of like watching Spider-Man 3, just, not really.

The plot for HSM2 is rather loose and flimsy. So Troy and Gabriella and the rest of the Wildcats get jobs at a country club owned by Sharpay and Ryan's family. Sharpay is pissed because only Troy was supposed to hired since he's still the guy she wants. Because of Sharpay's favoritism towards Troy, he gets special priviledges that detaches him from his friends. There is also a musical competition at the country club and Sharpay has her eye on the trophy, despite the rest of the Wildcats' determination to beat out the competition.

I would be lying if I said I was bored or uninterested at all.

Again, it's Tisdale who shines. James wrote an excellent blog entry about Tisdale's performance that includes all there needs to be said about Tisdale's portrayal of Sharpay. (The entry made me look forward to seeing HSM and HSM2.) Sharpay has a lot more screen time in the second film and she devours every second she has on-screen. She also has an even a more elaborate number in this film--and it's "Fabulous."

Tisdale has many scenes with Efron and I can't help but think what amazing chemistry they seem to have compared to the lackluster chemistry between Efron and Hudgens. There is the scene at the golfing course that made me sort of squee because of how cool the idea Troy x Sharpay is. I love that scene where Efron's Troy comments on his new shoes and says, "They're Italian." The "You Are the Music In Me" scene between Troy and Sharpay is incredible too because even when Troy is supposed to be hating Sharpay, Efron and Tisdale still have a lot of chemistry. But I guess that's the weird-minded shipper in me that simply distorts everything. Or maybe it was the fireworks. (I love this The Suite Life episode clip with Efron guest-starring and kissing Tisdale. It's epic, everyone.)

"Humuhumunukunukuapua'a" is totally hilarious and worth picking up the DVD for if you didn't get to see it when it first aired on the Disney Channel. (The clip is on Youtube, but I liked seeing it as part of the movie.) Oh, Sharpay! Tisdale never fails to impress me.

Although I felt rather guilty for laughing so hard at Efron's facial expressions in the first movie, I was looking forward for some more painfully funny moments in this movie as well. Well, it had several of those moments, but I did not laugh as much as I did during the first movie. That is mainly due to the fact that I found Efron kind of hot in this movie...but I'm not going to get too into that because that thought has been disturbing me to no end. He got taller, slimmer, a tan, and bluer eyes (in result of the tan or colored contacts?). And his real voice sounds strangely awesome.

Laugh all you want (because I did), but the "Bet On It" scene is already classic. The amount of parodies of that scene on Youtube is piling up.

Other than my love for Tisdale's performance as Sharpay, the Efron and Tisdale chemistry, and Efron's suddenly good looks, the rest of the movie is a dud. But thank goodness that the things I did like occupied about 75% of the film. Well, Efron's good looks occupied pretty much the entire movie, but it didn't really matter that much.

So the things that sucked, plus other random thoughts (this deserves a bullet list):

• Vanessa Hudgens. Gabriella doesn't do much in the film other than giggle and say stupid things so it's not entirely Hudgens's fault. But I can't stand Hudgens's one-note delivery of all her lines. I do think Hudgens is a good, if not great, singer. "Gotta Go My Own Way" is actually a pretty good song.
  
• I can't think of a more cringe-worthy scene in the movie than the "I Don't Dance" number. I know it is sort of a showcase for Grabeel, who is a good dancer, but I just think the entire scene feels kind of awkward and strange. I guess prancing around on the basketball court is a little better than prancing around on a baseball diamond? Perhaps.
• The whole Evans family golfing scene is pretty pointless. I understand that it is supposed to develop the interest Sharpay's father has for Troy, but it just comes off as kind of boring.
• The talking-to-singing transitions really bothered me in this film because they're ALL SO AWKWARD. I remember thinking, "WTF?" when Gabriella (Hudgens) started singing "Gotta Go My Own Way." The transition from speaking to singing in the "Work This Out" scene is also freaking weird.
  
• Speaking of awkward singing, this movie is not shy from making it seem oh-so-obvious that they ran the songs through some sound machine. But again, I don't think the kids will notice...yet.
• Troy basically says, "Screw my future, I love my friends more" near the end of the film. I don't think Disney exactly meant it that way but it just came out wrong. At that point in the film, Troy has been a total jerk to his friends because he has gotten a little too full of himself. But his friends are just so freaking annoying so I don't know...I mean, I feel like defending the message because I think I know what it was supposed to mean but...never mind. I don't get it either.
• So were Chad (Corbin Bleu) and Taylor (Monique Coleman) supposed to be an item? I don't remember any mention of it at all in this film...not that it would really add or subtract to the film, but just wonderin' you know?
• I don't understand Kelsi (Olesya Rulin). I like it when Sharpay gives those boring ballads a makeover. They always turn out more to be significantly more kickass.
  
• I kind of hated the last scene: "All For One" is not a very good song at all.

...but I still found myself liking the movie. HSM2 qualifies as a the quintessential guilty pleasure for me.

I can digest crap unlike anyone else I know. I'm one of those rare people who can look at you in the eye and tell you how much I honestly enjoyed Batman & Robin. I kinda-sorta like both HSM films, even though they are both considered "crap" by a lot of people over the age of twelve. Well, I think they are supposed to be fun and they are fun. There is absolutely no harm in that. Kids like them, Disney is making a fortune off them--everyone's happy. Don't ask me why, but I'm looking forward to High School Musical 3: Senior Year. (I think my post already speaks for itself, haha.)

But I'll always have a special place in my heart for Sharpay. Tisdale makes her gold.

---

I hope everyone living in the U.S. had a lovely Independence Day!

"I actually feel my brain turning into goo."

The Lizzie McGuire Movie | rel. 2003 | dir. Jim Fall

I can't hide my love The Lizzie McGuire Movie. So I won't. The quote on the subject line accurately describes how I felt while I watched the film.

I was about nine or ten when Lizzie McGuire first hit the small screen. I was obviously the target age group the show. There were girls at our school who saw popularity as a prize, who cared about what they wore, who liked to drizzle themselves in cherry-flavored lip gloss, and had a heavy intuition of what's hot or not through their subscription of "Seventeen" magazine. (Yes, these girls were, in fact, nine or ten years old!) So they related to Lizzie, who was very much like your everyday junior high school gal who dealt with the pressures exerted by school, friends, and family. Lizzie's animated counterpart, however silly, spoke great volumes of truth to what's going inside the mind of a eight to twelve year old.

But the great appeal that Lizzie had was that she was self-conscious, insecure, and uncertain about herself. That, I certainly could relate to--back then, and even now.

When the film came out back in 2003, I no longer kept up with the show. But I was always curious about it because who doesn't love looking at lovely Roman scenery? Watching the film was like a journey to satisfy my grand curiosity--in a less poetic sense, of course.

In the film, Lizzie (Hilary Duff) graduates from junior high and for her summer vacation, she gets to take a school trip to Rome. Guided by the sternly tough Miss Ungermeyer (Alex Borstein) and accompanied by a few familiar faces--Gordo (Adam Lamberg), Kate Sanders (Ashlie Brillault), and Ethan Craft (Clayton Snyder), Lizzie is off to Rome where adventures await.

After a toss of a coin into the famous Trevi Fountain, Lizzie turns around to find a Godfather-extra-who-is-supposed-to-be-hot-in-the-context-of-the-film (Yani Gellman) right in front of her very eyes. He turns out to be nothing less than an Italian singing sensation named Paolo. And he wants Lizzie. No, he needs Lizzie. You see, Paolo's singing partner, Isabella, looks just like Lizzie! And Isabella's at some island because she wants to break up her partnership with Paolo! So Lizzie has to be Isabella for a few days so the record company won't sue for Isabella's abandonment! And no one will ever know about this!

In order to spend time with Paolo, Lizzie plays sick to Miss Ungermeyer so she can sneak out during the day, with the help of her faithful lovesick puppy slash loyal friend, Gordo. While all of Lizzie's classmates are on a dull little tour bus, Lizzie gets to ride on the back of an adorable Vespa with a guy she finds cute (I may differ) driving and showing her around Rome.

Vespa? Nice Roman Holiday reference there. The Lizzie McGuire Movie, like other romantic comedies (like 1994's Only You (I think that was Venice...) and the TV movie, Sabrina Goes to Rome) that take place in Italy, is not shy from referencing or ripping off Roman Holiday, the greatest romantic comedy ever filmed in Rome and perhaps even the best romantic comedy ever. In many ways, the basic formula of The Lizzie McGuire Movie and Roman Holiday is very much alike...

In The Lizzie McGuire Movie...

• Lizzie goes to Rome
• Lizzie is not satisfied with her trip because she can't hang out with an Italian pop sensation
• Lizzie pretends she's sick in bed but instead, sneaks out to see the Italian pop star, Paolo
• Paolo wants to take advantage of her since Lizzie looks exactly like his singing partner, Isabella
• Paolo and Lizzie ride a Vespa around Rome
  
• Lizzie falls in love with Paolo

In Roman Holiday...

• Princess Ann goes to Rome
• Princess Ann is not satisfied with her trip because she has to do all her royal duties
• Princess Ann is given a sedative by a doctor, but she sneaks out afterwards
• Joe Bradley finds Princess Ann and wants to take advantage of her since she's a princess and he can write a hit article about her
• Joe and Princess Ann ride a Vespa around Rome
• They fall in love

The comparison ends there. Roman Holiday is certainly more of a tearjerker than The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Of course, Roman Holiday is still vastly superior. But honestly, how many eight year old girls want to see an old black-and-white film?

But back to our friend Lizzie.

So Lizzie's sneaking around Miss Ungermeyer with Gordo saving her from trouble. She gets closer to Paolo and realizes that he's really a nice guy since he gives her the opportunity to enjoy the good life. You know, fame, food, clothing, make-up artists... Sure, Lizzie's being a little materialistic there, but the film's target audience would never care.

The target audience cares about their beloved Lizzie McGuire. She's the girl they relate to and she's the girl they love. Lizzie McGuire was the Hannah Montana of yesterday. That said, Hilary Duff was the Miley Cyrus of yesterday. I think both Duff and Cyrus are extremely likable actresses, especially as their famous characters. Like I said in the comments section of James's blog, Duff has a likable screen presence. Perhaps at the time of the comment, Agent Cody Banks may have slipped my mind since the idea of finding anything likable in the movie at all is completely blasphemis, but in general, Duff has always been impressive as Lizzie. Duff's no Audrey Hepburn but she owns the character of Lizzie like no other actress imaginable. Duff proves it again in the film version of the series.

The things I liked about this movie definitely outweighed the things that didn't quite work. The opening sequence is rather awkward, since Lizzie's younger brother Matt (Jake Thomas) seems to be filming his sister as she changes her clothing as blackmail. I mean, what kind of brother wants to watch his sister change? The parents--played by Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine--add nothing to the movie, really. But it was nice seeing them in the movie anyway.

I never expected a romance between Lizzie and Gordo; it always seemed like Gordo and Miranda to me. Speaking of Miranda, I was rather glad that Lalaine, who portrayed Miranda in the series, did not participate in the film. With Miranda there, I do not think the Lizzie-Gordo relationship would have worked as nicely. Sure, Duff and Lamberg may lack romantic chemistry, but their storyline is undoubtedly well-executed.

The Lizzie McGuire Movie may be completely predictable and silly but it is nonetheless, delightfully sweet entertainment. I am well-aware that the film has a 4.8/10 rating on IMDb and a 40% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but this movie wasn't made for those regular IMDb voters or those film critics. It was made for the fans of the show, who were about eight to twelve at the time. Although I think every film should aim to please everybody, not every film is made to please everybody. Fortunately, this film pleased me. It's fun fluff, pure and simple. The film doesn't have half the brilliance of Roman Holiday, but it has a likable heroine and enough cutesy pop tunes to satisfy young girls. To answer the previous question I stated: If your eight year old girl is unwilling to see the black-and-white 1954 classic, then The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a solid alternative. It is 50% rip-off, but also 50% charm.

Rating: 8/10