Hannah Montana the Movie

[lety]

I'm not now nor have I ever been a fan of the TV series Hannah Montana. I tried watching an episode once just to see what all the hoopla was about but couldn't make it through the entire 30 minutes. But that's okay because I'm not part of the key demographic Disney's targeting with Hannah Montana. Pre-teens are who the series is meant to please, and that's the same audience that should go gaa-gaa over Hannah Montana the Movie.

The Story

 

As with Clark Kent and his glasses, all it takes is a wig and some trendy clothes to makeover normal teen Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) into pop star Hannah Montana. Forget that Miley and Hannah look exactly alike – Miley's face is very distinctive. Forget that any teen with a brain could figure out they share the same voice. Nobody knows Miley and Hannah are one in the same in this happy make-believe universe. And in this universe, Hannah's a big deal and Miley's getting too big for her britches or so says her dad, Robby Ray (Miley's real dad Billy Ray Cyrus).

In an attempt to puncture Miley/Hannah's over-inflated ego, Robby Ray tricks her into returning to Tennessee for her grandmother's birthday. And not only is Miley forced into taking time off when she'd rather be in New York, things get really traumatic when dad tells her no more Hannah. That of course puts Miley in a huff, but the GQ model working as a cowboy (Lucas Till) at grandmother's ranch helps Miley get her mind off of no longer being a superstar in teen circles. But - and here comes the big lesson part - Miley's little Tennessee town needs to raise $500,000 or else a mall will go up where family-owned stores now stand, so it's up to Miley to discover what's really important while helping to save the small town.

The Cast

 

Miley Cyrus is fun to watch. Okay, so right now I wouldn't call her the heir apparent to fill Meryl Streep's shoes, but the camera does love her. As for the rest of the cast, Miley Cyrus' co-stars from the Hannah Montana series don't have much screen time, other than Billy Ray who's fine playing the part of his real daughter's dad. Newcomer Lucas Till's sure to gather quite a following and might even make some Hannah Montana fans take up horseback riding on the off chance guys like him really do hang around barns.

The Bottom Line

 

I have to admit that I wasn't all that enthused about taking in a screening of a Hannah Montana movie. I know, it's my job, which is why I bit the bullet and saw the movie. But reviewing a film with such a specific, hard-core audience is a tough task for someone who is so not into the source material – and not conversant with the ins and outs of the Hannah Montana world. Yet I found myself caught up in the pure, joyful sort of innocence of the story. Granted, it's a story that doesn't make a lick of sense to the outside world (meaning the wThe 9 year old Hannah Montana expert I took with me to the screening said it was better than she thought it would be, which perfectly echoes my reaction to the very kid-friendly film.orld inhabited by everyone who doesn't watch Disney TV). But seriously, it's a Hannah Montana movie - it's not Shakespeare.