Text Size:
A|
A|
A
Email
Print
After months of railing about movies that are rated PG or PG-13 and yet contain mature material, it's only fair to applaud Disney. Its "Hannah Montana: The Movie" is rated G and it's really for general audiences.
Off screen, Miley Cyrus, 16, may be dating a 20-year-old model-singer, but the boldest thing in the movie is a kiss she shares with a good ole country boy, played by an 18-year-old who looks like a teen, not a man. In other words, this is no Britney circus.
The movie stars Cyrus as Miley Stewart, the same character she plays on her Disney Channel show. She's a pop superstar who masquerades as a regular teen, but when worlds collide, her dad, Robby Ray (Billy Ray Cyrus), reminds her, "Don't give me no lip. You're the one who wanted the best of both worlds."
Her agent (Vanessa Williams) thinks Miley should do what she does best -- "singing your little scrappy heart out." But when Miley begins channeling her inner diva and turns into the Incredible Hulk, er, Hannah, her dad executes a plan.
He redirects a plane Miley thinks is bound for the Big Apple to their hometown of Crowley Corners, Tenn. It's a quaint, neighborly place where country music spontaneously combusts in living rooms and on front porches, where meadows are preferable to malls and where a former classmate named Travis (Lucas Till) just happens to be working for Miley's grandmother.
- Starring: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus
- Rating: G
- Web site: disney.go.com/
Miley is not happy with the switcheroo and plots "Operation Save Hannah Montana." As it turns out, she enjoys being just Miley, until Miley is scheduled to be one place and Hannah another and the usual merry mayhem -- and emotional tug-of-war -- ensue.
"Hannah Montana," directed by Peter Chelsom (the Americanized "Shall We Dance," "Serendipity" and "Funny Bones"), is infused with music -- some toe-tapping, some heartfelt and most quite good, if a little overproduced at times.
In addition to Miley and Billy Ray, performers include Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts, and I suspect if some of the young moviegoers had been watching at home instead of a theater, they would have joined the "Hoedown Throwdown" line dance.
The movie is clearly aimed at the same audience that delights in the Disney Channel show. On the TV program, Miley Cyrus plays things big: big gestures, big smiles, big emotions. They seem a little oversize for the small screen but work just fine on the big one, although she's not exactly Dakota Fanning when it comes to acting.
Miley is joined by some familiar TV faces, including Emily Osment as pal Lilly, Mitchel Musso as Oliver and Moises Arias as Rico. Jason Earles pops up as Miley's brother, Jackson, too.
The lessons from the movie are modest, with Miley trumping Hannah, and Travis delivering some down-home wisdom: "Life's a climb, but the view is great."
"Hannah Montana" is aimed squarely at younger girls, tweens and younger teens. Parents who have to play chauffeur and chaperone will find lovely scenery, better than usual music, spikes of silliness and wholesome fun.
