| In Theaters: Feb. 1, 2008 |
Runtime: |
74 minutes |
| MPAA Rating G |
Gecko Rating: |
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Miley Cyrus, the beloved sweetheart of Disney Channel⿿s ⿿Hannah Montana⿿ series and daughter of singer Billy Ray Cyrus, stars in this movie chronicling her 2007 concert tour. It⿿s in 3-D, which sort of makes you feel like you⿿re at the concert. On the other hand, it makes you realize how much you missed by not being at the concert.
If you were able to snag tickets to Cyrus⿿ actual concert, you probably shelled out thousands for them ⿿ a price that outraged many parents of tween girls begging to attend. Tickets for the movie are high, too, selling in the $15-$18 range. Why? Because it⿿s all a giant money mill! On the other hand, it⿿s a small price to pay to make your little Hannah/Miley fan happy. Or, you might say, it⿿s the best of both worlds.
The movie opens with 14-year-old Miley (her age at the time of the tour) donning her trademark blonde wig to go on stage. On ⿿Hannah Montana,⿿ the wig is what ⿿disguises⿿ her from her alter-ego ⿿ although my daughter and I laugh about that, because she looks just the same, only with a blonde wig!
The first half of the concert, she⿿s Hannah Montana. The second half, she⿿s Miley Cyrus. There are plenty of wardrobe changes throughout, which means lots of frenzied quick-change sessions back-stage.
While the Hannah segment is wholesome and saccharine, the Miley part gets a little racier. Though she never goes over the line, Miley⿿s mini skirts and half-seductive dance moves might raise a few parents⿿ eyebrows.
More after the jump…
The songs themselves are addictively catchy, from favorites like ⿿The Best of Both Worlds⿿ to the punchy ⿿I Got Nerve.⿿ Cyrus joins the Jonas Brothers ⿿ also Disney Channel favorites ⿿ for ⿿We Got the Party.⿿
Between musical numbers, we see tiny glimpses of her life off-stage, including teaching her dad a song she wrote. Not nearly enough, in my view. I would have liked to see more of her real life, and less of her onstage persona. As a performer, however, she’s truly amazing and never shows a smidgeon of nerves.
As mentioned, the movie is in 3-D, although aside from a few flying guitar picks and confetti blizzards, we don⿿t really notice it that much. I found the 3-D distracting and would have preferred to see the entire movie in regular format.
And all I could think through the whole movie was, here⿿s this 14-year-old girl who⿿s getting all this attention and who⿿s the center of a huge money machine and media frenzy. I can⿿t imagine letting my kid do this or giving her such a huge responsibility for so many people.
And at one point, her mom says, ⿿They finally brought me into the loop to help dress her between sets,⿿ and I⿿m thinking, you mean, you weren⿿t in the loop before? Man, if it was my girl, I⿿d be there every second. I mean, maybe she was, but it didn⿿t come off that way.
Plus, during one of the concert sequences, some dancers accidentally drop Miley during a lift. She gets a little spooked and doesn⿿t want to do the stunt, but her mom and director encourage her to do it, saying they⿿ll change the moves so there⿿s no chance of dropping her.
Again, it just seems like they⿿re laying a lot on this girl, and I hope she doesn⿿t fall into the downward spiral of so many young stars.
Image: Hannah Montana Still
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