Disney // 2008 // 98 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Ryan Keefer (Retired) // August 19th, 2008
"You're going to Camp Rock!"
While Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana is the latest pop/rock act to have parents spending hundreds of dollars on concert tickets so they can truly wear the "World's Greatest Mom/Dad" t-shirt, the Jonas Brothers are now riding that wave. In a sense, they're the entertainment equivalent of algae. They open for Miley constantly and I think one of the boys dates her. So now that the Jonas Brothers' vehicle Camp Rock is out on Blu-ray, what does everyone think?
Camp Rock was co-written by Karin Gist and Regina Y. Hicks, who co-produced the long-running show Girlfriends. No, I haven't heard of it either. The film follows Mitchie (Demi Lovato), an aspiring performer who wants to go to some camp that develops child rock stars. Yeah, it was basically kind of like that one episode of The Simpsons where Homer went to rock and roll fantasy camp. Mitchie becomes friends with Caitlyn (Alyson Stoner), but also butts heads with Tess (Meaghan Jette Martin), the daughter of a famous performer who has a hard time escaping Mom's shadow. The established performer who comes to camp to show the kids what-for on performance is Shane Gray, played by Joe Jonas. Shane hears a mysterious voice singing one day and tries to find out who it belongs to, not knowing it's Mitchie's. But the only reason why she's there is because her mom catering business is cooking for the camp. So, Mitchie tries to manage the delicate balance between her blue-collar roots and her chance at stardom.
We now listen in on a conversation between a typical American father and his teenage son...
"Dad?"
"Yeah son?"
"Is rock
dead?"
"What?"
"Well, Tommy at school says that
rock is dead and I'm not sure what that means."
"Is that the
same Tommy you said who smokes at the school loading dock?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'll get to Tommy in a minute, but you ask a
pretty interesting question."
"Why's that?" "Well,
some people say that rock is still going strong, but a lot of people say that
rock is dead. The interesting part is that nobody really agrees on when it died.
Some people say it's when Elvis died. Other people say it was before that, when
the Rolling Stones played Altamont. Other people say it's when young guys like
Sid Vicious or Kurt Cobain passed on."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Well, we had to see this film at
school called Camp Rock, and Tommy was in class, and that's what he said
afterwards."
"Hmm...Well, do you agree with what he
said?"
"I'm not sure. I mean, I was watching it, and it reminded
me of a lot of things. Like, aren't you supposed to have drummers and stuff in a
rock band?"
"Yeah, you are. What did you see?"
"Well, a lot of songs were played to keyboards and drum tracks, and anyone
who played a guitar was only strumming one chord."
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like rock all that much to me."
"Also, the kids worked too hard to be good people. I always thought rock
stars were a little bit on the bad side. The kid who's supposed to be a rock
star was a boy, but looked and sounded like a girl. And the boys and girls all
got along, even when they weren't supposed to. They all looked like they came
out of the commercials from J.Crew."
"Wow, it doesn't sound all that good."
"No, it wasn't.
It was pretty boring. It was kind of like Meatballs and That Thing You
Do!, minus all the touring and stuff."
"Sorry to hear it,
son."
"Well it wasn't so bad, Dad. I mean, they played the
Blu-ray disc, and the 1.78:1 widescreen looked good. There wasn't a lot of depth
to the background image, but the foreground stuff was presentable without being
too vivid. The PCM soundtrack didn't provide for a lot of sonic engagement; it
wasn't very immersive and sometimes the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track sounded
better."
"When did you learn so much about audio and video
quality son?"
"Mike Thomas brings in home theater magazines and
we read through them at lunch."
"Son, I hate it when you do
that. I know you're becoming an adult and all, but if these magazines interest
you, let me know, and I can get you a subscription."
"I know.
Thanks, Dad."
"You're welcome son. Did the disc have good bonus
features?"
"They were OK. Most of it was the usual look at the
making of the film, but there's a thing on how to be a rock star that's kind of
weird. It's 30 minutes long, but they don't really cover anything, and some of
the stuff they say is weird. Like, to be a rock star, you're supposed to listen
to what your parents say. It sounds like like that's what being a rock star is
about."
"Well, you'd be right about that son."
"And not knowing anything about the Jonas Brothers, I think they're kind of
weird looking. They're rock stars who like performing, but they spend more time
talking about hair and fashion and shopping then they do about music. It's like
they're girls. And this is the band that everyone is freaking out
about?"
"It does kind of tell you something about human nature, doesn't it
son?"
"Yeah, but I did what you said...'Never let the bastards
get me down.'"
"Good boy."
"Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about with the movie
son?"
"Yeah, Dad. There was one other thing. I found out from
Jessica and Danielle that they also saw the movie and they didn't like it
either."
"They didn't?"
"No, Danielle called it
'stupid,' and Jessica said it was 'predictable and dumb.' Now they're my
sisters, and just becoming teenagers, and they're supposed to like the Jonas
Brothers. If my sisters don't like the movie, was does that tell you?"
"Sounds like it's a stupid movie."
"You're right dad, it
was stupid."
"So son, does this discussion help clear things up for you?"
"Yeah, Dad. Thanks."
"Tell me what you've learned."
"I've learned that before Camp Rock, rock was probably dead.
After Camp Rock, I know it's not coming back."
"Attaboy
son. Now go get Dad a mandarin vodka and red bull."
Review content copyright © 2008 Ryan Keefer; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2012 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Video: 83
Audio: 84
Extras: 34
Acting: 71
Story: 63
Judgment: 69
Perp Profile
Studio: Disney
Video Formats:
* 1.78:1 Non-Anamorphic (Widescreen)
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (English)
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (French)
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (Spanish)
* PCM 5.1 Surround (English)
Subtitles:
* English
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Release Year: 2008
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Bloopers
* Rehearsal Cam with Bounce To Movie
* Karaoke Sing Along
* Music Videos
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1055366/combined
* Official Site
http://atv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/originalmovies/camprock/cds/index.html