I cannot imagine how anyone in their right mind thought that "Hannah Montana" was a good idea for a movie. Just take the premise. Hannah Montana is really Miley Cyrus. But Miley Cyrus does not want the world to know that she is Hannah Montana, because if they find out then whatever is left of her private life will soon disappear. So Miley Cyrus puts on a blond wig and convinces everyone that she is really Hannah Montana. Are you following this?
But this film persists in this absurd fiction right until the end, which leads to one silly plot line after the other. To take just one example, this movie could have been more effective by fully developing one element: the love story between Miley Cyrus and Travis Brody (who is played by the likable Lucas Till). But no, we are treated to a scene where Travis breaks up with Miley because apparently he is too visually impaired to know that she looks exactly like Hannah. Travis' behaviour is analogous to you not recognizing your friend after she dyed her hair another colour. Another idiotic plot device involves a British paparazzi guy who is trying to discover Hannah Montana's secret identity which is not a secret at all. At the end, after everyone who attended the latest Hannah Montana concert discovers that Hanna is Miley, the British paparazzi decides to do the "right thing" by quitting his job instead of revealing Hannah Montana's identity to his boss -- even though we all know that the audience members are going to spill the beans to anyone who cares enough to listen.
The plot is horrible, but what passes for slapstick here represents a pretty tawdry value system. When I saw Lilly fall down an enormous skateboard ramp because her friend let go of her, my reaction was that this girl looks like she got serious hurt. Likewise, Miley's fight with Tyra Banks over shoes was not funny and the ferret was not funny either. In fact, the only funny element in the film was the alligator. And if paid actors are getting upstaged by an unpaid alligator, then you know that your film sucks. In short, I can think of any number of children's films which have more wit, touching scenes, humour, and authentic situations than this one. "Hanna Montana" cynically exploits Miley Cyprus' celebrity in order to generate sales because it has nothing else to offer. And that is why I object to this film more than anything else: the filmmakers did not even try to make a good film.
But this film persists in this absurd fiction right until the end, which leads to one silly plot line after the other. To take just one example, this movie could have been more effective by fully developing one element: the love story between Miley Cyrus and Travis Brody (who is played by the likable Lucas Till). But no, we are treated to a scene where Travis breaks up with Miley because apparently he is too visually impaired to know that she looks exactly like Hannah. Travis' behaviour is analogous to you not recognizing your friend after she dyed her hair another colour. Another idiotic plot device involves a British paparazzi guy who is trying to discover Hannah Montana's secret identity which is not a secret at all. At the end, after everyone who attended the latest Hannah Montana concert discovers that Hanna is Miley, the British paparazzi decides to do the "right thing" by quitting his job instead of revealing Hannah Montana's identity to his boss -- even though we all know that the audience members are going to spill the beans to anyone who cares enough to listen.
The plot is horrible, but what passes for slapstick here represents a pretty tawdry value system. When I saw Lilly fall down an enormous skateboard ramp because her friend let go of her, my reaction was that this girl looks like she got serious hurt. Likewise, Miley's fight with Tyra Banks over shoes was not funny and the ferret was not funny either. In fact, the only funny element in the film was the alligator. And if paid actors are getting upstaged by an unpaid alligator, then you know that your film sucks. In short, I can think of any number of children's films which have more wit, touching scenes, humour, and authentic situations than this one. "Hanna Montana" cynically exploits Miley Cyprus' celebrity in order to generate sales because it has nothing else to offer. And that is why I object to this film more than anything else: the filmmakers did not even try to make a good film.