Sunday School Musical (review)
Oh, for shame! How Christian is theft? Not very -- isn’t one of their Big Rules against it? But what do I, a heathen atheist, know about these things? All I do know is that this direct-to-DVD flick is a bald-faced attempt to latch onto the phenom that is High School Musical and water it down even more for everyone who frets that the Muskeeteerish, white-bread mildness of the couldn’t-be-more-Disney Disney franchise is somehow racy and immoral and indicative of the downfall of humanity. It’s tough to decide which is the most outrageously offensive aspect of this cheap knockoff: the insipid and obvious songs, the almost conflict-free plot (it involves rival “gangs” of religious choirs who immediately team up for mutual betterment and cookies and because that’s what Jesus would do), the depiction of Christian education as consisting almost entirely of home ec and Bible studies, or the endless deployment of self-help New Testament clichés seemingly meant to undercut what teeny bit of drama is left, or the ideas that “family” entertainment must entirely toothless and “wholesome” means bland. Extras are reputed to include a making-of featurette, cast and crew commentary, a gag reel, and more, but were not available for review.
For shame:
viewed at home on a small screen
not rated
official site | IMDB
comments
posted by Mimi (Sat Nov 29 08, 11:56PM)
I just watched the trailer, out of curiosity -- and MAJ, is it just me, or do a couple of the guys in that film appear to be tragically gay? (And I say "tragically" because it CANNOT be fun to be gay and surrounded by the sort of people who would make/watch "Sunday School Musical.")
posted by NorthernStar (Mon Dec 01 08, 5:44AM)
Good grief!
Something that makes Britannia High look appealingly original!
posted by blake (Mon Dec 01 08, 1:12PM)
"Something that makes Britannia High look appealingly original!"
Don't say things you can't take back.
posted by MaryAnn (Tue Dec 02 08, 8:23PM)
Yes. But, as you say, tragic only because you would not want to be gay in this crowd. You wouldn't even want to be straight but able to pass for gay in this crowd.
posted by Tonio Kruger (Thu Dec 04 08, 11:57AM)
I'm waiting for the inevitable Catholic School Musical myself.
posted by Bill (Thu Dec 04 08, 12:00PM)
If only, Tonio. If only.
posted by jobros lover (Thu Jan 29 09, 12:38AM)
This is the worst movie ever made!
It's just a wanna-bee High School Musical. I mean seriously-look at the covers! Never wanna watch that movie again. And their songs are so cheesy. The actors can't act either. Savannah's voice pissed me off for some reason LOL!
posted by Daniel (Fri Jan 30 09, 3:13AM)
Really, aside from all the bad acting, cheesy songs, and the fact that you could totally tell they were lip syncing, it wasn't really all that bad.
These two choirs represent two different cultures. The one the main character was in at first represents the lower class people who live out in the rural areas. The other represents the preppier richer kids who live in the richer cities.
After he moves, all this conflict happens between the two, yet he still manages to get the two groups to work together and look at what they accomplished. They put on a spectacular performance at the competition and they won money to help a good cause.
I know it wasn't nearly as good as Disney's High School Musical but it was MUCH better than I expected it to be.
posted by Rebecca (Wed May 06 09, 4:03AM)
This movie is obviously for a younger crowd. It's supposed to be like Disney... so I don't think the acting is bad, just over the top... which is what little kids want.
I don't think anyone is tragically gay, no gayer than the blonde boy in HSM. I think some character traits might come off that way if you are stereotyping... but that's silly to do in a movie, obviously they were all choices!