Hannah Montana is introduced as the world’s most popular teenager in
the film version of her Disney Channel series. She’s a fitting icon for
this era’s egotism, where artistic impulse is a desire for fame.
Hannah Montana: The Movie is about as content-free as its star.
It’s an undistinguished mediocrity, only surprising in that a huge
portion of 10-year-old girls consider it exciting. As a recent South
Park episode instructed, at least wait till your late 30s to get
this boring.
Still, it’s hard to harbour resentment toward Hannah Montana: The
Movie. It doesn’t aspire to enough to mean any harm. Compared to
the shrieky Spice World of 11 years ago, star Miley Cyrus’
vanity project is comparatively laid back.
What it delivers is a simple lesson in down-home values. The movie
operates on the premise that nobody beyond the star’s family members
and assistants are aware that Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana are the
same person. This makes it easy for Cyrus to pay a visit to her rural
Tennessee home turf. Father Billy Ray and the rest of the Cyrus family
sit around the campfire and living room playing songs. Cyrus falls for
a country boy. She remembers that the real things in life happen
outside of Malibu beach parties. You can’t take the Montana out of the
Hannah.
The film could have worked as a cross-cultural odyssey, with Cyrus
interacting with unique personalities–something akin to Follow That
Bird, and the first Pee-Wee Herman and Muppet movies. There’s some
imaginative plotting near the end, with Cyrus juggling her personas,
running between a date and a formal dinner function. It’s a treatment
of a celebrity’s busy appearance schedule that, if not successful,
shows some effort as physical comedy. And there’s a stand-out
mortifying bit where she performs a hip-hop/country hybrid,
conveniently titled “The Hoedown.”
Mostly, though, Hannah Montana: The Movie is content playing
on a flat, OK level. It hasn’t the personality to commit to being fun.
For showtimes, see Movie Times, page 34. Dad, don’t
get all achy breaky at palermo@thecoast.ca.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2009.