Hilary Duff plays the title character, a junior high student coping with the problems of adolescence and peer pressure with her best friends Gordo and Miranda. Her arch nemesis, Kate, a blonde, cheerleading bimbo, torments her for not being popular and/or fashionable. Lizzie’s little brother Matt does what all little brothers do best: Annoy their sister. But what gives this show its quirky flair is Lizzie’s (literally) animated alter ego: a cartoon version of Lizzie’s psyche that gives commentary about the real Lizzie’s dilemmas and serves as the conveyer of her thoughts.
And now, Disney has expanded this hit TV show into a movie. Excluding Miranda, the whole gang’s back with a lot of the many supporting characters from the show, including Ethan, Larry, and that hilarious drama teacher who loves flipping his scarf. The plot gives a simple twist to the Cinderella fairy tale. After Lizzie and her friends graduate from junior high, they all take a class trip to Rome for two weeks. Once there, she is mistaken for Isabella, one-half of the most popular pop duo in Europe. She then meets Paolo, Isabella’s singing partner and ex-boyfriend, and starts falling for him. They start going out, and when Italian tabloids label them as "back together," the news reaches the US, forcing Lizzie’s mom, dad, and brother to jet to Rome and see what’s going on. In the meantime, Paolo has asked Lizzie to join him at the International Video Music Awards as Isabella, since the real one refuses to attend. She’s transformed from an awkward teenager into a beautiful pop superstar as she prepares to perform with Paolo for the award show. Consequently, Gordo struggles to understand his true feelings for Lizzie, and the sudden burst of surprising occurrences force Lizzie to find the true meaning of friendship and loyalty.
Just like the show, The Lizzie McGuire Movie has that joyous effervescence that makes it so appealing. Though its extremely clichéd pretty-girl-goes-to-Rome-and-meets-a-cute-boy-that-rides-a-motorcycle plot screams "Movies like me go straight to video and star the Olsen twins!," the cast’s bubbly spirit and the screenplay’s cute humor overshadow this. The class’ chaperon, Miss Ungermeyer, is a delightful ingredient to the movie. With her drill sergeant-like barks and her 5’2 size, she reminds me of a funny version of Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. But the real reason of this film is to launch Hilary Duff to stardom, and she looks like she’s really having fun doing it. Her cheery smile and sunny exuberance make you beam yourself; her innocence and charm makes her so relatable. She proves that she’s ready for Hollywood.
Maybe because of the movie’s many good points, we can somewhat forget its other faults such as the stereotypical characters: an arrogant cheerleader (Kate), a dumb high school heartthrob (Ethan), and an annoying little brother (Matt), to name a few. It could have been written more creatively, but I guess that’s the show’s fault, not the movie’s. And Lizzie’s cartoon alter ego, who in the show is used a lot and has some of the funniest one-liners, has to resort to paltry slapstick humor in the movie and only appears on very few occasions. What’s also different from the TV show is Kate’s personality. She has somehow lost some part of her annoying yet amusing bitchiness with her best friend Claire and her cheerleading posse gone, and is replaced with a budding friendship with Lizzie. (But considering a past episode, I doubt that.) And if you haven’t seen Gordo’s new hairstyle, watch out: What was once just normal-looking naturally curly hair has now turned into a mini-afro and makes him look like the sixth member of the Jackson Five.
Lizzie serves as a spokeswoman for all the gawky, awkward teens out there. Despite Kate accusing her of being an "outfit repeater," she retains her confidence and isn’t put down. The same goes for Hilary Duff, who definitely deserves a successful career (she already has inked a record deal with Disney). All in all, The Lizzie McGuire Movie is pure family-friendly fun. Kids will love Lizzie, and parents will be glad that there’s no crude or unsuitable humor in it. With catchy pop tunes (Hilary Duff’s delightful Why Not is still ringing in my ears) and a lighthearted spirit, this sugarcoated celebration of friendship, young love and lip gloss proves that Hilary Duff deserves all her success and more. Let’s just hope she doesn’t cross over to Slutville and join Britney Spears.
Bottom Line: Harmless, cheerful, family-friendly fun. Candy that probably won’t rot your teeth.
Grade: B
Movies
• Watch Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Sure, the first one was a total bore, but the sequel looks like it has a much better story, something about Pandora’s box. Plus, don’t you just love Angelina Jolie with a British accent?
• Don’t watch Jackass: The Movie. Next to Dumb And Dumberer, this is arguably the most inanely unintelligent, mindless movie of the past few years. Based on the gross-out MTV series, Jackass features people running over panda mascots with golf carts and men snorting wasabi up their noses. It looks like human dignity was just flushed down the toilet.