Camp Rock : Movie Review
I went to four years of band camp in high school. It was all day long, in god-awful heat, with a bunch of god-awful people for weeks. It was terrible. It was like going through hell every single day but it taught me perseverance and other amorphous character traits. Whatever it was, it was most certainly not fun. Now there’s a new movie out about band camp and it’s nothing whatsoever like what I went through.
Starting this August 19th, now available on DVD from Disney Channel DVD and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment comes the camp story of the summer if you love music. Camp Rock is ready to blast into your living room with a regaling story of accepting who we are and being able to make awesome music. Bring home this musical adventure today!
This made for television movie introduces new talent Demi Lovato as Mitchie and stars the Jonas Brothers as fake pop group Connect Three. Mitchie is living as a poor ascendant middle class girl whose mother is a successful caterer and whose father owns his own hardware store. All she wants to do is go to Camp Rock, but she can’t afford it. Her mom gets the gig as the camp cook, meaning a partial scholarship for Mitchie. She arrives and loves it, although she realizes she’s not as accomplished or rich as most other people there. One of the Jonas Brothers is there too, because he’s out of control and on the verge of splitting up the band. Mitchie pretends to be someone she’s not and is inevitably found out. What happens from there? Is there any hope of redemption? Only watching this film will help you find out.
The special features included in this DVD are quite varied. There are music videos for two songs, a karaoke feature, and a way to sing along with the movie. There are also a who set of short features on how to be a rock star in so many different ways, a look at the Jonas Brothers, a look at Demi Lovato, camp memories, and two featurettes about how different scenes were made.
One of the most ironic scenes I seen in a long time is when the oldest Jonas is sitting talking to Mitchie about how his label doesn’t let him write what he wants and he has to fit a certain mold. I don’t know if he realizes it, but Disney owns his soul. If ever there was a controlling label, it’s Disney. The songs were nothing I think I’d ever repeat, but there are certainly good lessons to be learned in this movie. The importance of being yourself, although it’s painfully cheesy, is still a vital lesson that everyone can stand be reminded of a couple times. Also, that we shouldn’t be taken advantage of by our friends, that it’s important to be honest, and that even mean people have hearts are worth learning, for whatever good those lessons end up being. As far as Disney music movies go, this is the cream of the crop and I somewhat recommend it.
It’s doesn’t really rock, but it sure is Camp.
