CAMP ROCK -a review

It is important to note that I have seen High School Musical at least a dozen times and HSM2 maybe 6 time swith my kids. I liked both HSM programs and found them good entertainment.  I also saw Hairspray in theaters, loved it and we own the DVD.  So when Disney began hyping "Camp Rock" I was hopeful. Boy was I disappointed.  It was a lame attempt to capitalize on the American Idol theme and they tried and produce another big tweener or teen hit.  It was so boring; my 12-year-old started fidgeting after the first 15 minutes.  By the end, I was praying it would end soon. 

"Camp Rock" is all marketing and no substance.  The Jonas Brothers are too talented for this made-for-TV Disney movie.  The young stars can all sing, or at least with help from big time studio productions.  They are certainly attractive young people, but way too attractive and made up to look real.

The songs are not memorable, the choreography is lame, and the plot is plain old stupid.  Let me tell you 30 minutes into the movie, I could tell you how it would end and I was right. There is nothing believable in the entire story and it is so over produced it was laughable.  In the grand finale, two underdogs make last minute entries into the talent contest.  The first one plays a guitar and sings, but there is obviously a full rock band backing her up.  The second one comes out and sings with no microphone and the song sounds as if she is backed up by a full orchestra.  Oh, are we to believe that it is magic or does the camp orchestra pit have an invisible orchestra and conductor? All the young women have hair color and styles that looks like it was done by a chic salon. 

Disney has made millions from the High School Musical franchise. I would have hoped they learned something from their success other than how to exploit tweeners and teen audiences.  Camp Rock t-shirts and merchandise hit the stores even before the movie aired. The CD was available immediately after the premiere.  Oh, they will sell stuff because that is they way it works, but it will pale in comparison to the money they have made from High School Musical.  If you ask me, they don't deserve to sell anything related to inept movie.