Hannah Montana: The Movie Should Win Over Target Audience Despite Improbable Plot

It's been years since my family got the Disney Channel, so I was a bit late to discover Hannah Montana. I first heard of her a couple years ago when her calendars started flying off the shelves at the kiosk where I was working. I soon realized that she was the Next Big Thing among tweens, but my own experience with her has remained limited to television guest appearances. This week, I finally got a whopping dose of Hannah when I went to her movie in the company of a very ardent fan. Now at least I have a better idea of what all the hype is about.

Hannah Montana: The Movie is a G-rated adventure with a storyline that Disney and other family-friendly filmmakers have used time and again. Unassuming kid hits the big time and lets it go to her head; by the end of the movie, she's developed a renewed appreciation for her roots. It's nothing new, but it's a logical angle to take for a film about a superstar trying to live a normal life. As the film begins, we find Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus) concerned that his daughter Miley (Miley Cyrus) is getting too caught up in her Hannah Montana act. She's starting to act like a diva: ignoring commitments to family and friends, fighting with supermodels over shoes and just generally being rather obnoxious. It's time for an intervention. Can a couple of weeks as plain old Miley in her grandmother's (Margo Martindale) farmhouse in her tiny hometown of Crowley Corners, TN, cure her of her egotism?

The impression I got from what I've heard about the show is that Miley is a pretty grounded young woman; it seems her poor behavior is a recent development. And it's problematic enough to convince her dad to out-fox her conniving agent Vita (Vanessa Williams) and force his daughter to blow off a major awards ceremony in favor of Grandma's birthday party. That doesn't strike me as very responsible, despite his good intentions; it's one of many plot devices that fall just a tad flat. Other eyebrow-raising moments in the first few minutes include a confusing transition from a concert to a video shoot and a bit about Miley's brother Jackson (Jason Earles) heading off to college, though nothing in the rest of the movie seems to indicate that he's doing anything other than working at a small-town zoo.

Jackson's animal antics amused me, particularly because an ostrich is involved at one point, but the character serves little purpose in the film other than to take pratfalls, which include crashing to the ground from the top of a ladder, nearly being bitten by an alligator and trying to shake off a ferret that has wound up entangled in his clothing. Pa Stewart is pretty clumsy too, especially in one wince-worthy scene toward the beginning, but his character has considerably more depth. Much of the film is about his attempts to reconnect with his daughter while navigating a possible new romance with alluring local Lorelai (Melora Hardin). Meanwhile, Miley, who also seems to have inherited the family klutz gene, rekindles a friendship with her childhood buddy Travis (Lucas Till, who doesn't sing or dance but still may find himself the next Zac Efron-like teen dream), now a handsome ranch hand. Travis's aw-shucks manner and dimply grin endeared him to me quickly, making the teen romance angle the most interesting element of the story for me, though I also appreciated the emphasis on the importance of family.

There is, of course, a lot of singing in the movie, most of it done by Miley. Her performances are mostly fun and bubblegumish, occasionally reflective. Her countrified, motion-heavy Hoedown Throwdown, which she appears to have made up off the top of her head, seems destined to be this summer's Macarena. Also popping up in the film are the members of Rascal Flatts doing a down-home, folksy rendition of their hit God Blessed the Broken Road and Taylor Swift with a song that affords Miley and Travis the opportunity for their first slow dance. I found the flashiness of some of the concert scenes annoying - and the instant costume changes inexplicable - but Cyrus's voice is pleasant enough - when she's singing, anyway. While her speaking voice didn't make much of an impression on me, my mom found it grating. I couldn't tell if there was a huge difference between Hannah and Miley's speaking voices; I thought she seemed to have more of a twang as Miley, but I'm not sure that was consistent. As with Superman, I certainly question how nobody realizes that Miley and Hannah are the same person. The main difference between them seems to be that Hannah has a blonde wig and excessive makeup.

In the tradition of many corny live-action Disney flicks, Hannah Montana: The Movie features several bumbling villains. One, a developer named Mr. Bradley (Barry Bostwick) who wants to turn Crowley Corners' bucolic meadows into a megamall, is essentially a retread of Alonzo Hawk from the Herbie movies. British tabloid reporter Oswald Granger (Peter Gunn) is rather like 101 Dalmatians' hapless Horace and Jasper; he even works for a foul woman reminiscent of Cruella De Vil. Needless to say, their threat level is minimal, though Mr. Bradley introduces some conflict when Miley is compelled to bring Hannah Montana to Tennessee for a benefit concert. Though her best friend Lilly (Emily Osment) is on hand to help her be two people at once, complications naturally arise. Their eventual resolution stretches believability beyond reasonable limits, but at least the requisite happy ending is achieved.

I enjoyed this movie well enough, and I imagine that most fans of the show will eat it right up like my friend did. In a movie landscape in which G ratings are increasingly rare, I appreciate how inoffensive the film is. It promotes wholesome values, and the romance between Travis and Miley is sweet and reminds me of the puppy love storyline in Princess Diaries, which I thought was terrific. Yes, just about every aspect of this movie reminds me of another film, usually a better one; Hannah Montana: The Movie is derivative to the max, and screenwriter Daniel Berendsen doesn't seem to give viewers much credit for being able to pick up on plot absurdities and inconsistencies. This movie won't be taking home any Oscars next year. But I bet it'll clean up at the Teen Choice Awards, which should be enough to satisfy the famous songstress and her admirers.

Ugly Betty Introduces Us to a Truly Beautiful Heroine

Summer is winding down. As compensation for this potentially depressing reality, the major television networks stand at the ready to distract viewers with a colorful array of new shows. The last few years have been good to me. Four years ago: Joan of Arcadia. Three: LOST. Two: Ghost Whisperer. And last year... Ugly Betty. All the summer buzz for this show based on a popular telenovela especially intrigued my mom, so we made a point of watching the first episode when it aired. We were hooked.

Ugly Betty is a bright, splashy, silly but life-affirming show revolving around one of the most engaging heroines ever to grace the small screen. America Ferrera, who wowed me a couple years back in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, dazzles as the luminescent but gawky Betty Suarez, a plucky young Latina from Queens whose trademark look includes clunky red-framed glasses, a mouth full of metal and one fashion disaster after another. Her ensemble should pose a glaring problem, since she's just landed a position as the assistant to the editor-in-chief of Mode, a major fashion magazine. But Betty has a smart head on her shoulders and a soul brimming with goodness, so her common sense, cleverness and morality allow her to get further in this cut-throat business than anyone would expect.

It helps that her boss, Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), is stepping into unexplored territory himself, having just been appointed by his father, magazine tycoon Bradford Meade (Alan Dale), to run the show. Mabius plays his role with a charming mixture of befuddlement and style. He's obviously used to the finer things in life, but as a rich playboy he's never had to go after them himself. Bradford - who in many ways is identical to Charles Widmore (the wealthy, dream-squashing father of Desmond's dream girl, Penny), the character he portrays on LOST - thinks having a frumpy assistant will help Daniel keep his mind on his job, but he never counted on the dramatic impact she would have on his work ethic and his overall development as a person. Daniel isn't a bad guy. In most respects, he's very decent, but he does have some unfortunate tendencies, and Betty soon takes it upon herself to go above and beyond her daily duties and act as his own personal Jiminy Cricket.

If Daniel soon begins to appreciate her, most of her other new associates come around much more slowly. She does find a fast friend in Christina McKinney (Ashley Jensen), an off-beat Scottish seamstress desperately trying to get her foot in the door as a fashion designer, but even after surviving her first nightmarish day on the job, she finds animosity around every corner. The most egregious offenders are Amanda Tanen (Becki Newton), a receptionist who's had her eye on Betty's job (and her boss) for ages, and Marc St. James (Michael Urie), effervescent assistant to icy fashionista Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams), who is determined to seize Daniel's power for herself.

Williams' presence is commanding, and she struts around the office like a slightly classier version of Cruella De Vil. Wilhelmina may not be ordering hits on spotted puppies, but she certainly isn't short on underhanded schemes, and Marc is incomparably capable of helping her carry them out. His favorite side hobby is teaming up with his best buddy Amanda and heaping the snark on Betty, who generally shrugs off their insults, which are usually veiled as compliments whose sarcasm she often misses. When I watched the pilot episode, I was powerfully reminded of 13 Going on 30, and Amanda particularly brought to mind the catty, back-stabbing Lucy, fellow employee at the fashion magazine where naive protagonist Jenna works. It's hard to say which of the office divas is more unlikable, but both manage to garner our sympathy before too long, rude remarks and conniving aside. Wilhelmina becomes downright cuddly during a mid-season arc involving laid-back millionaire Ted LeBeau (Brett Cullen, who I first knew as apparent goody-two-shoes Goodwin on LOST), while Amanda shows her vulnerable side as she pines after Daniel.

But among this troublesome trio, it's Urie who really steals the show, flouncing around the office with an impeccable wardrobe and sparkling smile, feigning friendliness to Betty even as he snaps unflattering photos of her and competes with Amanda to come up with the most scathing appraisals of their newest co-worker. Marc is cruel in a Simon Cowell-meets-Jack McFarland sort of way, but he's so darn adorable it's hard to get too perturbed about it, and no one can deny he's both a dedicated lackey to Wilhelmina and a faithful friend to Amanda. In a show marked by camp, he's probably the most over-the-top character of all, but underneath all that showmanship is a sensitive and sometimes even compassionate soul, which we see particularly strongly when Marc's mother makes a guest appearance late in the season.

Betty has more problems to deal with on the home front. She lives with her father Ignacio (Tony Plana), a tender, fun-loving widower who immigrated to America from Mexico 30 years ago. As health problems prevent him from working, Betty finds herself the main bread-winner of the family, though her saucy older sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) brings in some cash selling herbal remedies. Ignacio is a refreshingly devoted father, but he has a few skeletons in his closet that cause a host of headaches when they come out to tap-dance across the kitchen floor. Speaking of dancing, Betty's pre-teen nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato) is like a miniature Marc with a little less 'tude. Ecstatic that his aunt has managed to land a position at the magazine of his dreams, the musical-obsessed, flawlessly garbed Justin takes every opportunity to sneak a peek at the inner workings of Mode, much to the chagrin of Santos (Kevin Alejandro), the macho absentee father who comes back into his life early in the season.

And then there's Walter (Kevin Sussman), Betty's high school sweetheart, who in the first episode cheats on her with the neighborhood floozy who's only using him for his discount at the electronics store. I recognized Sussman immediately as the mobster-threatened ninny from the Verizon Wireless commercial, and he's similarly the epitome of awkward here. He strives to win Betty back, and at first I rooted for their relationship; after all, four years together can't just be thrown out the window. But there is the matter of the infidelity, and the fact that Betty and Walter have zero chemistry with each other. Each of their scenes seems like an ungainly waltz, with Betty trying not to get her toes stubbed by the croaky young man who tries his best to be sweet but more often comes across as clingy, whiny and clueless.

Not so Henry Grubstick (Christopher Gorham), who, with his Clark Kent looks and C-3PO mannerisms, is every bit as geeky as his name suggests but is a Nerd in Shining Armor if ever I saw one. Time seems to stand still every time the glasses-clad accountant waddles over to Betty for some heart-fluttering small talk. Before long, her officemates notice right along with the audience that these two are perfectly poised to be the cutest couple in Manhattan, but Walter is only one of the roadblocks standing in the way of this storybook romance.

And storybook is a good way to describe this show, which veers ever so slightly away from reality. It's like a Kodachrome snapshot of New York City, packed with over-dramatic performances and unreasonably coincidental twists and turns, to say nothing of all the steamy secrets bubbling underneath the revered name of Meade. With its vibrant sets, snappy dialogue and winking scene transitions, it's candy for the eyes and ears. Ugly Betty doesn't try to take itself too seriously, as evidenced by the self-parody in the form of the Spanish soap opera Ignacio often watches, which usually features a gorgeous man and woman engaging in some sort of violent argument that turns into a passionate kiss. It is on this show that executive producer Salma Hayek makes her first appearance; she later returns for a mid-season arc as the editor of a new women's magazine with whom Daniel becomes smitten.

The show is steamy, with all sorts of torrid little affairs happening at once. Double entendres fly fast and furious and along with showing the sometimes seedy ins and outs of the fashion industry, it broaches such ticklish topics as transsexualism, teenage pregnancy and illegal immigration. While it aims for comedy and succeeds brilliantly, it also manages to be very touching, particularly in its treatment of family. While there is a clear contrast between the Meades' dysfunctional opulence and the Suarezes' wholesome near-poverty, the members of Daniel's family do find ways of caring for each other, and Betty becomes like a sister to him, providing both a stern guiding hand and a shoulder to cry on.

In the end, it all comes down to Betty, whose steps may be clumsy, whose clothes may clash, whose confidence may waver, but who never loses her kindness, her unswerving ethics, her absolute decency. Through the skill of America Ferrera, we see the American Dream in action, a regular girl without much cash or many connections making her mark on the world through a combination of ambition and integrity. I don't know if this year's fall season will yield a new show for me to get hooked on. But I know that season two of Ugly Betty is right around the corner, and that is a beautiful thing indeed.