I'll admit it. I am one of those "suckers" for musical movies, even the ones with actual people. So when I saw that The-N was going to put up American Mall today (August 15th 2008 at Noon EST) I just had to record it and watch it.

When High School Musical came out and became popular I didn't want to watch it. If it's something so many people like, what are the changes that I (a weirdo) will? That negative attitude did bite me when I watched the movie the first time. All I could see where flaws. However when I watched it a second time, I realized the very flaws I picked out were actually what made the movie fun to watch, and the only reason they seemed bad was because of my attitude. I actually rather enjoyed the movie the 2nd time I watched it, enough to warrant going to buy the special edition of the soundtrack.

Then High School Musical 2 came out. I loved it. The perfect bland of childish taste with the fears and issues of being a teenager. I had a positive attitude when I went to watch it. I was certain they'd do a great job, and they did.

Later on, I heard about Camp Rock. Once again I was reluctant to watch. In my mind all I could think was "what are the chances I'll like a movie where you can tell its main appeal is that they have the Jonas Brothers?". I thought it was just another star-grab. But I did watch it, I had to give it a shot right? And while I did find many things to critique, I actually loved what I had seen enough to actually DVR it on another day, and I kept watching it for about 2-3 weeks. That's almost as much time before deleting that it took for me to get rid of HSM 2.

So then I heard of American Mall. I saw the main star was one of the actresses from Degrassi, a show I loved. She plays Mia and I think is a fabulous actress with a lovely velvety speaking voice. However for the most part I didn't know the cast. I started to get anxious - was my beloved Mia going to be a star grab? But then I thought about it and she wasn't truly a star grab. Yes she's a big character in Degrassi, but other than that I've personally never seen her anywhere else.

So I figured that instead of being cynical the way I was for HSM1, and Camp Rock, I would actually try to watch it with a positive mind. After all, of the 3 movies mentioned above the only one I liked on the first watch was the one I was actually looking forward to. So I decided to be positive.

Let's hope it paid off?

Note: I hate the names of all the characters in this movie. They're too bland. Not even an hour after watching the movie I couldn't remember ANY of the character's names except Madison - and even that took me a while to remember. The only reason I even managed to do that was because her shop is named after her. Even while I was watching the movie I was like "who's Dori?"

Ally: An aspiring singer/songwriter who is unsure of her abilities, and not willing to tell her mother that she has aspiring dreams of music

Erin (Ally's Mother): She was once an aspiring musician, but failed. She runs an instrumental store at the mall, with piano lessons, but regrets ever going into music. Because of this she wants her daughter to only reach for a safe career in business.

Joey: Another aspiring singer/songwriter. He and his friends used to have a real band however his past actions led to them losing all of their instruments and so they work as janitors at the mall until they can save enough money to buy new instruments and hopefully go again for the big time.

Madison: This daddy's-girl woman runs the American Mall that her daddy owns. She wishes to open her own fashion boutique within the mall, but needs Ally and her mom to give up their mall space in order to have exactly what she wants.

Drew(Madison's Dad): A business man who is too busy to spend time with his daughter.

Dori (Drew's and Madison's assistant): You can tell she is conflicted between listening to Madison (her boss), and being kind to Amy and her mother.

Other characters: Ally has 2 female friends, and 1 guy friend. Joey has 3 male friends/band mates. Madison does have another woman who follows her around. None of these characters stick out enough to warrant their own summaries.

My Actual Review

I don't have much to say about the actor choices. They're pretty good. Not bad, not great, just..good.

Good Point: Mostly "good" character choices.

However there was one choice I didn't like:

Madison

I don't know if it's the actress or some bad wardrobe/makeup choices, but she looks kind of old. I know they don't release her age, and since she runs the mall she's probably not a teenager, but because she tries to have sex appeal towards a rather young man, you would expect her to be less than 25. I don't know, nor care, how old the actual actress is, but it's their job to make sure she looks the part - whether naturally or via makeup. I don't mean to sound critical but she looks 28-30 in many of her shots.

Bad Point: Antagonist looks unappealing for the part of a sexy daddy's girl (emphasis on the Daddy's girl).

Good Point: They didn't use a blond to be the villain.

I also have to give kudos for the main male lead choice. He is one very sexy guy, which is what he's supposed to be.

Good Point: The male lead is hot, a great actor, and did I mention hot? (which the character is supposed to be)

Ok, it's about 2-3 minutes it and there's already a song. Great, a bit too quick for my taste; it's usually best to get to know the characters a bit before having them sing a near-solo. Or else it just gives that little hint of "who is she? should I care? what's going on?". That's bad strike one : All I know is that she's in a mall playing on a piano at night. Name? Why is she in the mall? Why is she so friendly with the security guards? These questions are only answered later, but personally I would have preferred to have at least one of those answered already.

Bad point: First solo/duet song came without a real character introduction But maybe I'm being too harsh.

So I'm listening to the first song and what is the very first thought that came to my head? "Did someone else sing this? This does not sound like her". If she'd been a completly unknown actor maybe it could have pulled off. However when you've heard her speaking voice as many times as any Degrassi fan has, it just makes you think something has to have been done. Whether it's a 2nd singer, or a bad job of protools-ing work, or a combination of both, it just doesn't sound natural according to her speaking voice

Bad point: The main character's voice doesn't seem to match her singing voice. Alternate singer?

If the weird (though pretty) singing voice wasn't shocking enough, when you look at the dubbing something seems off. Perhaps she's trying too hard to come off as a singer? Perhaps she's just a bad dubber because she has so little musical experience? However whatever it is, it takes away from the movie. Combine that with the unusual voice and it really gives you an aspect that she may not have sung the songs herself. If this issue had only come up with the first song, I guess it could have just been a matter of habit. However nearly every song she sings made me feel squirmy about her voice and her dubbing.

Bad point: There is something about the lip-synching, for the main character only, that just doesn't seem right. Off timing? Over/Under lip movement? It's hard to pinpoint but it's there.

What about the other actors? They were great! Their singing voices were normal according to their speaking voice. Their musical dubbing beautifully matched according to the musical tracks. They were wonderful.

Good Point (4): The other actor/singers were absolutely wonderful. [Included in this point system is Joey, Madison, Ally's friends (as a whole), and Joey's friends (as a whole).]

1. Clear

Technically this isn't the 1st song, it's the 9th. However it is the first song (partially) featured in the movie. However the full version is only at the end of the movie. It's a nice soulful song, and sounds even nicer when you're not looking at the movie. I actually find the actors too distracting for this beautiful song. Many people compare this to Breaking Free from High School Musical, but I think it's more like Everyday from HSM 2. It's about realization of oneself, and the reunification of two believers, but also the doubt that our choices don't always have a clear future, even if we think they do at first. As aforementioned in Part 2: singing, I don't like the lipsynching for the first version of the song. Thankfully Ally's lip synching is slightly better, but at times too anticipated. If you don't feel the emotional stimulus from this beautiful song, nothing can help you.(Rating: Great)

2. Every 10 Seconds

I don't like much the transition to the song, it's kind of forced. However I do love the cinematography, especially how they show the "rock star" world while still using mall items. Though I don't like how many of the props pop out when they weren't in the screen a second ago within the same scene (fake girls at 1:40; buckets at 2:16).It's also a very insightful song. It's about "every 10 seconds" someone somewhere has just fulfilled a dream, and therefore with patience someday it'll be their turn. This is probably THE catchiest song in the movie, and would have been a better single than Get Your Rock On. It's no Grease Lightning, but if you start singing this I can almost assure you it's bound to get stuck in your head at some time within the day. Musically, the backup instrument while the lead sings just gives it a more Rock feel, but also helps separate the refrain from the verses. (Rating: Great)

3. At the mall

Even the beginning makes me think far too much of Stick to the Status Quo from High School Musical. The setting itself is also similar - a cafeteria (or in this case the Food Court). Thankfully the message is different. But is that a good thing? While the entire song is about the different things you can buy at the mall (like clothes, shoes, etc..) a BIG portion of the song is about the cute guys. Apparently we go to the mall to shop for men? Unless you're an ugly, then it's to be ignored by girls. The big message is that you can receive a lot of freedom at the mall, however the means you go to receive that freedom is that you can do whatever you can only because there are many others out there (to do the same, or simply to help you fade in the crowd). So it's kind of a so-so message. The dancing is cutesy, the kind you'd expect in a musical, but I must say I absolutely despise how they like the have different screens at once. It was horrible in the Hulk, why would it be any better in a musical? This song's not anywhere near as addicting as it needs to be in order to redeem itself. (Rating: Lame)

4. Dreaming Wide Awake

It's official: Duets are just better than solos. Ally and Joey sound so perfect together, and watching them prance cutely across the skylight definitely helps, that you can't help but feel a connection between the characters. Nine's lip synching's actually tolerable in this scene, though it starts out rough at the beginning. Perhaps the reason the rest of the lip synching seemed ok was because the camera was mostly far away in this song? I actually wish they hadn't done those effects on Mayes (Joey)'s voice when he says "Can't hide me from you". It takes away from the realistic appeal the rest of the song has. (Rating: Good)

5. Get Your Rock On

Beginning kind of reminds me of "We Rock" from Camp Rock, but at the same time there's a bit of a Rent feel. Best of both worlds? I think so. It may not be a particularly well-written song, but you can't deny the catchiness. It definitely has a teen appeal with a very early 90's rock singing style. The only real downside is that the lyrics aren't that deep nor that noticeable, which gives off a feeling that you're just listening to a chorus over and over again, even though you technically aren't. That's not a good feel for a song to have. (Rating: Decent)

6. The New You

I really enjoyed this song as I was listening to it. It managed to give a feel of movement, while still keeping the character's flow through time normal. I love the singer's voice; it's perfectly evil, sexy, and yet at times innocent enough to keep a feel of "no catch". For once the multiple screens actually complement the story instead of just act as (bad) eye candy. The lyrics are very story-centered, but catchy enough to make me want to sing it over and over again. The song's so good anything else doesn't matter(Rating:Great)

7. A Little Bit of Heart Somewhere

Considering the great breakup songs HSM 1 & 2 had ("When there was me and you" & "Gotta Go My own way"), it was kind of weird that right after Ally & Joey's obvious parting we would have this song. However keep in mind this movie's real breakup song is Survivor. This is just a transitionary song about how Ally's friends try to cheer her up with the many options available at the mall, but they can't find "a little bit of heart" in any of it. In truth this is one of the most original songs for the movie because its competitors don't have a song about friends trying to make you feel better, and you also can't deny the powerful message that money can't buy happiness when it counts. Yes the song is slow and has a bit of Soul feel, but that's what makes it great! We can feel Ally's sadness and broken heart through all of her friends.(Rating: Great for people like me, Lame for those who don't look for the hidden messages)

8. Survivor

When you have musicals and music videos it can go one of two ways: A musical piece transformed into a music video, or a music video transformed into a musical piece. This is obviously the latter. They obviously had music videos in mind. However it just ends up giving a Chicago feel. The dancing's top notch, though having random people dance is weird. In most musicals you know who these people are (villagers, classmates, etc..) Here these really are just random people. Also I don't know how many girls will enjoy watching a video of hot women in tight black short black dresses doing kicks. I suppose it's a video with a male audience in mind. The song itself is very, what's the word, gimmicky. I swear when I heard "I'm a survivor", I actually started to sing "I'm gonna make it". It's too much like another popular survivor song. Now it's still a nice song, but not a great one. (rating: Decent)

9. Sorry's not enough

This is probably one of the best duets I've ever heard. Artistically its beauty is that , even though they're singing the same chorus, the characters have different messages. Ally's thinking about how she'll have a hard time forgiving Joey even if he said he was sorry. On the other side, Joey is thinking about how he probably couldn't bring himself to apologize because he realizes that sorry is just not enough. While it's a nice simple tune, you can feel all of the emotion from the lyrics (and the beautiful singing). The occasional harmony in the refrain actually makes the voices blend so well, that it made even me forget about Ally's obviously fake voice. (Rating: Great)

10. Don't Hold Back

I have mixed feelings for this song. The verses are beautiful, well-shared among characters, and definitely has that same feel of the ending songs for similar movies - the one where everyone learns to get along (even the villains) and just learn a valuable lesson about themselves. However once again, what's with the cinematographer trying to get so many (useless) screens? This is a movie, not a music video, it's only distracting for those of us who are trying to get into the song. (Rating: Decent)

The movie's good - not bad, but not great. It's slow on the uptake but it does get interesting around the middle. Many of its songs are just as catchy as any other Musical movie songs. I can definitely understand why some people actually think it's better than HSM. Personally I'd put it as better than HSM 1 and Camp Rock, but lower than HSM 2. If you liked High School Musical, Degrassi, and Across The Universe - this is the perfect blend for you.

My rating:

2 stars (4-star system), or 3/5 (5-star system), or 7/10 (10-star system) - all of these mean "Good, but not great"

Note: My rating may change later on. Unfortunately my DVR stopped recording due to a storm so it didn't get the end.