Hannah Montana: The Movie
Rated G
Ever look around when you're in a movie theater and notice the demographic for the film you're watching? For instance, the crowd at "Fast & Furious" is a vastly different bunch than the moms and daughters (and an occasional disgruntled brother) sitting sweetly at the "Hannah Montana" movie. And don't get me started on those kids coming out of the "Dragonball" screening.
The Story
If you're a person who doesn't know where The Disney Channel is on your TV, you should understand that this movie is based on a hugely popular and long-running kids/tweens show and follows a hugely popular 2007 concert tour that led to a hugely popular 2008 concert film called "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert."
The audience? Mostly 5-15 year old girls. And their moms. And some dads. That's who rules the world right now. Get used to it.
Anyway, Miley Cyrus plays Miley Stewart, a regular girl who moved with her family from Tennessee to Malibu, California, when she was a kid. She goes to a regular school with her best friend Lilly (Emily Osment), where she falls down a lot and gets treated like a normal person.
Only she's got a secret: She's also the world-famous teen rock star Hannah Montana, and her goofy, protective dad (Billy Ray Cyrus) is also her manager. And both her classmates and her fans would be shocked to discover that Miley is really Hannah and visa-versa.
But after Hannah gets in a shoe brawl with Tyra Banks and ruins her friend Lilly's sweet 16 party, dad Bobby Ray decides Hannah's fame is going to Miley's head. So he drags her home to Tennessee for a couple of weeks of forced "Hannah detox."
It takes a while, but Miley begins to warm up to being back home and being herself and seeing her Grandma Ruby (Margo Martindale) and sleeping in her late mom's old childhood room. It helps that she's crushing on Travis (Lucas Till), a local cowboy working on her grandma's farm.
But her worlds start colliding again when the town needs to raise a lot of money to pay some taxes or something. The only hope? Getting someone famous to come and do a show. Enter the blonde wig and Lilly and a serious identity crisis and that guy from the British tabloid trying to expose the Big Secret.
Along the way, lots of people fall down, celebrities make cameos, Hannah sings, and Miley's dad gets a crush of his own.
The Verdict
What we thought of the movie on its own terms
What Works: According to several of the girls sitting around me in the packed theater, everything works! They were chanting Hannah's name right along with the fans on the screen and singing along with her on the songs. I doubt many fans of the show or the singer will be disappointed -- unless they've begun to outgrow Ms. Montana.
For everyone else, the movie offers Miley Cyrus's plucky charisma and a bit of authentic-feeling down-home flavor from Billy/Bobby Ray and all his kinfolk. Margo Martindale is warm and cranky (too cranky?) as Grandma Ruby and Lucas Till gives his crush-worthy cowboy character a little depth.
What Doesn't Work: If you're a fan of Hannah and the show, please just skip this part. Seriously. Just jump down to the Worldview section. Nothing to see here. I hate to hurt young girls' feelings.
Okay, for non-fans, the movie is more than a little clunky. It feels like an on-location episode of an average Disney Channel show. To pull off the kind of bold, slap-sticky comedy the filmmakers are reaching for would take about two or three times more onscreen energy -- the kind of energy you don't usually bring to a TV set. Billy Ray, in particular, seems to bring the vibe down when it's his turn to talk.
Again, though, for lovers of the show it's all about being Hannah Montana -- and nothing here is awful enough to ruin that.
Content: The G rating means things stay squeaky clean. A few parents might care about a little cleavage and some short skirts. Hannah goes swimming down at the creek with a boy and later kisses him.
Worldview
How the film's take on life compares to a biblical perspective.
The show and the movie are built on a couple of huge worldview ideas. One is that all of us -- and especially younger girls -- dream of being rich and famous and adored for our talents. We want to be rock stars, and it's fun to imagine that even though we're nobodies at home and at school we've got a whole other life where we're the center of attention and can do whatever we want.
For Christians, one of the hard things about learning to live like Jesus is learning to change that dream. Jesus was popular for a while, but He could have been the biggest rock star ever. With His power and charisma, He could have been bigger than the Beatles during His short stay on earth. Instead, He came to make Himself nothing. (See Philippians 2:3-11 for more.)
Jesus calls those of us who would follow Him to become servants, as well - to make the point of our lives into helping other people to succeed and grow and do well. In short, He calls us to dream of being great at being Lilly, not Miley/Hannah.
The other big idea in Hannah's story has to do with dual identities. She spends her life hiding her true self from almost everyone. (I'm still not clear on why it needs to be a secret.) She can never just relax and let her guard down and let anyone in. In that way, she's very much like Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, and Clark Kent.
I think Christian students, especially relate to that idea. On the one hand, we're trying to become like Jesus, but we're not there, yet. It's tempting to carry on with two versions of ourselves, one we put on with our Christian friends and another we're holding on to for when we want to serve ourselves. James 1:7, for one, warns us to drop that lie.
But Miley's story also captures the struggle faced by teens everywhere as they begin to leave childhood and their parents behind and figure out how to be independent people in the world. Like Miley, teens must still obey mom and dad (Ephesians 6:1) even while making choices about who they will be as their own person.
It's not an easy thing to do, and it's no easier for your parents to let you do it. Miley's song with her dad kind about the caterpillar kind of reflects that.
But you won't have to worry about any of that while you're watching Hannah unless you want to. Mostly, it's just about the singing and the falling down.
Questions:
- Are you a fan of "Hannah Montana"? If not, why are you reading this?
- How many episodes of the show would you guess you've seen?
- Do you ever wish you had a secret identity? Would that be fun or too much trouble?
- Or do you sometimes feel like you do have a secret side of yourself that you have to keep hidden? Why?
- Why, exactly, does it matter for Miley and her dad to keep the world from knowing who she really is?
- What would it cost you to be completely honest with everyone about who you are?
- What would it cost others to be honest with you about who they are?
- What's the advantage of just being yourself with your friends and your parents and the people at church?
- If you're a teenager, how are your folks doing at beginning to let you go? How are you doing at continuing to obey and honor them along the way to independence?
Nicky on Sep 02, 2009 said...
I’ve actually seen all previously aired episodes of Hannah Montana! And what was wrong with the Dragonball movie? I actually watched it on the plane on a long transpacific flight and it was a great time waster
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