The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie

Let me start off by saying the Naked Brothers Band are not the Beatles.

This is not to say that they aren't reasonably competent musicians; the scene where Nat is jamming out with Cindy Lauper has to be seen to be truly appreciated. Though most of the "live" music scenes are actually lip-synced, the notes and rhythms being played are true to the sounds that the viewer hears.

No, the reason for the disclaimer is the reason this is a reasonably decent movie. If you are paying attention and you are a casual Beatles fan, you will notice the allusions run thick throughout. If you are a hard-core Beatles fan, you'll notice that the fictional "Silver Boulders" were modeled on the very real Beatles.

The plot line of the former should be familiar to anyone who knows the history of the later. Of course, in this version no one ends up getting shot and the band comes back together. But the pivotal events of both bands (up to and including the band's break-up precipitated by an Asian love-interest) happen to line up surprisingly well... Almost as if it were a mockumentary and not the serious documentary it actually is. The finale, a reprise on the roof of "Crazy, Crazy Car" (the Silver Boulders' chart-topper), is a classic call-out.

Unlike many other shows on the Nickelodeon network, NBB is a surprisingly smart take on tween entertainment. It has its detractors already, but this reviewer's gut feeling is that they weren't paying attention enough to notice the small flickers of genius underneath the rather more commercial silliness that makes this movie (and the soon-to-come half-hour spin-off) a viable market proposition.

If this show maintains its integrity (more likely than not, since it maintains its writing and producing teams intact: namely, Polly Draper, mother of the show's stars Nat and Alex Wolff), it could turn out to be a surprise. Placed against its competition, mostly cute middle-school sit comes or the insipid star vehicles infesting the Disney Channel, NBB comes out on top. It's honest, amusing, at times a bit saccharine, but mostly surprising.

This is all personal opinion of course, but I cannot stand the show and consider it one of my least favourite ever shows. The movie/mockumentary fares better, and I wouldn't put anywhere near my bottom 20, but unfortunately I have little good to say about it. The sloppy production values are still there, as is the clichéd and unfunny writing and annoying characters. On top of that you have music that is both forgettable and headache-inducing(at least in my view), a plot that plays more of a very predictable extended TV episode and terrible acting. All in all, I am really sorry, I didn't like it, I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea. 1/10 Bethany Cox

It's a great movie. These kids are geniuses! For 9 year old to write all those songs, great.. Good acting too. I think all these people dissing and hating need to get a life. It's a kids movie. Its a comedy and it's just for fun. It's not real. It's just another show on nick. If you don't like it don't watch it. It's a mockumentary. It's supposed to be funny. The thing about the 'gay newlyweds', it's just a joke okay. Calm down. It's a joke movie. Its all for fun. Alex and Nat and the others are little kids. There parents are the ones responsible for their behaviors and the content in the movie. Nickleodeon is responsible for the shows it presents. Stop taking it out on the kids.

This is a really cute movie. The story is interesting, and the performances by the kids pretty tight. I saw it at a screening at Universal Studios and was amazed that I enjoyed it so much! (I didn't have any idea what we were about to see.) The cameos were funny, and I will never look at lemon-lime soda in quite the same way. The thing I found great about this mockumentary film was the relationships between the main characters were very realistically drawn and handled with sensitivity as well as humor. The kids I took with me to see the film watched in a rather awe-struck manor as they sat trying to figure out whether the band was real or made-for-the-movies. To say that I saw the film six months ago and am still wondering when it will be released can only be considered a compliment, because I'm still thinking about it.

As for the movie, it was cute and great for families to enjoy together. Nat and Alex are fun, talented kids and it made for an enjoyable movie to watch with the younger kids. Definitely not a movie for anyone over the age of 10 unless they are watching it with the target age bracket.

In regards to "gooliegirl2000" and all other comments but one, how pathetic is it to make fun of a couple of kids who obviously have talent if they are under 10 and reaching a higher goal than most 40 year olds? Who are you to judge what people decide to sing about, especially kids? This movie is meant for kids and their parents to enjoy and spend time together, obviously if you do not respect it you are not in the target age bracket for such a movie. Go watch "Mean Girls" or something else you can relate to. This movie was obviously about kids and adults having fun making a mockumentary. It's not even meant to be taken seriously, it's entertainment!