Teen Beach Movie

TBM is a movie about being in a movie - as our two stars find themselves going from 2012 back to 1962 and becoming part of a Teen Beach Movie.

This is good solid Disney fare - it looks very Disney - the colors are bright, the mood is up, the song and dance numbers are beyond professional etc; and it is fun - it's fun because we know that they know that we know that this movie in a movie (if you're still with me) - it all just works well.

There is more going here than just a time travel surf movie - there is a real homage and detailing to those Sixties movies that is surprising. Our kids loved it and so did we - on one level its a fun summer movie for kids with dance and innocent romance, on a level it has something to say about film and roles - surprising!

Having been alive for the original beach movies (with stars like Fabian, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, et al) it is hard not to bring a pretty jaundiced eye to anything that attempts to reproduce the naïve silliness that these films represented in their innocent lack of any serious content.

If you drop your 21st Century cynicism for a bit, Disney did it with this.

Not only did they nail the hyperactive, pun-filled, sight-gag filled recklessness of the originals, (minus most of the pretty-overt sexual content of many of those films) they did it using a storyline that managed to both echo and enhance the original beach films.

Being an early 60's and 'surf music nut', I was more than surprised how close the orchestrations and choral pieces managed to channel the infectious fun of those old tunes - or maybe I'm just being nostalgic for a simpler time.

I recognized all of those old tropes from every film mined for the 'plot' and every song mined for the structure of the film's. Maybe I'm just missing those old simpler days, but I was more than pleased.

People who complain about this film obviously have forgotten that the originals were never 'Academy Award' material (remember "The Monkey's Uncle"?). They were silly, weightless fantasy, and "Teen Beach Movie" (from the company that gave us Beach-Film queen, Annette) follows that tradition without impugning or complicating it. It is what it is advertised to be: silly, harmless summer fun.

There are very few films that I can totally recommend without reservation to both my 92 year old mother and my 10 year old neighbor - and this is one; my mother for the nostalgic look back at a sweeter, more innocent time, and my neighbor for a painless history lesson.

Disney's crystal-ball gazers hit it again - proved by their numbers this week. I don't know how they do it.

This is a mix of Dirty Dancing, Grease and Cry Baby (any Johnny Depp fans will know what I'm talking about). I find nothing wrong with this movie at all. It's trying to recreate a genre that was forgotten about for quite a while and honestly they have done a pretty good job. Sure it's a little bit silly and the storyline is rather vapid but that is the point. It's supposed to be imitating something not creating something new and groundbreaking.

It probably helps that I personally enjoy musicals but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is a bit more serious. The songs are fun, dorky yet pretty catchy...I dare you to not start singing along. Overall I think it's another decent movie from the team at Disney original movies.

This movie is cheesy. It has okay acting and an interesting story but the music is what really won me over. They're upbeat and filled with fun. They're the type of songs that make you want to dance and are super catchy. The characters were not great. I didn't feel a connection to any of them. It's a fun summer movie but it does not compare to High School Musical or Lemonade Mouth.

I've always loved this movie for so long and I have watched it at least 20 times. This movie deserves better ratings!!! The songs and choreography are so good. And of course this movie will be a little cheesy since it's a Disney movie. I don't know why I am writing this but ok. I want a Teen Beach 3 since the ending of the second one was really bad.