The Right Connections

The Tompkins's kids have a good life despite being raised by a single mum. However when Gail loses her job they look like they will have to make sacrifices to allow her to finish college so that she can get a better job to support the family properly. But the kids discover that, unknown to their mum, their dad has dumped them with a $5k bill from the IRS – something they can't afford without ditching the family plans and getting Gail back into a menial "just getting by" job. A chance meeting with struggling hip hop "star" Kendrick Bragg aka Kicking Back Flash gives them the idea of entering a talent contest with his help. Telling him they can help get his car back from the bailiffs, they convince him to coach them – however the majority of the kids have zero talent and although Jamie does, she refuses to sing.

I don't think anyone approaches a television movie starring MC Hammer with any significant hopes of this being a great film – I know I didn't and perhaps that is part of the reason why, although cheap and basic, I still managed to quite enjoy the slight humour it produced. The plot is very obvious and goes just where you expect it to; it will give you no surprises along the way and nothing about it is particularly imaginative. The production values are also pretty low and I was never in doubt that I was watching a TV movie. However it was still quite solid fun because the writers were able to inject a lot of cheeky humour into what could easily have been a horribly sentimental mess filled with "cute kids" and "life lessons". It doesn't manage to totally avoid this but at least the occasional chuckle did a little bit to covering up all the major problems.

The cast aren't great but at least they all seem to have bought into the humour of the situation. Hammer seems to enjoy himself without any real sense of ego in his performance. He isn't a great actor but at least he has fun, which does help the audience. The kids are mostly too cute and obvious to be of any real value but the fact that they are real siblings seems to help their chemistry and allows them to also do well with the sense of humour.

Overall this is not a great film but it is maybe distracting nonsense for older children. The cast can't really act but they do come across like they "get" the material and help draw the humour out of the script. It is unlikely anyone has come to this expecting anything of any value but the low expectations might mean that you at least get a little surprised by bits of this.

Why did I waste a sunday afternoon watching this. To see Hammer's career hit new lows of course. To think how great he once was and now turning out this crap. There comes a time where you have to admit that its over and fade gracefully into the sunset. Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Me Again!

Phoned work sick - watched this in bed and it was so awful I would have went back to work if I could have gotten out of bed. The dog ran off with the remote so I was stuck.

I'm positive Hammer was grooming the eldest daughter to become his beeeatch.

Horrendous to watch - made me vomit more than what I was doing anyway. So there you have it - this would be the film that they play in the waiting room of Hell before you go in. Or maybe your stuck in the film for all eternity with the Hart kids. Just remember to take a gun with you....

This family movie is like an episode of full house, except Its cornier and more annoying. The kid characters come off as annoying little brats instead of cute or funny kids. I watched this movie because melissa joan hart was in it,

but even she can't save this extremely corny and annoying kiddie movie. I give this movie *1/2 out of ****

A single mother with four children is fired from her job. As she was struggling to make ends meet, she decides that the best thing to do would be to return to school and finish her degree. Financially, she thinks they can swing it. However, the kids get the mail one day and realize they have a $5,000 bill from the IRS, a gift from their runaway father. Keeping this news quiet from their mother, the foursome try to raise money for the payment. They babysit, walk dogs, mow lawns, and run a lemonade stand but only gain about $100. Then, on the radio, they hear that a hip-hop contest will be held soon and the winner will net, you guessed it, $5,000. Can these kids, with the help of a faded star (MC Hammer), win the darn thing? This is a sweet family movie. The kids are very cute, especially the littlest one, and their aspirations to help their mother are very commendable. That said, it really is a stretch to believe these children could actually win a hip-hop musical event against a bevy of skilled and practiced musicians. But, hey, its only a movie. Hammer is quite nice as the faded star who opens his heart to the kids and Melissa Joan Hart stops by now and then to lend her support as a caring cabbie. No, this is not Oscar-caliber cinema. However, if your kids love music, this film will entertain them for a couple of hours. Connecting kids to a movie with good messages about trying hard and caring for others will never grow old.