Una famiglia allo sbaraglio

Even Stevens is a show that cracks me up and always keeps me begging for more. And finally, they come up with an idea for the movie to follow the series. This is a great movie that I would say all kids should be permitted to watch. The movie is about the Stevens taking a vacation on the deserted island of Menehune (or something like that) and they end up getting tricked by a show host who sneaks cameras in the bushes of the island and passes off what he films as a reality show. This is not a five-star movie from Disney, but it sure is a funny one. I hope Disney makes more comedies like this, and I can see they already have.

I had high hopes for this Even Stevens TV movie, which would officially serve as the series finale. The Stevens Family are selected as winners of a paradise vacation on an enchanted isle (Gilligan's Island-style), unaware that they're actually duped into starring on a reality TV show called Family Fake-Out. Of course, things go bad to worse when the family starts to turn against one another. Not too bad, but I think it could have been executed more, but we do have supporting roles by comedy greats Tim Meadows, the sneaky host and Dave Coulier as the rival host of a similar show.

Now that I've got Disney+, I've been having fun re-watching some of the old Disney shows that I grew up on. One of my favorites, back in the day, was Even Stevens which starred a young Shia Labeouf and Christy Carlson Romano, respectively as Louis and Ren Stevens. Well, at the end of that series in June 2003, Disney released The Even Stevens Movie which served as the series finale. Even Stevens is a ridiculous sitcom which relies on slapstick comedy, pranks, and back-to-back goofiness to keep the laughs rolling through silly plots mostly consisting of the brother and sister duo outshining each other. Ren is the goodie two-shoes, perfect daughter, with an obsessive-compulsive pension for cleanliness, order, and organization. Whereas her goofy brother, Louis, is an inventive, creative misfit who, with the aid of his equally silly friends: Beans, Twitty, and Tawny, manages to get himself in over his head, often dragging his sister through the mud with him. Their parents and older sibling are just as wacky and dysfunctional, and therein lies the humor. The Even Stevens Movies, takes all the pranks, gags, and silly humor that you enjoyed in the 30 minute sitcom episodes, and stretches it into a full-blown movie taking place on some sort of Polynesian, pseudo-Hawaiian island that doesn't actually exist. Of course, because it's a film, it's got a slightly bigger budget and so you also have SNL alum, Tim Meadows, and Dave Coulier (aka: Uncle Joey from Full House). Despite it's flaws of which there are many (poor dialogue, terrible CGI effects, etc...), it still manages to entertain from beginning to end. It's fun. It's silly. It doesn't make much sense but it's a blast!

This is one of the best movies I seen so far this summer. Shia LaBeouf, and Christy Carlson Romano give their funniest performances ever. They were funny in the series but they are more funny in the movie. Tom Virtue, and Donna Pescow give outstanding performances. This movie had a lot of funny in it but it could of had a funnier ending like someone fell off something or trip then end it, but it was still a great movie!

I recently saw this movie (that naturally, the Disney Channel's pushing *real* hard, it's been on multiple times a day for the last several days (or so it seems)) and I can state with clear certainty that I am glad it wasn't released in the theatres (unlike the much glossier Lizzie McGuire movie).

There's a certain plodding to the entire script (obviously inspired by all that Reality TV lately, and sprinkling in some rhetoric from THE TRUMAN SHOW), it feels very laboured and drawn out a bit.

Perhaps it could have been shortened to an hour (that's with some commercials) or filled with a bit more substance. For that matter, the whole movie would have been better if the premise of the characters being on a Reality TV show wasn't exposed nearly as soon as it was.

Still, it seems to follow that same Disney formula of funny moments, love and everything ending happily everafter. I think that if you're a big fan of the TV series, you'll like this movie, since you'll see familiar characters pulling off bits of their familiar antics. If you have never seen the TV series, you'd be best waiting to see regular episodes first, then trying this movie later (knowing Disney's broadcast schedule, this will probably pop up repeatedly at random intervals for the next year or so).