Rio-7

I love the tagline that Fox Family boasts regarding this show: "Joi Mary-Kate and Ashley as they deal with high school, boys, and their parents in this hilarious show!"

The very first episode had me reeling: Two 14 year-old girls, made up to look like they were 21 year-old models coming off the Paris runway, telling stupid jokes and gossiping about 17 Magazine and dating. What is wrong with this picture?? When I was 14 I sure wasn't caught up in boys and make-up. That in itself made me want to throw up.

That aside, the show itself sucks too. The jokes were not funny, the characters were flat, the plot of the show is too cliche. Give me a break.

I keep waiting for Britney Spears or someone from N'Sync to walk onto the set of this pathetic so-called show. Honestly, I cannot believe this show would last long. High school teenybopper shows ara a dime a dozen these days, and this show is no different. Take a bunch of stick-skinny, highly sexual teen characters and place them in a high school atmosphere: what do we get? A lot of teens mouthing off to each other and talking about who slept with whom. I remember 'Fifteen' and 'Welcome Freshman' from my younger Nickelodeon days, and at least those shows had some body and plot. The only episode I saw of Edgemont was a major turn-off, and I hope I never have to see it again. I regret what we are teaching our teens these days...

I was skeptical of this TV movie when I found out it was not based on Anne's diary, but on a biography of Anne Frank written by Melissa Muller. I am sure I am not the only one who wondered if any truth would be presented. I was pleasantly surprised.

I have just finished watching the second half of this movie on ABC. The scenes of the concentraion camps are horrific, and really tug at your heart. I can only imagine what these camps were like for the real people and how survivors live life today. Since the story wasn't told from Anne's diary, the viewers got another view of the short but significant life Anne lived, headed by a wonder all-star cast. The movie began with Anne in 1936 and ended upon her death at Bergen-Belsen in 1945.

Hannah Taylor-Gordon was excellent as Anne. At first I wondered if she was too young (at age 14) to portray such a dramatic role, but as Anne grew, Hannah grew as well. Ben Kingsley and Tatjana Blacher played Anne and Margot's parents wonderfully, and the rest of the cast added to the beauty, horror, and passion of the film: Lili Taylor, Rob Das, Brenda Blethyn, and many more.