Cadet Kelly

Kelly Collins (Hilary Duff) is a free spirit who loves fashion and dance. She approves her mother getting remarried to Joe "Sir" Maxwell (Gary Cole) at first. He's a military man. When he becomes the Commandant of a military school, she is forced to attend. She struggles under Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone (Christy Carlson Romano) who has a crush on Cadet Major Brad Rigby (Shawn Ashmore). Jealousy ensues.

Hilary Duff is a Disney TV star by the time of this movie. She tries to cute her way out of this. It's better than most of the channel's offerings but that's not saying much especially during that time. They obviously rented out a military academy somewhere which allows them to write around. I would like Kelly to be less talky which sometimes come off as whiney at times. Her cuteness is able to keep it endearing. At the end of the day, this movie does what it sets out to do. It is a vehicle for its Disney starlets. It's functional and Duff is well within her comfort zone.

'Cadet Kelly' is just another one of those mediocre films churned about by Disney and there is nothing original in the story that makes it stands out above the rest other than this is probably one of the first times I actually felt sorry for one of Hilary Duff's characters. This film sees fourteen-year-old Kelly, a born-and-raised New Yorker, dragged away from her school, friends and the city she loves when her self-absorbed mother springs it on her that she's getting married and they will be moving. To make matters worse, Kelly's new step-father is the headmaster of a military academy that she is forced to attend. Of course, Kelly manages to fit in by becoming saviour of the school drill team and helping them find new routines.

This is a film about selfish adults who are only interested in themselves (Mum wants her perfect new life, Stepdad wants his job at the academy and Biological Dad can't be bothered standing up for his kid) and bland kids who are all clones in terms of their personalities. We have Kelly, as the stereotypical airheaded popular blonde, the awkward best friend, the boy who every girl fancies and the bully (who, in this film, belongs more in a Victorian boys' school given that she is basically a prefect who is allowed to do whatever she wants with her power with no teacher stepping in).

This film might have been more interesting where Kelly sent there as a punishment because there is no reflection at all in the film that things are hard enough for her without forcing her to attend a military school nor that there are surely buses in the area that could have taken her to a regular school. Instead, we're meant to cheer for Kelly fitting into her new school when all you want to see is some protest from her. This is the kind of film suited to shallow teenagers who like everything bland and simple but those who prefer school-based films with more thought and character would be better off watching something like such as 'Mean Girls' or 'Harriet the Spy'.

I didn't expect to enjoy this movie at all, except that the sterling actor Gary Cole was in it. Cole earned his stripes in the Steppenwolf company and surely deserves to be a bigger star than he is. His role as the camp commander was a refreshing change from the goofiness of Mike Brady and the nastiness of various television guest characters he's delivered on "The Practice," "Frasier," and others. As a person in the same age group as Kelly's parents, I enjoyed seeing seeing their believable love story and Sir's benevolent dictator relationship with his stepdaughter. Though I'm not a parent, I think parents weary of obnoxious cinema teens will appreciate the pleasant youngsters in this film. I commend the film for including authentic military school drill team performances, too.

Hilary Duff (TV's "Lizzie Maguire") plays Kelly Collins, whose parents are divorced. When her mother meets the new love of her life, she discovers that she must attend military school. While there, she meets sardonic Jennifer Stone, (Christy Carlson Romano of "Even Stevens"), a drill team member. She doesn't fancy Kelly very much and always seems to be picking on her. Kelly crushes on Jennifer's boyfriend Bret, and a battle of wits ensues. Besides the fact that your kids will love it, the movie follows the same premise as the 1980 Goldie Hawn vehicle "Private Benjamin." I guess the performances are decent for a made-for-television movie. Let's just hope that there's no sequel...

Ha! I bet my one line summary above sounds a bit odd, right? Well, it's true. I know it's a family comedy and that they are supposed to be sappy and controlling, but that's not an excuse for making a dull movie like this.

Up-and-coming star Hilary Duff plays a young teenager named Kelly who is recruited to the military (guffaw) and is constantly yelled at by cadet Christy-Carlson Romano, of Disney's hit TV show "Even Stevens."

The one thing I have always hated about "Even Stevens" is Romano. She is very, very annoying. As an actress she amounts to the standards of...well...what she is: A Disney-employed actress with no talent.

Hilary Duff is a decent actress, and has gotten her big break from Disney; though I must say I'm NOT looking forward to "Agent Cody Banks."

All in all, this film is just boring, and (whaddaya know) emotionally controlling and manipulative. A must-miss.

2/5 stars -

John Ulmer