Cadet Kelly

While I didn't expect too much from this movie despite the fact that I generally like Disney channel movies, I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

Not only was the acting very believable, but the plot was original and had a lot of heart. This movie made me smile, get teary-eyed, and think. I think what makes this movie rise above the average is that it reaches many different people on various levels. It challenges you to think outside the box, to not accept the conformity of society and set your own standards while crossing over the line. It teaches you the importance of family, even 'broken' ones, and letting new people in, to have faith in people, how its important to face your fears, and perhaps most importantly, to embrace your individuality and set new standards.

Most of the negative comments I read about this movie complain about two things: 1) Hilary and Christy's characters are more or less the same as their alter egos, Lizzie and Ren, and 2) It was unbelievable as far as the military aspect because of the discrepancies and the way Kelly spoke to her ranking officer (Jennifer Stone, Christy Romano). I disagree on both counts.

First, Kelly and Jennifer's characters couldn't *be* farther from Lizzie and Ren. Lizzie is a sweet, sensitive, albeit insecure and klutzy homebody, while Kelly is a fun-loving, adventure-seeking, rule-breaking girl with something to prove. Similarly, Ren is a nice, caring, intelligent, studious person while Jennifer is a mean, stuck-up military brat with a chip permanently lodged on her shoulder.

And secondly, while I can't really confirm nor deny the military discrepancies not having been in ROTC or any branch of the military, I can certainly refute the statement that Kelly was way out of line. The worst thing she did was paint Jennifer's hair, and she was court-martialed for *that*, so I don't really see that as getting away with it. And furthermore, while I don't condone acts of revenge, she *did* have it coming--sometimes, the only way you can reach a person is to go to their level, for while it brings you down a notch at the time, when you rise back up, not only will you be a notch higher, you'll have brought someone up with you.

VERDICT: A heart-warming movie with character, not just recommended for the family or kids, but for anyone with an open mind and/or open heart.

7.0 out of 10.0

~AleXa~

And it wasn't. Apparently a movie doesn't have to be the least bit of good to appeal to 13 year old girls. All it needs is Hillary Duff prancing about and wearing 'cool' outfits. You may as well just rent 'Private Benjamin' instead.

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.

I still really like this film. I bought it on DVD after watching it on the Disney channel. I like to watch it now and then... but with like a gap of 6 months in between. Hillary Duff is a great actor, she is beautiful and fits in with every character she has played. I recommend this film to young girls. But only rent it so you don't waste money on a film you will probably never watch again. I enjoyed this film. I think it has great actors. Not much of a love story... unfortunately... but has a bit of one. I admit i really love romantic films. But this one hasn't got much to it. Great to see what happens in the end, and a great moral to the story. They all live happily ever after... of course!

In Cadet Kelly, Hillary Duff takes her Lizzie McGuire character and does a Private Benjamin by going to military school. Instead of the cartoon Lizzie revealing her inner most thoughts for the audience, Duff does a narration over the action of the film.

To bond with her new stepfather, Gary Cole, who is a retired career army man, Duff is put in military school where Cole came from and where he's now the commandant.

A lot of the same situations that happen in comedies like Private Benjamin and even further back with Rosalind Russell's Never Wave at a WAC occur here. Nothing new added and Hillary Duff is certainly no Rosalind Russell, but she's an appealing young lady, if she wasn't that Lizzie McGuire series would not have run for any length of time.

Another Disney regular Christy Carlson Romano from Even Stevens is also along as Duff's military school tormentor, her Eileen Brennan.

It's not Citizen Kane or The Godfather, but there are worst ways to kill two hours than watching Cadet Kelly.