Le Journal de Jaimie

I loved this movie. I even have to say that I think it was almost better than High School Musical because it didn't have all the song interrupting the story line. The movie made me want to write, it made me feel what Conner felt, I know, sounds really cheesy but it's true. I could actually feel Conner's embarrassment, his love for Jameson, his happiness and how his heart jumped when Jameson finally saw him and not Marco. I think the Panabaker sisters did an awesome job. Daniel, Is, was a perfect alter ego, the point of the movie was that Is, was supposed to seem like she was helping and was a good, nice person in the beginning but towards the end she showed her other side, her alter ego, and it showed that she wanted everything to be about her. It was absolutely awesome, it really shows the point of the movie and gives a good message to kids every age. If I had 8 more thumbs I'd give it a 10 thumbs up, but I don't so 2 thumbs up!

For as long as I can remember, I've been addicted to Disney movies whether they were animated or on the Disney Channel. I remember waiting every month for the latest Disney Channel film to premiere and throughly enjoying each new film. Though I cannot pin-point exactly when it started happening but slowly Disney Channel movies began taking a turn for the worst and I stopped watching them as I grew older; no doubt they were still entertaining for little kids but one of the things I always enjoyed (and still do) about Disney is that they masterfully appeal to both children and adults, not to mention those inbetween. The first Disney Channel movie I watched in as long as I can remember was "High School Musical" and my faith in the channel was instantly renewed. But this review is not about "High School Musical", but about Disney's latest film "Read It and Weep," the first Disney Channel film since "HSM" that actually caught my attention.

"Read It and Weep" follows the (mis)adventures of a high school freshmen, Jamie, who is always on the outside looking in. True, she's got three great friends, a cool but strange older brother and loving parents but Jamie wants something more. She wants the hottest boy in school, Marco, to notice her and wants to be able to stand up against Sawyer and her gang of "Populars" for once. But, seeing as Jamie will never be able to get up the guts to do these things, she creates the character Is to live out these wishes for her. Is (short for Isabelle) is the girl that every other girl wants to be and every guy wants to date; in short, Is is perfect. Not only can Is climb the rope in gym class and get the guy, but she can also "zap" away any problem that gets in her way. Accidentally, Jamie turns in the story of Is to her English teacher and the "novel" ends up being published in the school newspaper because making it all the way to the Bestseller list. Suddenly Jamie (or rather, Is) finds herself sky-rocketing in popularity; Sawyer and the "Populars" actually want to be friends with her and Marcco is starting to look her way. But slowly, things start to get out of control, especially when Is begins to manifest herself as a more permanent part of Jamie's life and prompt Jamie to wonder how much of Is is just a character and how much of Is is in herself. Jamie faces the age-old dilemma of choosing between what she thinks she wants and what made her happy before, leaving a good message for all tweens who watch the film.

As an 18-year-old, I found certain things about the film bothersome that wouldn't even enter the mind of the tweens and younger children who watch it, so I know I'm simply nitpicking. The fact that Jamie's novel is so successful in such a short time is highly impossible, though enviable, but the plot is bearable given the fact that it's a light-hearted kid's film and the intended audience wouldn't care too much about all the steps it takes to earning that sort of career and popularity. The story is cute (based upon the pre-teen novel "How my Private Journal Become a Best Seller -sorry if that's not the exact title) and the characters are warm, though Jamie is slightly obnoxious at times. The real winner of the story, however, is Is (played by Danielle Panabaker, Kay's older sister) who doesn't get as much screen time as she should. Panabaker Sr. plays her character with a comfortable ease, no doubt feeding off the fact that she's used to upstanding her younger sis (though Kay has a promising career in front of her in the children's movie set, if I'm not mistaken) and is enjoyable the entire time.

For the intended audience, "Read It and Weep" offers a very important lesson: you don't need to be superhuman to be happy and content. Being yourself is just as fine as being like Is. While most children's films will force their messages down the throats of the kids watching, "Read It" manages to work the meaning into the story without making it painfully obvious.

As with any children's movie, the story is sub duded, written for a child to understand and enjoy (though this is one of the first Disney Channel films I remember where two of the characters actually kiss; there was only a peck on the check in "HSM." The little romance between Jamie and her background best guy friend was more then enough to keep me interested) but still manages to capture the attention of any age group. Even at the age of 18, I found the movie adorable and entertaining, something I would watch again given the chance.

While "Read It and Weep" is no "High School Musical", it is certainly a movie to stand with "HSM" when it comes to turning around the quality of Disney Channel movies. If Disney continues to make films like "Read It and Weep", which smartly appeal to kids, teenagers and older teens like myself, then they were be right back on track with the old films they used to make "back in the day." "Read It and Weep" certainly deserves a viewing, no matter your age and, if nothing else, will leave you with a hint of a smile on your face.

This movie is pretty good. I've seen it so many times and have always thought this movie was among the best "O.G" disney movies. Now that I've seen it again as someone who is older now, it's...eh. It's got the generic disney channel flick vibes. The mean clique, the "cute" boy, and many more. It's worth a watch but just know it is a bit cliché. But I love that the plot will go on to be unique. You don't see too many movies where the main character accidentally becomes a best-selling author. So summary, it's got some overused tropes in it, but it's got a good message at the end and it's a great movie that lots of teens might relate to.

Read It and Weep (2006) tries to package elements of 1996's "Harriet the Spy" into an episode of "Naturally Sadie" and then throws in the standard "teenage girl's upward social mobility causes her to neglect her best friends". This is one of those movies that give film producer's anxiety attacks about their job security. It not only looks good on paper (the book from which it was adapted is excellent) but it is very well executed. Good songs, Kay Panabaker has an effortless charm and does a slick voice-over narration, the acting for the camera direction is excellent (even getting a nice performance from Jason Dolley-which will strike anyone who has seen him on "Corey in the House" as quite an achievement), and the budget was large enough for professional production design.

So why is the whole less than the sum of its parts? And why did this movie fail to generate any real reaction despite an aggressive promotional campaign on the Disney Channel? My guess is that when all is said and done the thing just doesn't have any bite, having had the book's more realistic and controversial elements stripped out for the adaptation. Couple that with the fact that the movie's structure sends the wrong message; heroine Jamie Bartlett is perfectly fine with her celebrity status and unconcerned about blowing off her friends until she overreaches and her new world begins to fall apart. It is not the shallowness of her new world that she finds objectionable but the fact that she has soon alienated everyone she has been trying to impress.

Then there is fact that none (absolutely zero) of the movie's comedy elements are humorous. It's not meant to be a comedy but the producers have clearly inserted stuff (the pizza selections for example) only for their comic qualities. Unfortunately none of this stuff is even remotely funny.

Finally there is the whole imaginary alter ego thing (Kay's older sister Danielle), a character who pops in and out of countless scenes as a kind of counterpoint to the voice-over commentary. Ultimately this adds nothing to the story and the repositioning of the character with each sentence is genuinely irritating. If they had to go with this kind of thing it would have been better to have the competing angel and devil whispering in her ear. The reason being that the alter ego thing is too close to actual schizophrenia; not the mentally stable heroine role model Disney should be showcasing to an unsuspecting preteen market.

High school sophomore Jamie Bartlett (Kay Panabaker, "Phil of the Future") has three semi geek friends (who would only be geeks in a teen movie), and documents her life in a journal- the names are changed to protect the innocent. The journal is accidentally turned in as a school assignment and then published and quickly becomes a bestseller. Jamie is plunged into the life of a big-time celebrity and elevated to the top of the school's social hierarchy.

Although it should be obvious that the characters in her journal have real-life in-school counterparts, no one seems to notice or to particularly care. Then during a talk show interview Jamie slips up and reveals that the journal's villainess is based on new friend and school queen bee Sawyer Sullivan (Allison Scagliotti-Smith). Since this should have already been clear to everyone, the viewer must work to suspend disbelief as Jamie's adoring classmates turn against her for the nasty characterizations in her journal.

The DVD (and the Disney Channel broadcasts) are in 4:3. The DVD has two featurettes. "Making of Read It and Weep" (4:30) talks about making the movie. The second featurette focuses on which cast members keep journals and on the Panabaker sisters discussing their careers from the perspective of sisters.

There is also a Jordan Pruitt two-minute video of her singing "Outside Looking In". The music video interweaves various types of students taking class photos with the song about fitting in.

The "Read It and Weep" premise needs a better treatment but the movie should still be enjoyable for many in the middle school crowd; especially if they are crushing on one or more of the actors. There is little that is worth the interest and attention of younger or older viewers.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

After reading a few messages about the book on IMDb, I knew I had to watch this. Prior to it's airing, I heard of the original title, and later had visions in my head of Danielle Panabaker dressed in a cheap superhero costume, fighting villains in the same manner as Rik Mayall's "People's Poet" from an episode of "The Young Ones," spouting out catchphrases so lame that even Archie comics wouldn't use them. Well, I was a little far from that, but still saw a fairly interesting story.

Kay Panabaker plays Jamie Bartlett, a girl struggling to survive the hierarchy of high school social life. She has three best friends, including one boy who has an obvious crush on her. Her father, ex-Even Stevens dad and legendary announcer Tom Virtue, runs a pizza parlor with her mother(Connie Young), and tries to experiment in oddball toppings. Jamie deals with the repressive tyranny of high school life by writing in a personal journal on a tablet computer, using fictional characters loosely based on the people she knows there. When she gets it mixed up with a school article for school and sends it off to be published in a school newspaper, the whole world finds out about it and her life starts to fall apart. Sounds like "Harriet the Spy," you say? Nope. Because unlike Harriet M. Welch, Jamie's private diary has an alter-ego, a semi-super-heroine named "Is," played by Kay's older sister Danielle... or at least that's what she is at first. Besides that, at first most people like her writing including her enemies.

The Great Isabella(Is) is sort of like Kim Possible with superpowers. She can do anything -- climb a rope in the gym, stroll through the halls of school zapping it's tormentors into permanent(or at least long-term) detention, get the boy of her dreams with ease, and appear only in front of Jamie. She also evolves from a heroine into a monster. Through Is, Jamie gains fortune and fame, gets her parents' pizza place some more business, gets to hang out with the school snobs who used to torment her, gets the boy of her dreams, and unfortunately nearly loses her friends, then everything else when she inadvertently reveals the inspiration for the villains in her book on a talk show. Who's going to get her out of this mess? Her parents? Her handler? Her protagonist? Her friends? The boy she loves? The boy who loves her?

Like Lizzie McGuire's Ashlie Brillault, Jamie's nemesis(Allison Scagliotti) looks much better than Jamie. Even when the trailers were shown, there's no doubting Kay's resemblance to her sister. Beyond that, she wears more make up than her older sister did in "Stuck in the Suburbs." The ending seems somewhat predictable, and unfortunately not believable. I don't think that after a Carrie-style attack on a high school dance, that the kids would be ready to get back into the music. But I suppose if you don't have incidents like these at school functions, they tend to become lame.

Some may see this as an excuse to get Danielle and Kay Panabaker to work together on the same project. That's okay by me. I saw Twitches(2005)(TV) as a lame excuse to keep the Mowry Sisters together one last time. Better DCOMs than this have existed, but this one is okay.