Alice dans tous ses états

Alice McKinley (Alyson Stoner) has to move with her family, dad Ben (Luke Perry) and brother Lester (Lucas Grabeel), to a new town. Her mom's dead since she was 5. She is awkward and have imaginary fantasies. She gets put in with the stern Mrs. Plotkin (Penny Marshall) but she wants so much to be with the happy pretty Miss Cole. Elizabeth (Parker McKenna Posey) is the neighbor girl. Pamela (Bridgit Mendler) is the mean girl.

The fantasies look weak and way too cutesy basically pinker with spotlights. Alyson Stoner is reasonably interesting as the gawky teen and she shows some acting range. It's not a bad kids movie but it's not particularly great either. Penny Marshall plays an interesting character. The mother's death provides some depth to the movie and there are some serious issues being dealt with here. It's OK for the genre but it does need better directions.

My daughters used to watch "Alice Upside Down" all of the time, which means so did I. I watched it again last night for the first time in years. It's a solid little family movie. The cast is very likeable, especially Penny Marshall. Marshall gives a very nice performance. "Alice Upside Down" is a satisfying watch.

This is a little too lightweight to be of interest to most adults, but for what it is, it's done pretty well. Sure there are serious topics here, but they are not explored in any great depth or with any signs of real pain and suffering, so would be quite suitable for a younger audience, or for all the family to share in.

Stoner is very cute here but she does look and act her real age (14) when she is supposed to be playing an 11 year old. That's a big age gap at that time of life, and for me her performance just doesn't work at that level, but that's not really to the detriment of the film as a whole. She is not the most talented actress by a long chalk, but she has a certain charm on screen that many young stars lack, and it is easily sufficient to carry a light movie like this.

Grabeel is good and there is ample support from all the kids. Perry is Perry. Marshall is probably the best of the bunch, experience obviously telling. All in all the performances are competent and the characters sufficiently well rounded to make them interesting, even if the plot itself is a little weak.

Few flaws here then, but don't expect to be wowed. One for a rainy day in with the kids.

I only got this movie to watch Luke Perry. I went on a 90210 binge last year and ever since then I've been watching anything he's in, just trying to recreate the lost 90210 feeling, I guess. Perry has this way of acting that is similar in everything he's in so every time I watch one of his performances it is always like going back to Dylan, as much has he is trying to broaden his types of roles.

Anyway, about the movie, depressing. I wouldn't recommend this for a child because the themes are way too rough, I almost cried. Dude, harsh. Girl loses everything and embarrasses herself in the process, that's basically the tag of this flick. I wouldn't want my 10 year old to watch it and then wonder who she's going to lose, God forbid. And then on the other side, I wouldn't recommend this to an adult either because the acting, music, and story plays out for a children's audience. So, it make sense that this went straight to DVD. There's no audience left.

The acting itself, if you look past the mandatory made-for-children silliness part of everyone's role-playing, was pretty decent. These people are all pros so they took whatever they had to work with and did it well. The main character of Alice is pretty likable, as are the rest of the cast, but their acting and story lines were sill pretty typical.

Luke Perry was Luke Perry and that justified me sitting through the film. His acting was exactly what it was supposed to be and I loved every second of it. Such a contrast to the gunfighter character he played in the movie that came out a week before this one was released, but at the same time he has his trademark nuances that will never leave him in anything he is in and that's what I came to see. And being that I'm always just really only trying to find Dylan McKay in every role he plays, I melted in 90210-nostalgia the second Ben McKinlay met his love interest in this movie, Kelly. Hearing him say her name each time was incredible, except for the fact that he didn't once call her "Kell," that would have made this whole experience perfect! The rest of the cast were just there doing their thing, the music was also just there doing its thing, nothing too terrible, but not something the Grammy committee will be looking at anytime soon. It was a nice touch that the actors all sang their respective songs, though. They all have pretty good voices. Perry's musical talent was also a pleasant surprise.

So, all in all, if you're a huge fan of any of these actors, you won't be disappointed, as they do their thing as they should. However, if you are strictly looking for a good movie, look elsewhere. It's less feel-good than heartwarming, but even the attempts to warm the heart turn into more of a wrench in the gut.

PS -- (cough coug) *Zack Morris Wannabe* (cough cough)

This movie would appeal to most ages, not just teens & pre-teens.

First for the 70's & 80's, Penny Marshall portraying a tough teacher. She turned out to be a little caring later on, had a little Laverne DeFazio in her.

Then for the 90's, Luke Perry of classic 90210. He owned a music store & showed his hidden talent that he could play the guitar & sing. Guess Dylan McKay didn't want to pose a threat to either David Silver or Ray Pruit.

And for this decade, Lucas Gabriel. The High School Musical star who boldly did what no HSM star would dare do, play an instrument! He was cool playing the guitar, but did he have to have a shirtless rock band? Disney would disapprove that, but not Chippendale's (LOL).