Starring Chris Chatman, Candise Lakota, Krystle Connor, and Robert Acinapura
Directed by Rachel Lee Goldberg
Music and Lyrics by various
Even TV movies got direct-to-home-media versions in the 90's and 2000's. The High School Musical films were such a phenomenon in the mid-late 2000's, imitations were probably inevitable. The Asylum usually specialized in Z-grade horror mockbusters (including the infamous Sharknado film franchise), but they branched out into Christian musicals with the creation of their Faith Films imprint. Does this teen religious musical come off better than their campy horror films, or should it be dropped from the roster? Let's begin at a regional church choir competition as two very different teen choirs compete and see...
The Story: Zachary (Chatman) is devastated when his mother (Millena Gay) insists on moving in with her sister Janet (Rae Silva) after she loses her job. She's already transferred him to a new school and new church, to his horror. Both his choir and the one he moved to are going to the church choir finals, but the one he moved to is terrible. Savannah (Lakota) and Miles (Acinapura) lead a group that sings traditional numbers without a hint of harmony or passion. Savannah has her own problems. She's a pastor's daughter who is getting over her mother's death a few months before. She and Zachary become friends after they're paired in cooking class.
Zachary keeps insisting he doesn't want anything to do with the choir at first, until he finally encourages them to sing in harmony and find more up-to-date material. Not only is his old friend Aundrea (Connor) now jealous, she accuses him of going against his old church. Even worse, his old church is closing down and doesn't have the funds to send them to the finals. Even as his old church snubs him, Zachary still finds a way for everyone to get to the finals...by bringing the two groups together.
The Song and Dance: Some not-bad numbers are pretty much all there are to recommend this. There's a few songs where the kids are clearly enjoying themselves. And at the least, the story isn't as disjointed as the last independent teen Christian musical I reviewed, It's Christmas Again.
The Numbers: Zachary starts things off with his brief rap solo "Beginnings" as he heads to the Hawthorn Community Choir. Hawthorn's fairly dynamic version of "This Light of Mine" couldn't be a greater contrast to Crossroads Christian Choir's dull and badly sung "Come Thou Font." Zach, Audrea, and their friend from the choir do a short rap imitation of Crossroads after the regional competition. Zach has a very, very brief dance routine on the roof where he expresses his anger over the move. He and Aundrea argue over the move to the R&B ballad "In My Shoes." Zachary laments his being caught between two words in "Cross That Bridge."
Crossroads' boring "All Over Me" in rehearsal doesn't exactly make Zachary feel better about being forced to erase their boards as a punishment. Zachary reminds the choir that the best way of improving is just to do a "Vocal Thing" and enjoy themselves. Miles and Savannah claim "You're Not the Boss" when Miles protests Zachary joining the choir and changing their sound. Crossroads performs a far more impressive "Vision" for church on Sunday. The two groups finally come together as Audrea and Zachary realize they're much "Better With You." At the contest, the Church of the Gospel Youth Club (which has won for three years in a row) does a charming performance of "Praise." Crossroads and Hawthorn can't compete, but they still perform a dynamic "His Eye On the Sparrow"
What I Don't Like: First of all, none of the kids are remotely likable. Aundrea jumps on Zachary over the move and acts like it was his idea and he's going to be a million miles away. Considering they see each other pretty frequently, he's barely across town. As Savannah points out, Miles is a whiny brat who tries to boss everyone around when he isn't nearly as talented of a pianist or singer as he thinks. Miles accuses Savannah of being the perfect pastor's daughter, but she's not much better than him, blowing up at her father for no reason at all. Zachary is no prize either, given he constantly blows off his studies for choir and rags his mother for a move that doesn't turn out to be that far.
Other than the "Eye On the Sparrow" finale and the kids really getting into that odd "Vocal Thing," nothing here works. The story is a cliche we've seen a billion times before, including in the real High School Musical movies. The new songs were so-so, the sets and cinematography obviously cheap and z-grade. It didn't feel all that religious, either, beyond a few references to God and Savannah's father being a pastor. It could have been set in any two high schools and done any kind of competition without missing a beat. When the kids aren't acting badly to each other, they're just acting the flat script badly period. Not to mention, the finale with who wins is an unrealistic and ridiculous cop-out.
The Big Finale: Unless you're really, really desperate for a religious musical to show your teens this Holy Week, you can easily skip this.
Home Media: Like most Asylum films, it's easily found on DVD and streaming. It can currently be found for free with commercials at several streaming sites, including The Roku Channel.
No comments:
Post a Comment