Review of Camp Rock (2008) by Vanessa E — 02 Sep 2010

It was the Disney hit telefilm of two years ago, with Disney trying to captialize on the success of their own â??High School Musicalâ?? franchise. I must say this is somewhat better than the former, from the little clips Iâ??ve been seeing on television.

The movie focuses on Mitchie Torres (Demi Levato) as she arrives at Camp Rock, an exclusive camp where teenagers express their musical talents. Mitchie tries to fit in, and becomes instant friends with the wrong crowd, refusing to hang out first with techno-geek Caitlyn Gellar (Alyson Stoner from â??Step Up 1 & 3â??) and makes friends with competitive would-be diva Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin). She also develops a mutual attraction with bad-boy Shane Grey (Joe Jonas of The Jonas Brothers), a member of the fictional band Connect 3 who has been sent to Camp Rock in hopes that the label studio can clean up his image. When Shane overhears Mitchie singing a song at camp, he falls head over heels and sets out to find where the mysterious voice belong to, but has no idea it belongs to Mitchie.

â??Camp Rockâ?? is a sweet little made-for-TV-movie that overdoes it and puts too much emphasis on the storyline, as every character is one-dimensional and follows every cliché. The film is advertised as a musical, but isnâ??t technically a musical itself as the songs and story revolve around the name of the camp itself. The movieâ??s big moment, and bright spot, is the 20-minute finale performance of â??Final Jamâ??. For all itâ??s clichéd story aspects, the cast seems to hold it together for the most part. Itâ??s a little better in the musical department as compared to the â??High School Musicalâ?? pictures, but it doesnâ??t say much either. And if you think weâ??re done visiting Camp Rock: donâ??t hold your breath because we are expecting another installment soon.