Hannah Montana: The Movie

Hannah might rip off her wig and reveal her true identity?!?!?! That’s like Batman taking off his cowl to show the world he is Bruce Wayne. Not really.

Miley Cyrus stars as Miley – a young teen who lives a normal life by day, but becomes music superstar Hannah Montana by dusk (you can’t say by night because her fans are not old enough to stay out after the street lights come on). However, her fabulous iconic life is starting to disconnect her from friends, family and her roots as a good ol’ country girl, so Dad (Billy Ray Cyrus) takes her home to Tennessee, so she can learn a lesson about who she is and where she comes from.

Will Miley be able to let go of Hannah?

Will she find the value of small town life?

Will she be able to survive when her separate worlds collide?

Hannah Montana: The Movie is not detestable and won’t give you food poisoning, so I guess that’s something positive there. However, it’s another one of those movies that is just bland and reaches for nothing more than mediocre. It’s the movie you want to be friends with instead of getting hot and passionate about.

Director Peter Chelsom fills Hannah Montana: The Movie with more slapstick silliness than a Three Stooges DVD collection complete with the broadest of comedy designed to appeal to the youngest of kids, which gives the adult brain a night off. Writer Daniel Berendsen gives us the most basic of stories you have seen a million times before like Miley meets a handsome young cowboy, Dad meets a new lady who might help him move on from his deceased wife, a big conflict tears apart the people we know should love each other and the small town is fighting off big time developers. All Berendsen needs to add is someone rushing to the hospital for a wacky giving birth scene and a little kid saying all sorts of precocious one-liners and he would win the award for most clichés in one movie.

Yet, Hannah Montana: The Movie is not the worst film you have ever seen. The audience can take comfort in the safely predictable story, and Chelsom and Berendsen have their hearts in the right place. Miley Cyrus proves that she might not be the most subtle of comedic actresses (not that subtlety is called for in this movie), but she handles the drama and more emotional moments commendably.

Hannah Montana: The Movie is rated G.