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Back Shelf Beauties
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Sky High It's Harry Potter meets The Incredibles minus the memorable characters, hearty laughs, great writing and all around movie goodness. However, you can be amused by Sky High if you can make it through the obvious "homages" to those better movies (as reminded by my colleague Jane Horwitz earlier this week, homage is such a pleasant way to say rip-off). Michael Angarano stars as Will Stronghold - the son of superheroes Commander Stronghold (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston). He's about to become a freshman at Sky High - a top secret high school for future superheroes and sidekicks (their new PC term is Hero Support), but Will is hiding a huge secret. While he has led his Mom and Dad to think he has inherited super strength from the Commander, Will really has no powers, and might always be a regular kid. Before you know it, the son of the greatest superheroes in the world has been labeled a sidekick (umm, Hero Support); met his nemesis, Warren Peace (Steven Straight); and alienated his best friend, Layla (Danielle Panabaker), who has hit puberty, so she wants to take their relationship to the next level by ripping off his clothes to play naughty nurse and the Navy Seaman on shore leave. Is Will destined to be a sidekick (umm, Hero Support), or will he acquire his superpowers? Will he finally hit puberty and realize Layla wants to be more than just friends? Can Commander Stronghold and Jetstream be good parents to a mere sidekick? Sky High is so willing to rip-off more popular movies and characters they even cast a Shia LaBeouf look-alike as Will Stronghold. Have they no shame?!?! Sky High has many, many problems, yet, I almost want to recommend it. Did they use some sort of kryptonite on me? Have I gone soft from the apocalyptic heat wave here in DC? At times, I couldn't figure out if Sky High was trying to be campy or was so badly written and directed that campy is a kind way to characterize the results. Writers Paul Hernandez, Robert Schooley, and Mark McCorkle seem to use every movie cliché known to mankind as we watch Will and his pals struggle with the typical high school bullies (swirlies come into the picture), everyone mocks the weird bus driver (because every high school staff in every movie has at least one adult who is a moron), Layla pines away for her clueless object of affection (the boy next door she has loved since the sandbox, how sweet, yet, how sad), someone throws a party (teens gone wild!) and Will tries to make peace with his sworn enemy (they just don't understand each other). You have seen it all before and better, but Sky High has some cute moments like Will's struggle to tell his parents the truth and their reaction, an interesting plot about his relationship with the school's beautiful senior student body president, and Will's struggle to maintain friendships with his sidekick pals (umm, Hero Support) as the school year unwinds. I'll even give them credit for a story that mostly encourages kids to take pride in their individual abilities and personalities, no matter what they might be. Sadly, the dialogue is flat, most jokes are cringe-worthy and the actors have to struggle to make something special out of their roles. Director Mike Mitchell seems to have instructed each actor to be as stiff and stupid as possible, especially Russell. Yet, Russell tries so hard to win us over, he makes Commander Stronghold grow on you with his goofy, earnest portrayal of the doting father dealing with a shocking revelation and hoping his son can be part of the family business. There's something true and loving about his performance that puts a smile on your face even with the worst of dialogue and situations. Panabaker shows she might be an up-and-coming starlet as she adds some soul to what could have been a boring character, and Nicholas Braun made me giggle a few times as Zach - the freshman who thinks he can glow, but can't prove it. Other supporting actors like Bruce Campbell and Dave Foley are reduced to playing absurd, unfunny cartoon-like characters far beneath their ability, while the other kids all fall into stereotypes and poor Preston is stuck being the second banana who is supposed to put an arm around Will when motherly love is needed. Rated PG, Sky High is best for young kids who might not be ready for the dark world of Harry Potter and can't watch The Incredibles anymore because the DVD has worn out, while parents won't regret going to the movie. 2 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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