Hannah Montana: The Movie (U)

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The ViewLondon Review

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Review byMatthew Turner29/04/2009

Three out of Five stars
Running time: 102 mins

There's no doubting Miley's boundless energy, but this is strictly for fans - it's not as much fun as you might expect and the message it sends out is confused, to say the least.

What's it all about?
Based on the popular Disney TV show, Hannah Montana: The Movie stars Miley Cyrus as brunette teenager Miley Stewart who leads a secret double life as blonde popstar Hannah Montana. When the pressures of being Hannah lead to Miley disrupting her best friend's (Emily Osment) birthday party, Miley realises that her secret alter-ego might be taking over her life, something she's not too upset about.

However, her father Robby Ray Stewart (Miley's real life dad Billy Ray Cyrus) has different ideas and promptly whisks Miley back to where she came from - namely Crowley Corners, Tennessee - for a healthy reality check and some down-home living courtesy of Grandma Ruby (Margo Martindale). Meanwhile, British tabloid reporter Oswald (Peter Gunn) is sniffing around hoping to get a scoop on Hannah and follows her to Crowley Corners.

The Good
There's no doubting Miley Cyrus' boundless energy as a performer and she's also relatively ordinary looking, which adds to her appeal. There's also decent support from Billy Ray Cyrus and Lucas Till (as Miley's childhood friend Travis), whilst seasoned performers like the always-excellent Martindale, spiky Vanessa Williams (as Hannah's publicist) and gorgeous Melora Hardin (as Billy Ray's love interest Lorelai) bring life to their largely underwritten parts.

The Bad
Sadly, the plot refuses to explore the intriguing nature of the whole Miley-Hannah split persona and contents itself with a lot of lame comedy involving pratfalls instead (that said, there is a crowd-pleasing fight with Tyra Banks early on). Similarly, the message the film sends out is decidedly confused - on the one hand it's saying be true to yourself and never forget where you came from, while on the other it's saying keep your true identity a secret from the world.

Worth seeing?
This is aimed squarely at Miley's sizeable fan base and it's fair to say they won't be disappointed, although dragged-along adults will find it uninspired and lacking any real sense of fun.

Film Trailer

Hannah Montana: The Movie (U)
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Content updated: 16/02/2012 03:33

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