Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010)

Wow, and just when I thought DCOMs couldn't get any worse than Quints. Just kidding, Quints sucked a$$. Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam is thankfully the final Camp Rock movie in this unfortunate series of events. Yet again, horrible acting mixed with dreadful songs and an unbelievably ridiculous script toss this film into a spiral of garbage. If you are looking forward to this movie, please stop. Run in the opposite direction and go pop in "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" for some real entertainment. Trust me. This "film" is slightly improved from the first due to Demi Lovato's sort of better acting skills, better camera work, and...that's it. Unlike the first movie, the characters randomly break out into song about their situation, which is a huge issue that continues throughout the whole film. In "Camp Rock," the characters only sang when on a stage or prompted to, which felt real and fit with the camp. However, one of my biggest annoyances in musical movies is when nonsensical things like people breaking out into perfectly synchronized song and dance with no preparation happen. Another absolutely horrible part of this movie is when Demi Lovato's character, Mitchie, leads Camp Rock into Camp Star with an absolutely mind bogglingly bad, horrendous, cheesy, cringe worthy dance number and chant. I literally had to skip this part or I probably would have died. The Jonas Brothers return yet again, but are equally as bad as they were in the first movie, if not worse. Like I said in my review of "Camp Rock," I don't get at all why this boy band was even cast in the film to begin with. Money grab again? Yup. The best actor connected to these brothers in this movie is the big black dude who screams something about their bus rolling down a hill. That's downright sad. (Not because he's black, black people are gr8 I'M NOT RACIST.) Also, the obnoxious, vomit inducing romance between Nate and that girl with the ten mile wide mouth from Camp Star is the most unrealistic, rushed, cheesy a$$ bullsh*t I've ever seen in my life. Why the hell are they so obsessed with each other after talking for literally thirty seconds? Like really, Nick Jonas, you're going to spy on this girl with binoculars by the side of a lake just because she's hot? REALLY? The plot sucks. Doesn't make sense. The final outcome of Camp Rock losing is I guess a good lesson to teach kids that winning isn't everything, but it was kind of a dumb decision when the entire film was about them working really hard on this one specific performance, only to have it fail miserably. Also, why are they suddenly friends with the bully Tess, who then betrays them yet again, reversing the sort of I guess meaningfulness of them being friends again, by joining the rival camp. What? Besides being random and sounding ridiculous, the musical numbers ARE HORRIBLE. I skipped every one of them after a few seconds due to their sheer lack of quality. Now you may be wondering, 'gee, are the musical numbers in Camp Rock 2 better than the ones in Camp Rock?' I thought about this for a minute, and realized the musical numbers in the first film are slightly better those in the second. However, I can say they're easier to laugh and cringe at in Camp Rock 2. IT SUCK.

Well it was cute, sure... But it was like they were doing a mix of High School Musical and the first Camp Rock... That was all I could think of the entire time. What happen?The first Camp Rock was great, I really enjoyed it, because it was like real life, it wasn't full of song and dance routines... This they made a big time musical. Everything was group singing. She starts the song and everyone joins in. Doing all the motions and singing right along with her. Not quite what I was expecting after the first one.I am but a teenager, so maybe it is attractive to younger kids, but it wasn't so much to me...

First viewing I found Camp Rock (2008) to be empty, but I felt the same about HSM. HSM started to click at my second viewing but this took much longer to take off. One thing that helped me to like this was tracing the identity of each of the songs and I have listed my findings at the message board. Another help was its links with Suite Life. For me, Suite Life was powered by Maddie Tisdale, who helped me to appreciate HSM. This has Alyson Stoner as Caitlyn Geller, though she did not stand out so much for me, first viewings. On the Suite sampler dvds she stood out more, for me, as a quality character. So, then she was an 11ish playing an 11ish and here she is a 16 playing a 14ish? Alyson also played Victoria in (the television series? of) Lilo And Stitch, her second ever screen role (?), a long list of screen roles. So, Suite was a step towards attractive China-ish Asians in the leading role and Camp Rock (2008) is that even more so, very multi-cultural. 2009 partly sank that. * I get the impression that Camp Rock (2008) tries to have a serious message about being oneself as a curse or a blessing and I accept that is a central question for teens and later and relevant to some Camp Rock characters. I actually find that aspect to get in the way as it dominates some of the best songs in a negative childish sort of way, Camp Rock 1 and 2 can be positive or negative childish. Despite that there is still stuff that I can like. The early dance of Lola, played by Aaryn Doyle, as this story occasionally even being hot steamy Disney? * My first impression of Camp Rock 2, extended Blu-ray version, is that some of the songs have immediate appeal, but that there is also a flip side, a modern storytelling style of grunging down, an equivalent to gargoyle creation. Could be that Disney musicals are heading to the path that HP features took. Mitchie and Tess have been given horror cow makeovers, my Blu included a DVD version and the lower level of detail allowed Mitchie to be a lot less scary. Tess sings but I did not always notice the sound as two or three of the songs do not have good stereo compatibility with my system and typical volume settings and I first experienced that problem in HSM 1, glaring trouble for many of the support vocals in the cafeteria song Stick To The Status Quo. I like the quote of the painfully low budget HSM clone Sunday School Musical, the lookalike to one of the female leads, also an echo of Drop Dead Gorgeous. Camp Rock 2 can feel like a complex aspect of the Message Story. I tend to shrug that off and like the many fun bits. As such I find these stories to be talking about stuff that the dispossessed have big trouble with. But I also need the story to be nice and okay and big chunks are not so bad. Add the Disney - Sandler 'Bedtime Story' and it talks to me of Disney maybe exploring new directions. The storytelling style is not what I prefer in Camp Rock, more like it in Bedtime Story, but this still rates higher in entertainment than many that I have seen recently. Camp Rock 1 and 2 are rather okay as well as being appallingly bad. As for comments that the Jonah brothers cannot act. For this sort of story I find that they fit in well.

It seems that the only thing Disney can do is keep repeating itself over and over...with very little original anything being created. They are trying to promote another teen queen with using Demi Lovato in the starring role. While she can sing fairly well, her acting skills leave much to be desired. There is no depth to any of it. We are suppose to believe she is THAT upset about everything happening around her. The camp on the other side of the lake apparently has everything amazing going for them...and want to WIN the competition. The heck with having a fun and memorable summer...those kids are there because they ALL plan to be HUGE stars...soon...that is if their egos don't get in the way and they can prove they can actually sing, dance and perform. The well known Jonas Brothers show up..not as themselves...but as camp counselers...who are suppose to teach the younger kids how to be ROCK stars. Of course...two of the three seem to do OK..but one always seems to have issues...that we suppose to find funny..(Kevin..the now-married one...who never gets ANY love interest in any of their shows..)..While they do sing and play music...it isn't anything memorable at all. We know who we are suppose to cheer for...the good kids...the ones who have heart and are responsible...with or without adult supervision...which there is very little of most of the time. Lets' see...teenagers..left alone....in the woods...in cabins...HMMM..it adds up to more than just roasting marshmallows over the campfire. At least in the real world anyway. These are clean-cut Disney Kids though...and none have thoughts of anything even remotely out of line. What got me was they way these kids dressed...in the highest of fashion...very un-camping like attire. Who wears dresses and jewelery at camp? Both the girls and the guys were over-dressed big time. And yes...I know...it is a movie for pre-teens and teens that haven't outgrown family oriented programing. Trust me...in a few years...these same kids will think this stuff is lame. On to bigger and more adult themes...and then the next generation of Disney fans will come along. The way Disney crams their programing at everyone is ridiculous. It is like riding the rides in the Disney Parks...they are all fun the first few times you ride them...then after a while...you get tired of it all and wish for something else that is different and more memorable. The Disney of old is NOT the same as what they are cranking out today. Pity.