The American Mall (2008)

To begin with I have to say I am not a fan of musicals at all. Having said that, I ask myself; what is the difference between this movie and a masterpiece like Grease...? Mostly a moronic script (in the case of this film, of course). Otherwise, the music is not half as bad, it could have befitted a decent musical. Of course the acting isn't top notch either like it was in Grease, etc. etc.Considering this is a made-for-TV production though, I have to say that the music bails it out somewhat and brings it close to an average movie in spite of the above mentioned shortcomings. I suppose the film could appeal to teenagers and the 'High School Musical' crowd, but nothing more.

I love watching musicals, especially my all-time favorite "Grease", but when it comes to the Disney Channel-type musicals like the "High School Musical" saga, cheesy and forgivable is in my library. This comes in handy with the MTV musical treasure, "The American Mall" which is not a Disney Channel-type of musical. The plot involves Ally (Nina Dobrev from Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Vampire Diaries) who is a singer/songwriter who is (a) trying to fit in with her music career, (b) trying to get into a musical symposium and (c) stuck with her mother while working in a music shop. That all changes when the handsome janitor/musician named Joey (Rob Mayes) hears one of her songs and is amazed by the songs she writes. Ally and Joey do have eyes for each other and they do fall in love but love is so not a sales item when the bitchy Madison (Autumn Reeser) interruptly snatches Joey from Ally and turns him into a sensation for Madison's new store. Director Shawn Ku and telewriter Margaret Oberman takes some time with the clichés, but the musical numbers and the cast sometimes hits it home. They don't exactly standout when it comes to 20somethings playing teenagers but mostly, I didn't care. Add some funny janitors, some wacky assistants, an token Asian-American guy who is funny for anything and the result is a cheesy but likable and charismatic treasure that is worth checking out to the pre-teens and teenagers. P.S: Good performances from Dobrev and Mayes as the two leads.

This movie was a great teenage musical, filled with great songs and dance numbers. The cast did a fantastic job on the vocals and i think you are being a little to judge mental.If Nina (lead actress) couldn't sing then why would they have cast her for lead!? This movie is making a bold statement in saying that you shouldn't't/can't just take or be given everything you have to earn it. It teaches that you can't be selfish, that you have to give to get things in return. There were also the little messages in it to help make the earth a better place. In the shirts Nina would wear to the earth friendly contexts. It's okay to have your own opinion but when your putting other's down, those who are doing this for kids like yours, that's low.

It is no High School Musical, don't let the connection fool you! This movie is so bad! It was one of the most contrived things I had seen in a really really long time and I just watched Troll 2. I seriously doubt that most of the people in this sang for themselves and there were times when the lip-sinking was really off. I had hopes for a semi-enjoyable experience and am really upset with how let down I was. I at least expected good dancing but no. On top of it all they even tried blaming the victim a couple of times amidst all the mainly unintelligible story line and signing. MTV is in big trouble with me for making this movie and trying to give some of these messages to kids. There were times all I could think was "what are you doing". Is that the image and message we want to send to our young girls! Really MTV bad job, you have sunk to a new low. I apologize for my rant but I hope it stops others from watching this and letting any young girls in there house from watching it.