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Ghost Canyon

'StarStruck: Got to Believe - Extended Edition'
(Sterling Knight, Brandon Mychal Smith, Danielle Campbell, Maggie Castle, Chelsea Staub, et al / 2-Disc DVD / G / 2010 / Disney)

Overview: 'StarStruck', a music and adventure-filled romp that hits all the right notes for kids and tweens, tells the story of Jessica Olson (Danielle Campbell, Prison Break) and her older sister Sara (Maggie Castle, Time Traveler’s Wife), who are heading to Hollywood from Kalamazoo, Michigan, on a family trip to visit their grandmother. Sara is obsessed with pop star Christopher Wilde (Sterling Knight, Sonny with a Chance) and hopes to track him down while in California, but Jessica could care less about the stuck-up star and would rather go sightseeing.

DVD: 'StarStruck,' the latest flick from Disney Channel, is a polished and tween-adjusted product for the hardcore Disney Channel fan base and a perfect film to its target group. While its not the very best original movie that I've seen from Disney Channel, it still makes a decent and passable watch to pass 90 minutes with.

It seems as Disney loves to milk the concept about pop stars connecting with the "real world", something that they've tried on "Hannah Montana", "Camp Rock" and now "StarStruck". Not that the concept is specifically worn out, but it has been used a couple of times to make the concept absent of any surprises or plot twists. "StarStruck" follows the same pattern and delivers a quite predictable story, without any innovative twists and turns. However, despite that and a few unsolved subplots, the film delivers a sincere and sweet love story, which actually works and comes off as believable.

Sterling Knight ("17 Again", "Sonny With a Chance") is spunky and charming as the pop star Christopher Wilde. The beautiful Danielle Campbell is passable in her role as the girl lead, Jessica Olsen and does look distractingly young compared to Knight (according to sources, she was fourteen during the filming). Although she's been given a less compelling part, she does pull some emotional moments quite well.

Brandon Mychal Smith ("Phil of the Future", "Sonny With a Chance") is likeable as Chris' friend Stubby, while Maggie Castle is quite convincingly annoying as the Jessica's sister Sara, which is obsessed with Chris Wilde. However, its a pity that the likeable Chelsea Stub ("JONAS") has been given a rather thankless role.

The music, however, is the component on the film which disappoints a bit. Former Disney concepts as "High School Musical", "Hannah Montana" and "Camp Rock" has included catchy and enjoyable songs, the music of "StarStruck" is passable, but rather generic. Perhaps its time for Disney to hire some new songwriters/musicians for their films?

Overall, 'StarStruck' may not be the greatest teen movie of all time, but its a cute, watchable movie on its own merit and delivers a cute, emotional love story. Take it for what it is. Oh, and this special set comes with both the DVD of the movie and all the music on a CD too! [DFP] This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Exclusive Extended Music Scene - Featuring the song 'Got To Believe'
Music Videos: 'StarStruck,' 'Something About The Sunshine,' 'Party Up'
Rock Along - Your chance to take center stage and sing along with the Movie!

www.disney.go.com





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