Review-”The American Mall”

• Release Date: August 12, 2008
• Publisher: MTV/Paramount
• Price: $15.99 on Amazon.com
• Rating: Not Rated
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Bonus Features: Director Commentary Featuring the Janitors, Cast Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, Learn to Dance with Bonnie (At the Mall & Don’t Hold Back), Extended Performances, Music Videos: Get Your Rock On, Clear, Survivor, You Got That Light (By the Janitors)
• Genre: Musical, Teen
• Buy It on Amazon.com

What would “High School Musical” look like if it was made for MTV instead of Disney? You’ll find out tonight when “The American Mall” airs on MTV at 9/8c (the DVD comes out tomorrow). While it isn’t quite as good as Disney’s franchise, “The American Mall” is great for those who enjoyed “High School Musical” but have since outgrown it.

Every moment of “The American Mall” unsurprisingly takes place in a mall. Hardworking sweetheart Ally helps her mom out with her music shop and spends her nights playing the piano and attempting to write songs (she just can’t seem to find the right words). She eventually meets Joey, a janitor at the mall and wannabee musician who happens to have a crush on Ally. Joey understands Ally’s music like no one else and helps her with her ambitions. However, Madison, the mall owner’s spoiled daughter, gets involved and threatens the music shop and Ally’s happiness.

Similar to “High School Musical,” “The American Mall” features generic teen drama themes with musical numbers sprinkled in. While most of the songs are quite catchy they are inserted rather unnaturally. Some of the numbers are quite corny, especially one set in the food court.

The story is fine but hardly original. You can find all the major themes in “The American Mall” in just about every teen movie made in the last ten years. Since the focus is on the music, this isn’t a huge deal but it definitely needed to be brought up. The storylines are obviously a bit more adult than on “High School Musical” but if I was a parent, I would have no problem letting any kid over 10 watch.

Acting is fine especially for a cast featuring mostly unknown actors. Autumn Reeser is the only cast member I had heard of before watching this but strangely, she is the weak link. She is a bit too over-the-top as the snobby Madison. Video and audio quality is important in a musical and thankfully, both are very good in “The American Mall.”

The DVD features a very solid slate of bonus features. Two commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, extended performances, music videos, and more round out the package quite well. Obviously if you don’t like the movie you won’t enjoy these much but fans should get quite a bit of enjoyment out of them.

While “The American Mall” isn’t quite “High School Musical,” there is still plenty to enjoy. Fans of HSM (especially those who have outgrown it and are looking for something slightly more adult) will almost certainly enjoy it. Recommended.