Director: Mike Mitchell
Original Release: 2005
Choice: Our Girl's
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
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| via Wikipedia |
Sky High is essentially Hogwarts for the superhero set. Will Stronghold is an incoming freshman and the son of the two most famous superheroes of all, The Commander and Jetstream. Only one problem: Will has yet to develop superpowers (echoes of Piers Anthony's A Spell for Chameleon in the set up). Terrified of disappointing his parents, he settles into the sidekick track along with his best friend Layla.
Of course, it's high school, so the usual drama inevitably creeps in. Layla is secretly in love with Will but once his powers do emerge, he is pursued by the beautiful and popular Gwen Grayson. Meanwhile, apparent bad boy Warren Peace bears a family grudge against Will and picks a fight in the cafeteria. Of course, not all is as it seems...
Sky High is goofy, predictable and derivative but it's also a whole lot of fun. Warren Peace, played by Steven Strait, is easily my favorite. Arch-nemesis as brooding teenager works very well. There's a scene between him and Layla that makes the whole movie for me.
Children of the '80s will get a kick out of the soundtrack: all covers, many of the songs from John Hughes movies and other teen flicks of the era. "I Melt with You," covered by Bowling for Soup, runs during the denouement. "True," covered by the Cary Brothers, is Gwen's leit motif. Critics panned the soundtrack but I enjoyed it.
However, the song "Sky High" by Jigsaw is not used in the film. I will admit this is disappointing for me. From the moment our daughter picked the movie, I had the song running through my head. So, if only to cure my own ear worm...
I love that movie. We own it.
ReplyDeleteIt completely underperformed at the theater, by the way.
Delete$86 million worldwide ain't too shabby. No doubt, they expected more.
DeleteWell, they don't look at the international take when doing their evaluations; at least, they didn't at the time. That's beginning to change. So, domestically, it barely broke even and didn't pull in enough internationally for them to take much notice.
DeleteOh, well. It's Disney. I'm sure they'll manage somehow.
DeleteThe costumes look hilarious.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise, the movie is highly satirical and there's some great stuff about the costumes. The sidekicks have little control over either their names or their outfits. Matching color schemes with the hero is essential.
DeleteWe manage to watch a lot of this whenever it's on... very fun to see Kurt Russell being as funny as he is here. Plus, it's a mini "Kids in the Hall" reunion with Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed! Lynda Carter's involvement is fun, too.
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