July 26, 2005

You, You've Blown It All Sky High
A Film Worth More Than Five
More Fun Than Stealth Or Isle
You've Blown It All Sky High

Do you have a warm spot for The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes or The Barefoot Executive or The World's Greatest Athlete?

I do. And in the most basic way, Sky High is in the very best of that tradition. It's not quite Freaky Friday, which offered a tour de force from Jamie Lee Curtis and the ample emergence of a post-pubescent Lindsay Lohan. But the feminine energy of that film, both the first and the second time around, was different than the boy films. Kurt Russell and Jan Michael Vincent led the way with lots of comedic encouragement from the Apple Dumpling Gang, Buddy Hackett, and all so many others. Sky High has been estrogenated a bit, but at its heart, it feels right that Kurt Russell is back.

The premise smells of The Incredibles, but the movie is not very much like that animated hit. It is a teen boy coming of age movie. The "boy" involved here is a bit of a nerd and he has to grow into his powers, but it's not long before he is in the middle of a tug of war between two super girls.

Casting in the film is quite good, especially in that there is a central theme of the rift between The Hero Kids and The Sidekick Kids, but the casting is not dead obvious. The speed demon is a husky guy and the Sidekick girls are as attractive as the Heroines.

Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston are completely believable as aging, but still hot, superheroes. The costumes, which are oddly made of hard rubber with tights covering the legs, make you wonder if their bodies hadn't held up, but their "regular" wardrobe is more form fitting and shows off their bods far more effectively than the spandex.

Michael Angarano is terrific as the lead. You will recognize him as The Young Red Pollard in Seabuscuit or The Young William of Almost Famous or, if you are lucky, you will remember him as Sid from this summer's The Lords of Dogtown. But he is that perfect combo of a little nerdy, but cute enough to see why girls are attracted.

Danielle Panabaker is the Good Girl love interest and brings a lot of that Lindsey Lohan stuff to the role, in a quieter way. She'll be 18 in September, so the fact that she seems mature for her film age (high school freshman) makes sense. But after being in film and TV for just 3 years, she is a potential major find. She'll be in this Christmas' remake release of Yours Mine and Ours.

But the real find of this movie may be the brooding teen thug, Steven Strait, as Warren Peace. He looks like he's going to be your typical good looking stiff, but once he gets to talk a bit, he is quite natural and has some comic skills. Who knows how wide his range is, but he is another one to watch.

The film is loaded with people we've watched and it is fun to watch them here - Bruce Campbell,. Lynda Cater, Cloris Leachman, and the Kids In The Hall duo, Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald.

But none of that is enough to make a movie worth watching. And this is not brain surgery. But it was cute. It had a good spirit, it moves along at a good clip, and you really like watching these kids come together. Of course there will be a way for a kid whose power is turning into a puddle or a girl who turns into a gerbil to be of use at a crucial moment. Of course the evil plot that the villain finally springs in the third act makes no particular sense. But there is something sweet about it.

I felt better coming out of the theater than going in. I liked watching the kids stumble along with their powers and to see Russell and Preston as a couple whose intense looks and raw sexuality would be intimidating to any teenage kid even if those were their only super powers and to watch, Wonder Woman as the school principal and the great sight gag of Mr. Medulla and the really weird sidekick who works with the supervillain.

It is striking that so many of the effects done at great expense in The Fantastic Four are done cheaply here and still manage to be equally compelling. In some ways, it is more compelling because it feels, in a weird 1960s way, more real. One of the things about the CG option is that it can compel filmmakers to overshoot their objectives. This film never feels like it is missing CG shots, but it uses them sparingly and the result is something that just feels more organic.

I wouldn't mind sitting through Sky High again. It is hardly as challenging as something like Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. It is easy to imagine that this could have ended up as a Disney Channel movie. But of the films in this grouping - okay for little kids, not irritating for the adults accompanying them - this is one of the most palatable. Even more, I kinda liked it.

E-ME.