DVD Review: The American Mall

Movie Info:
Writer: Margaret Oberman, Tomas Romero, PJ Hogan
Director: Shawn Ku
Cast: Nina Dobrev, Rob Mayes, Autumn Reeser, Yassmin Alers, Al Sapienza, Brooke Lyons, Bresha Webb, Blythe Auffarth, Bianca Collins, Rodney To, Neil Haskell, David Baum, Wade Allain-Marcus
Rating: Unrated
Studio: MTV

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: August 11, 2008
DVD Release Date: August 12, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon: $15.99

MTV productions seem to be the kiss of death when it hits my desk these days. Gone are the days of exciting and fun programming from MTV. These days all you have are music shows that don’t show much, reality shows that make the sane person want to jump off the nearest bridge, and crappy musicals that are ripped off from other perky (yet still crappy) musicals. To the average reviewer, The American Mall is somewhat like receiving a package filled with arsenic. It’s a toxic waste of time that you know is going to be that bad the minute you open the package.

I don’t expect anything better from MTV anymore. I have lost all respect for them with their disinterest in playing music and making music enjoyable for all kinds of different people. You would think that would be what they want to do considering that is what made the network famous in the first place. Instead, when people stop watching the reality drivel the network went and teamed up with some of the producers of High School Musical to create a slightly racier version, but with the same ultimate idea as the fluffy Disney show.

The American Mall is still going to be teen friendly, but it does have more sizzle (if you want to call it that) than anything you will find on the Disney Channel. The movie is filled with high school students, love, drama, and music. It’s perfect for people that like High School Musical though those who love HSM more than life itself (I recognize there are some out there that do) may be offended by the idea of an MTV knockoff.

One would assume that MTV only did this for ratings, thinking that something like this would give them an added boost that things like Tila Tequila and The Hills aren’t getting them. Unfortunately, their plan backfired and they only got less than 450,000 viewers, which is absolutely abysmal. The American Mall debuted on August 11, 2008 and a day later it was released onto DVD to what I am guessing will be lackluster sales, at best.

The The American Mall Plot
If we are going to talk positively about The American Mall there are many nice things that can be said. For starters, the cast all seems to have fairly decent singing voices. My problem was not with the child friendly, bubblegum pop or the singing as a whole. You could also say that the writing for this movie is encouraging to people that cannot write. The reason I say that is because it doesn’t take much talent to write something like this. The American Mall comes through as something that you don’t need to think about or process in any way. It’s that easy to comprehend. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few brain dead movies I enjoy, but this isn’t one of them.

Seeing that this is a musical, it is sometimes compared to Broadway jaunts that were made more popular in a television sense (such as HSM). This is just sad to think about. I hate to even call this a musical considering it is uneven, inconsistent, and just plain mediocre. The beginning half of the film tries to tell a story (whether good or bad matters not). The second half is music heavy and ends on a no brainer, weak note. Not only that but considering the location of the film, I find it amusing that everyone looks similar. As if MTV were saying “Teenagers don’t have enough self image issues, let’s make The American Mall, a mall just for the beautiful, thin, and popular people.” Good job MTV. Way to go on the realistic casting. You didn’t have to let the fat or alternatively dressed act or sing, but you could have made them extras for realism.

Anyway, I have veered off from the plot and it’s time to get back to that, assuming there even is a plot.

Ally (Nina Dobrev) has just graduated high school and is enjoying the summer prior to college. She wants to become a songwriter, but her mother is trying to woo her into a career in business instead. Mom owns a music shop in the mall. This is where Ally goes at night. She sneaks into the Mall so she can sing and play the piano. This is where she meets Joey (Rob Mayes). Joey is the head janitor and one of four janitors that work nights at the mall. They also just happen to play in a band. You know what they say, band mates that clean malls together stay together….and all that.

Joey and Ally may end up together, but she has something else to think about that could be more important. Madison (Autumn Reeser) is the spoiled daughter of the mall owner. She wants to make her fashion shop bigger so she tries to push the music shop out. Topping it all off, she wants Ally’s new man, too. You will have to watch to see if all the scintillating questions, that a movie like this could pose, are answered. Chances are, they will be by the end of the talent show.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
As with most of the things that MTV has put out lately, the quality of The American Mall looks just fine. The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen does its job like it should. The colors are bright and the blacks are strong and rich. There is the occasional bout of softness, but there is nothing to complain about too heavily.

The audio is available in Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 so you can play whichever version that you prefer. Both of the versions sound good, but naturally the 5.1 has more depth to it. No volume toggling was necessary. In addition, viewers can take advantage of Closed Captioning, if needed. Spanish subtitles are also available.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
The American Mall offers a number of special features, though I wouldn’t say that many of them are worthwhile. Things get started with two commentary tracks. The first set of commentaries is handled by the majority of the major actors. The second commentary is handled by the writer and the janitor boys. In either case, the best way to describe them is mismanaged. They tend to sound like a big party where people talk over each other. Neither of the commentaries are overly informative. They have that whole “friends in a room” feel to it, so kids might like it, but it’s hardly anything that will help you learn more about the movie.

There are four music videos: “Get Your Rock On”, “Survivor”, “Clear” and “You Got That Light.” Most of the music clips are meant to either promote the actor’s separate music careers or to work as clips of the songs from the movie. In addition to all this musical fun, there is a 20 minute featurette, “Learn to Dance with Bonnie.” Bonnie Story and many cast members teach you how to dance to some of the more basic parts of the movie.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, the film offers six deleted scenes, a gag reel, a couple of extended performances, and additional previews of various MTV shows.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
If you’re over the age of 18 you might want to avoid watching this altogether. If you have tween or younger teen-aged children they might want to watch this and while you probably won’t die from watching this, I don’t recommend buying this because you would end up having to watch it more than once. If the kids love it, it’s worth a purchase. Otherwise, rent it and put it to bed where it belongs.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: The American Mall, Nina Dobrev, Rob Mayes, Autumn Reeser, Yassmin Alers, Al Sapienza, Brooke Lyons, Bresha Webb, Blythe Auffarth, Bianca Collins, Rodney To, Neil Haskell, David Baum, Wade Allain-Marcus, DVD, MTV, DVD Review

Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
---
Ashtyn lives in her home state of Michigan with her life partner, Dominick, her 14 year old son, and her baby, the Shih-Tzu, Oliver Twist. Ashtyn is in college, going for a degree in Criminal Justice. She eventually plans to intern with the FBI, if she can. Ashtyn is an experienced and talented chef. She also excels at writing and has worked as a professional writer for the past five years. Ashtyn enjoys spending time with her son and four year old nephew, watching movies, listening to music, and writing works of fiction.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!