A Word About....

....Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010)

I'm here to report that the Disney movie sequel is actually, surprisingly very well done...even for a TV movie. I caught it on demand, and after hearing endless amount of hype, I thought this would be an interesting watch (Note -- I don't watch the seriously unfunny crap on Disney, but after witnessing the tiring cliched original one I was wondering if the House of Mouse could redeem themselves, and they sure did). Redemption here comes in the form of stepping up big time and delivering something much more mature and fresh than what expectations were for most.

So basically the gang is back at Camp Rock for another summer (by the way, why was this film released in September? It's about camp right? So why not give it a June/July release when summer is still young? Anyway...) but there's a new camp 'cross the lake called Camp Star (real inventive name, eh?) who stands as Camp Rock's competition as they face off for the final jam. The plot itself is actually kind of interesting, although the two leads -- Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas -- hardly have any spark in there intentionally limited screen-time, which helps because the two simply bog the proceedings down with there boring, charmless persona's. But those two aside, the movie bursts with a positive, refreshing, and vivid energy and feeling without ever cloying with sappiness or unbearableness -- both of which Disney is more than known for. The dancing and singing have a nice cohesive flow and the numbers are overall very solid and feel much more alive than previously. There's even a subtle, touching emotional core to Camp Rock 2, which makes the narrative feel even more engaging, and the climax feels somehow expected but the setup and resolution -- the slow-mo, silenced reaction to the outcome is palpably felt and well staged.

Though all give decent to really good performances, the standouts to me were Nick Jonas and his love interest Chloe Bridges. As Nate and Dana, two star crossed "lovers", they create the only real chemistry between them and there subplot was sweet, bashful, and interesting. Though they are stuck with limited, unjuicy dialogue, the two interact seamlessly to find real soul. Shout out to Nicky Nick -- its the guys 18th birthday after all! -- who's amateur acting still hasn't broken any kind of dramatic mold, but he nonetheless gives a superb musical performance. He has that certain brand of charisma and star-power that his elder brothers don't, and he captures both in this song Introducing Me which is a sweet ballad with silly lyrics that borrows its tune from the popular song I'm Yours. Because the two songs are so similar, I made this video which brings them both together.

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam is just really a fun, fresh ride that I wouldn't mind taking again.