Alice Upside Down
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Movie Reviews of Alice Upside Down
Movie Review: Good film for an average day.....
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This movie wasn't bad at all. There is so much that's generic and junky about Alice Upside Down that it's hard to pick out the bright spots, though the issues involved in this carries the film for me.
Penny Marshall's appearance as Mrs. Plotnik has a nice resonance--that is, until the script gives her a medical crisis to test Alice's new-found allegiance. Luke Perry looks realistically lost in dealing with his onscreen daughter's dilemmas. But then he turns around and rejects the advances of a successful former classmate because he has "too much on his plate." Huh? Perhaps the most endearing character is big brother Lester. With his Kewpie doll face and slacker shaved head, he comes across as relatively well-adjusted. Sure, he picks on his sister relentlessly and is seen as kind of a womanizing sneak, but he also comforts Alice when she's down and does a good job of being there when the circumstances require. Lucas Grabeel, of High School Musical fame, does a good job of traversing his mandated territory quite well. Too bad everything else about Alice Upside Down couldn't be so casual and carefree. It's the perfect example of forced family fare. Recommend for mild entertainment.
Movie Review: Surviving sixth grade. . .
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Based on the first in a series of children's books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, ALICE UPSIDE DOWN offers up the familiar-yet-pleasing-enough story of a sixth grader Alice McKinley, as she faces the challenges of trying to fit in in a new school. I haven't read any of the books, but the movie follows the "tween" girl-power formula popularized by the likes of Hannah Montana and any number of Disney-style adolescent comedies.
Among the well-worn cliches (boys are either icky or hot, single dad Luke Perry fumbles through cooking a Thanksgiving dinner), the best thing about ALICE is Alice herself, played with believable awkwardness by Alyson Stoner. High School Musical (Encore Edition)'s Lucas Grabeel is fine as Alice's older brother, and Penny Marshall is the reputed meanest teacher in the sixth grade. The rest of the cast is really average, with Perry in particular looking rather bored.
Parents can rest assured, it's perfectly fine for your kids to take ALICE home. It's quite inoffensive, but may be a bit too bland for older teens.
Movie Review: Good movie for tweens, but nothing very new or different.
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is a sweet movie about Alice (Alyson Stoner) who moves to a new town and must make friends in a new middle school. Although Alice wants to be one of the cool girls in school her day dreams only land her in one embarrassing situation after another.
However, Alice learns during the course of the movie that appearances aren't everything and she finally begins to accept herself for who she is. She also helps her father (Luke Perry)to accept the loss of her mother and move along with his life.
I thought the movie was good and the actors played their parts well and would have given it 4 stars but my 9 year old, the prime target audience for this movie, asked me to dock another star for an oft repeated theme in tween movies. She said that although the story was "cute" it was "too typical and predictable." Hence my current 3 star rating.
Movie Review: Good family movie. BUT, rent it; don't buy it.
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I watched this with my children and we enjoyed it for the most part. The story is easy to follow and the acting was good enough. The themes are predictable but wholesome, which in this day and age deserves a higher rating than a 3, for the effort, if nothing less. That said, I can not say that it is captivating enough to watch a second time so I would recommend renting it, not buying it.
The plusses: Good family-oriented movie with no profanity or graphic scenes or language. Happy ending with solid moral.
The negatives: Dragged in spots; the themes were a bit predicatable; and some shameless contrived scenarios.
Luke Perry earns 4 stars, as does Penny Marshall! Unfortunately, 3 stars only to Alyson Stoner and Lucas Grabel -- although it could have been just the sheer lack of quality dialogue they were given to deliver.
Movie Review: Good Television Style Movie for Preteens
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Both my 8 and 12 year old daughters watched Alice Upside Down with me. We all enjoyed it. The acting was good. The plot was a bit predictable and cliché. It is set in middle school but is appropriate for as young as 8 and probably up to 12 or 13. Alice's Mom had died and that is why she is living with her father and older brother. The relationships focused on are between parent and child and between teacher and student. The relationships between the students are very platonic although there are some minor hints of a boy being cute and a bit of the gossipy teen stuff but not much. This is all treated very lightly. In the end Alice finds her way and everyone is happy.