Hannah Montana gets into a shoe brawl with supermodel Tyra Banks and lands on the cover of USA Today.
That's not all: She throws a minor diva fit when daddy Billy Ray (real life dad Billy Ray Cyrus) puts the kibosh on her plans to jet off to New York City for an awards show gig.
Worst of all: She's so consumed with her teen diva life in the spotlight that she doesn't have time to change her wig and transform from pop star Hannah to girl-next-door Miley in time for BFF Lilly's (Emily Osment) sweet 16 bash. Naturally, once Hannah Montana shows up, Lilly goes from life of the party to party pooper.
In "Hannah Montana: The Movie," we see the not quite so lovable side of the teen who balances the best of both worlds on the hugely popular Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana." She's obsessed with being Hannah Montana and has all but forgotten Miley Stewart.
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This is not like last year's 3-D concert movie, which captured the TV character and actress who plays her in a live sold-out concert setting. "Hannah Montana: The Movie" rips a page from the script of the monstrously popular Disney sitcom and shows our pop-queen-by-night-teen-girl-next-door-by-day going home to Tennessee to make a life-altering decision: Maintain her dual life or let go of Hannah Montana forever.
Of course, it's not that easy. There's the love interest, teen ranch hand Travis Brody (the hunky Texan Lucas Till), who still has a monster crush on the Miley he knew from their early childhood; the English tabloid reporter Oswald (Peter Gunn) trying to expose Hannah's secret; and dad Billy Ray experiencing a crush of his own with Grandma Ruby's (Margo Martindale) ranch forewoman Lorelai (Melora Hardin recently of TV's "The Office" fame). Grandma adds her own drama: She's waging a battle to save her small town from a ruthless developer.
This is Disney's latest take on the classic tale of girl gets boy then loses boy because of her deception, forcing her to risk it all and give up her glamorous life to get boy back. But in true Disney fashion — and in the spirit of not wanting to kill off its popular franchise — the small town rallies behind the girl and vows, "We won't tell your secret. Put your wig back on and be Hannah." Identity crisis averted. Living the best of both worlds resumes.
"Hannah Montana: The Movie" does have its "you've gotta be kidding me" moments, including the appearance of super country trio Rascal Flatts sitting on Grandma's porch during her birthday party, swooning an acoustic version of "Bless the Broken Road." Really? Everyone just accepts that this multiplatinum, multiple award-winning Nashville trio would be invited to Grandma's shindig?
Miley's real-life bud country princess Taylor Swift also guests in an open-mic scene, in which Travis drags Miley onstage to sing the infectious hick-hop toe-tapper "Hoedown Throwdown." That's also when he suggests that Miley bring her best California buddy Hannah Montana to Tennessee to do a fundraising concert to help Grandma save the town.
Although the movie had plenty of pop music moments — including the opening arena concert scene that elicited squeals from a theater full of tweens at the Tuesday night screening at Foothills Mall — Miley showed off the country genetics from multiplatinum country star daddy Billy Ray. In addition to "Hoedown," she also sang the soulful country ballad "The Climb," which was resting comfortably this week in the top 20 of Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 charts.
After Tuesday's screening, Disney reps were asking tweens how they liked the movie. From their enthusiastic endorsements, expect "Hannah Montana: The Movie" to be the kind of phenomenon that Hannah Montana the live concert has been: sold-out theaters and screaming girls.
Review
Hannah Montana: The Movie
***
• Rated: G for all audiences.
• Cast: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment.
• Director: Peter Chelsom.
• Family call: Please, it's Disney. Tween girls will go ga-ga, and parents will actually like it, as well.
• Running time: 102 minutes.
