A Starstruk Review (spoilers!)

[dhiwannabe]

Hey...i just saw Starstruk, Disney's new DCOM, on demand. I'm bored and cant get to sleep, so i thought id post a quick review. (spoilers ahead! avoid if you want to wait for the premeire tomorrow)

in case you dont know the basic plot, Sterling Knight plays Christopher Wilde, a heartthrob who secretly hates all of the attention and only finds relief from his fame-hungry, ditzy "girlfriend" (Chelsea Staub) while hanging out with his bestie since fourth grade (Brandon Smith). Meanwhile, a small-town girl Jessica (i forget the actresses name) is going to visit her grandma in hollywood with her christopher-wilde-obsessed older sister. wilde is offered a movie deal, but he has to promise to avoid any press for the entire weekend. however, after a somewhat crazy chain of events, the two end up spending a whirlwind day in la together (insert g rated romantic subplot). jessica gets mad at christopher and storms off, but not before the paparazzi photograph her, and wilde is forced to deny their relationship on national tv.

First off, just some general stuff (paragraph is spoiler-free). Overall, i thought this was just going to be another way to further Sterling Knight's budding career, and i therefore walked in (figurativelly...it was on my tVio @ home) with low expectations. But i was pleasantly surprised! Sterling can actually deliver more then conceited punchlines well--he can do semi-dramatic stuff, too. his character was unique and not a photocopy of chad, which was another thing i was afraid of. i also liked that with the exeption of sterling, the other two leads (Brandon Smith and Chelsea Staub had surprisingly small roles after all the hype from the promo) were unknowns. and sterling can sing surprisingly well--i was also impressed that he was actually playing the guitar, instead of just strumming two chords and letting some double do the hard work.

now onto specific stuff (read--spoilers.) the number one scene i liked (well, it was more like half the movie) was his whirlwind day with Jessica in hollywood, and the hijinks that ensue as they avoid paparazzi and get their car stuck in quicksand. the acting in their final confrontation was amazing--those tears were real, and the almost kiss was surprisingly convincing (they really captured the "oh my god, what just almost happened?" vibe ). he had better chemistry with this girl then he has with demi on the show! I also thought the female lead's character was refreshingly real, and they weren't afraid to give her faults without justifying them (example, in most disney movies people are meek because their sister is bossy, or tough as nails because someone close to them died, or whatever). and i loved the way she sassed the paparazzi at the end.

now onto critisisms (still major spoilers). the ending seemed really rushed--they basically wrapped up a whole movies' worth of conflicts in about ten minutes. Also, it was very predictable, to say the least. i was very dissapointed that there was no kiss, only two close calls--the romance is the main plot of the movie, so give it some screen time! i also thought that while the beggining was cute, it was extremely unrealistic. not even my imagination (and i have a wild imagination) could crank up that chain of events. and did they fall to fast? they basically got to know each other after a series of freak concidences, over two days, and suddenly they're so in love that they're in fits about each other and can't let that go. i do believe in true love, but they're in high school.

overall, though, a very good movie. if you dont have it on demand, catch the premeire tommorrow. it's worth it.