No surprises

Rating: 4/10 (27 September 2003)

As you watch the movie, the plot has no surprises. And it's just what we have come to expect from Disney. A shallow, uninspired, and painfully predictable confection. Good if that's what you want to watch, but it pitches itself as a treatise on race relations and thus should do better. Every character is simple, one-dimensional; the conflicts all seem contrived. Yes it's "based on a true story." Well if the true story is really this corny it should have been adapted. Disney might as well have made the movie as an animated feature. The stereotyping and exaggeration are as extreme as they often are in Disney toons. I rate it a 4 as it is watchable, but certainly no showpiece. Oh yes ... next time they make a movie about high school students, how about looking for actors younger than 25?