Starring Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg. Written by Ed Decter, John J Strauss,
Susan Estelle Jansen. Directed by Jim Fall. (PG) 90 min. Opens May 2.
The nice, nerdy Jewish boy gets the blonde in The Lizzie McGuire
Movie, and it's a good thing; for a while there, it looked
like the twittery titular teen was going to fall for the smarmy
Italian pop star with the tight body, and wouldn't that be a shame.
Anyway, harsh reality -- the sort where awkward nice guys don't
finish first -- doesn't factor into The Lizzie McGuire
Movie. The film is based on a hit television program that
follows Hilary Duff's chirpy, indomitable heroine on a variety
of adventures. That most of them involve Lizzie either dressing up or
falling down doesn't do much for claims that she's a positive female role model.
Role model or not, Lizzie gets to jet off to Rome with her junior high
school's graduating class, for no reason other than she's
in a movie with a big travel budget. The one drag: she's being
chaperoned by a dragon-lady principal (Alex Borstein) whose itinerary
involves visits to a bunch of stuffy old landmarks and in-hotel essay
assignments. Lizzie has other ideas, however, and before long she's
cavorting photogenically with Paolo (Yani Gellman), a sort of junior
Enrique Iglesias who talks her into impersonating another famous
musician. These scenes exist for Duff to trot out a variety of chic
ensembles to the accompaniment of some truly irritating bubblegum on
the soundtrack. (There's a cover of “Volare” that
actually makes one long for Tony Clifton.)
Any soul the film has comes in the form of Gordo (Adam Lamberg), Lizzie's
doting pal and would-be suitor, who covers for his love-struck friend
with a selfless chivalry that would have had Gregory Peck nodding
approvingly. This is lightweight stuff, a
Roman Holiday riff
that is knowingly and unapologetically geared towards Duff's
adoring little-girl fan base and hardly worth mustering up any kind
of serious contempt for. Save that for
The American Idol Movie.