Customer Reviews

The American Mall

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's a very good movie. You don't have to compare it to anything else. Just watch it and enjoy a great story and beautiful music. It's absolutely worth watching....!

I am a movie goer, I'm a 21 year old guy and I love all kinds of films including the younger High School Musical movies. I watched this when it aired on MTV and I was very impressed. Sure it's hard to even compare to the high success of HSM, but it its own it was a great film. The songs were what caught my attention, a lot of reviews said they didn't enjoy the singing or songs, and I felt they were full of heart and I enjoyed most of them. The acting was quite good, some people could have used work, but what do you expect for a lower budget MTV movie? My sister kept hoping that Joey would cut his hair!

We were excited about all the So You Think You Can Dance people we saw in it! Neil from season 3 plays Drew, who was pretty funny. Thayne, Matt and Gev from season 4 are all seen which was pretty awesome!! I went out the next day and bought the movie.

Autumn Reeser plays a great bad girl as she did in The O.C, her song New You is pretty catchy and is a cool sequence. The two leads are good as well, because I had never really seen them before it was easier to get to know them in these singing roles. Their songs are very cool, like Ally's get even song Survivor, and the song Dreaming Wide Awake!

The DVD has some cool features, there are two commentaries, one by the cast and one by the director and the guys who play the janitors. They give some cool behind the scene stories on the movie making process, like filming in a real mall. There are music videos, and a short blooper reel, and learn how to dance, ha, may pass on that one. The deleted scenes give a little more on the interesting past of Madison's dad and Ally's mom, and a very short alternate ending that answered the question-What happened to the store?

All in all it was a good movie and the dvd has great features, unfortunately no behind the scenes. Take a chance, you may hate it or love it, it's certainly up to anyone. You may like some scenes and songs and not the others. Watch and just have fun!! Soon you maybe singing along!!

This movie has replaced the "High School Musical" trilogy for my granddaughter and entertaining enough for adults.

I have seen High School Musical and High School Musical 2, and I have to say that The American Mall is so much better then High School Musical. I'm 21 and even though this movie can't decide if it wants to be a kids musical or an adult musical I found it amazing!

Its a remindes me of Rent in some ways as the songs go. Then they hit you with some songs that seem to come from High School musical's way. The singing is amazing in the movie. They was they sing together gives me chills. I like all 10 songs that make thier home in this moive.

I don't even like all the songs in High School Musical, That "Get Your Head In the Game" always gets skipped when seeing the movie. But found all the songs in American Mall amazing and not overdone like the songs in High School Musical. Its nice to see a musical can be made for the older crowd then the little 13 year old kids. With songs that sound more rock band then gay keyboard sounds of HSM.

Songs that stand out are "Dreaming Wide Awake", "A Little Bit Of Heart Somewhere", "Survivor", "Sorry's Not Enough" & the title song, "Get Your Rock On"

If you do not like this musical then something must be wrong with you. The story is good, the music is amazing, and gets better with every time you see the movie.

I think over time this movie will outshine High School Musical and I feel that an Americn Mall 2 will be coming soon. Lets just hope its as good as the first one. We all saw how bad High School Musical 2 was and I don't have much hope for HSM3.

Just you wait this movies popularity IS GROWING!!

It's basically after school special meets musical. Now I admit that means I'm not it's target audience but it was cheap & I like Nina Dobrev. With her in the lead role it was good enough to hold my interest so I give it a 4 on that level. Without that it was merely okay IMO which is a 3 so you get an averaged out 3.5. To put it in perspective, I think Hellcats on TV is far better scripted & better acted roughly in this target audience group. So nothing earth shattering here but a decent way to pass an hour or so esp. if you like Nina Dobrev.

My biggest complaint are the commercials you CAN'T fast forward of bypass. Normally this is bad enough but these commercials are uterly stupid including Jackass & other stuff that isn't nearly as positive as the movie. I mean you have how to be annoying advertisements on a be a good person movie. It just seems like the ads don't match at all to me which makes it doubly annoying. I say put the movie in the DVD, walk away & do something else for 5-10 minutes to avoid watching the stupidity & then come back to enjoy the movie.

Ever since Fame, it seems every year Hollywood has attempted to come up with a teenage musical worse than the previous year. American Mall is no exception, unless you just want a story with some good old fashion lip syncing fun. Ally is the daughter of a women who owns an unsuccessful mall music store. Mom used to have dreams of being a star, but when they never happened, she made her daughter study business and refuses to let herself live her life through her daughter as most parents would. While playing her music at the mall she meets a teenage janitor boy (Joey) who is "in tune" with her music. During a three minute lip syncing musical number their souls entwine. However there is the pure evil mall daughter who feels rejection from her father so she takes it out on poor Ally. In an almost Faustian manner, she steals Joey away from Ally by making him her model poster boy. To pour salt in the wound she also steals her music to promote her store (PLOT SPOILER, if there is such a thing for this teenage love story). Eventually Joey comes to his senses and shuns fame, fortune, and a beautiful rich girl for Ally his soul mate. All ends well with everyone in perfect lip sync for the finale. Nina Dobrev at times comes across as another Miley Cyrus, while at other times she is more like Anne Faris. If you are a young teen or tween girl, this is a 10 star movie for you Cinderella. Us guys will just stomach it while you enjoy the bejesus out of it. No nudity, no sex, no bad language, just some minor sexual innuendos such as "Is he a good kisser and how big are his hands?" Yawn.

The television release of this musical was over-shadowed by multiple programs released on the same night and MTV did not place enough strength behind the release date. The result is that this one did not get the attention it deserved was hit with poor viewer ratings.
The film is loaded with fun musical moments. The production team included the people involved with the "High School Musical" flicks so it was bound to have some shining moments.
But it was a flop on the tube.
Which brings me to;
Why buy the DVD? If not for any other reason: Yassmin Alers.
The kids put on a great show but then suddenly we realize what PRO means when Alers hits the stage for the finale.
If they create a sequel (the set-up for one is there), they need to give this gal more screen time and more musical moments.

I found myself liking this sort of Partridge Family manufactured
for TV rock story about what else a romance between a singing boy and a singing girl.
Nina Dobrev is sort of the perfect modern x generation girl:
manufactured for Sterio HDTV: beautiful voice and a fashion manikin body.
The rich mall owner's daughter (Autumn Reeser) is the villain who wants to take the boy friend away.
My DVD gives no credit for the music.
"I must be dreaming wide awake
I must be dreaming
I must be dreaming wide awake"
Who ever wrote the music probably needs a good intellectual property lawyer?
I can't find a name anywhere...
Here you have a movie with one of the main themes being the
singer-song writer's rights to her song,
and then, you can't find who actually wrote that song
( they haven't given out that information?).
What kind of picture of the world does that give the young idealistic
people who will love this movie for generations?

This is great to watch if you like music. These young kids are very good singers and dancers, and the old ones aren't to bad either. Easy to get stimulated and get up and sing and dance also.

A bunch of unknown actors except Autumn Reeser who had a supporting role in The O.C.

Despite that, the songs didn't disappoint. My favorites are "Clear," "Dreaming Wide Awake" & "Survivor."