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Free Style asks the nonmusical question: Who needs Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, anyway? This is a starring vehicle for the other
High School Musical dude, Corbin Bleu, who brings his likable-guy personality to a tale of small-town life and motocross racing. Bleu plays Cale Bryant, a fatherless teen in a drizzly Northwestern burg, a town so rich in motocross talent that three of the top contenders for an open spot on the national racing team just happen to be living there. Really? OK, it seems a bit unlikely, but that's the kind of movie this is: all the formulaic parts are in place, including the struggling single mom (Penelope Ann Miller), the wayward girlfriend, and the foxy waitress (Sandra Echeverria) who works at the town's Mexican restaurant. Can a reunion between Cale and his estranged father be far behind? Director William Dear (
Harry and the Hendersons) is an experienced hand at this kind of familiar-but-sincere drama, and he smoothly guides the TV-level doings here. The motocross sequences are mud-spattered and not all that frequent, but they should be acceptable for X-treme fans. Since the storytelling is humdrum, the movie comes down to Corbin Bleu, and while the
HSM faithful may be satisfied, others will have to admit that his single-note presence doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of excitement--not when it's featured at the center of a 90-minute movie, anyway.
--Robert Horton
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