Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bratz DVD Review, November 28, 2007
There is a pressure on filmmakers when it comes to turning an extremely lucrative toy franchise into a feature film. Sometimes filmmakers have it easy, especially when the topic is giant fighting robots that already have a mythos attached. Other times the demands are too much, case in point Batman and Robin, a film in which Joel Schumacher admits that the merchandising seemingly drove the entire narrative. One has to give director Sean McNamara credit for finding the story in Bratz, the new feature film based off a line of sexually suggestive, ghetto Barbie dolls.
While most adults will likely approach Bratz as nothing more than mind rotting fluff, McNamara manages to tackle some deeply entrenched high school quandaries, namely cliques and their destructive nature on friendships. Moving from their computer animated, straight to video releases to a live action, big screen adventure, The Bratz are tackling their biggest challenge yet: the angst ridden days of high school.
Controlled by the long arm of the Principal's spoiled daughter, Meredith, the queen bee is determined to maintain her powerful status by keeping the school populace segregated into cliques. At first the "Best Friends Forever" fights Meredith's stronghold, but as each member of the Bratz posse discovers their own unique talents, they are quickly pulled into separate factions. Before it's too late though, a fateful mistake by Meredith reunites the girls, joining them together to take down the student body president's tyrannical rule.
Reminiscent of many late eighties' films aimed at children, Bratz is epic in scale, spanning three years of the girls' high school careers, but underneath all the shopping, singing and dancing there are actually powerful messages. While materialism is obviously enforced by the overt product placement and fashion featured in the film, the fact that McNamara is able to clearly portray cliques in a negative light might be a hugely positive theme to expose ten-year-old girls to.
Not any more mind numbing or offensive than an overlong episode of Saved By the Bell set in the modern MTV generation, the influence of Bratz will not truly be understood for another decade, when the target audience grows up and reflects on the product with a sense of nostalgia. For adult audiences to write off the film as aggravatingly awful is not truly fair. Can you imagine being denied your favorite childhood movies, simply because the critics thought they were mindless entertainment?
While Bratz may be a torturous two hours for adults, the positive message and frantic pace and style of McNamara's film will certainly entertain, and hopefully influence its target audience.
Special Features:
With box-office prices at such a high level, Lionsgate should find that Bratz will perform much better at home, where the purchase or rental of the DVD will ease the strain on parents' wallets. Filled with features that promise to entertain audiences of all ages, the Bratz DVD will undoubtedly be a hot seller thanks to its strategically planned release right before the holidays.
While the deleted scenes and music videos should give young girls the extra Bratz fix they need, the biggest surprises on the disc are the 12 featurettes! While most films targeted at children rarely offer any substantial material, behind the scenes looks at casting, wardrobe and some of the picture's huge set pieces are a refreshing addition. McNamara's commentary is also engaging, offering great insight and personal reflection on how he approached turning Bratz into a live-action production.
Overall:
Regardless of how the doll's attitude and fashion statements have influenced children up to this point, McNamara has created a piece of cinematic fluff that will inevitably do more good than harm.
-Joe Russo
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Your average tween movie., November 29, 2007
I suppose if you wanted to look past all the racial and social stereotypes, not to mention the inconsistencies and mistakes made throughout the movie, then its your average tween movie. I think the movie had potential to be better than it was. There were definitely some entertaining parts, but most of it was mediocre. The movie seems to be aimed at tweens and high school-aged kids, although the Bratz dolls and accessories have a much younger fan base. It would seem that they completely missed it on this one, the younger kids who normally watch the Bratz cartoons and beg their parents for the dolls and accessories will not necessarily understand this movie and it may be a little old for them, and the older tweens and teens may not want to watch something that has the name Bratz on it because the Bratz dolls are a much younger age than they are. One major positive is the girls were all dressed appropriately and they didn't show girls acting too mature for their ages, which is a problem in some movies. As an adult it was mildly entertaining, tweens will probably love it. All in all, I would say it didn't quite live up to its potential, but it was enjoyable at times and I don't regret watching it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bratz Movie won't win any Oscars, February 19, 2008
Written by my 12 year old and me:
Although the Bratz are a wonderful product line, the
movie wasn't. The story line itself is okay, but how
the director presented it wasn't all that great. The 2
songs at the end was a terrible way to close the movie.
Meredth's song was all about her being so great, and the
Bratz was about their style and how everyone loves them. What kind of lesson is that? The Bratz came off just as shallow as the bad guy.
The one part when they won't see or hardly talk to eachother over 2 years
is also kind of pointless, because when they finally do see eachother
they don't know how to react to eachother, thus causing
Meredth to make them start the food fight, another pointless
part (except for the fact it makes the girls better friends
again later). It seemed like just an excuse to have a food fight.
On a side note, the girls don't even act their
age, and do all sorts of "little" girl things, IN PUBLIC!
This is just my opinion, but I'm sure many people see what I mean. I was really looking forward to this movie. I was really disappointed.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Video On Demand ~ Mucci Fassett
Video On Demand ~ Elizabeth McLaughlin
Video On Demand ~ Skye Sweetnam
Video On Demand ~ Damon Santostefano
Video On Demand ~ Ashley Benson
Video On Demand ~ Emma Roberts
Video On Demand ~ Lauren Collins
