I love a good DCOM. Troy singing on a golf course makes me happy, hearing the fantastic feline ladies jamming through the streets of Barcelona makes me ecstatic, and seeing the shy girl rock out at the final jam makes me proud. Recently, Disney Channel has been bringing back the DCOM musical, starting with Teen Beach Movie. The movie premiered in 2013 and brought in 8.5 million viewers, making it the 5th Most Watched DCOM of all-time. That being said, of course Disney would green light a sequel! June 26th is the return of Tanner, Lela, Mack and Brady and anticipation is high.
The film doesn’t start where you think it would. If you can go way back into your head to 2013, the end of the movie showed the entire Wet Side Story crew arriving on the beaches of modern day. The sequel’s plot shows that Lela is sick of how her life is in the movie world, and after her newly magic necklace arrives on the shore, she takes it with her to find Mack and live a new life. Oh, and Tanner unwillingly joins in the journey. Once they land on the beach of 2015, the craziness ensues.
At first, it would seem just like The Hangover Debacle, where the do the same exact film, just in a new environment, but that isn’t the case. While the same sort of themes run throughout, as the Wet Side Story crew are starting to disappear without their stars present to keep the film moving along like normal, there is a new “Girl Power” undertone that is welcome, and covered in a fantastic way. Lela just wants to live life to the fullest, not be bolted down by the script.
The songs throughout the film are pretty fantastic, much more enjoyable after watching the scenes and not listening to the album cold. “Twist That Frown Upside Down” is the best scene of the film, as the song is uber catchy, and having the entire student body at Mack and Brady’s high school burst into song, while simultaneously confused, is amazing.
Garrett Clayton (Tanner) and Grace Phipps (Lela) have expanded, more detailed roles in this sequel, and they are firing on all cylinders. Grace really captures the conflicted mind of someone who finds out they are just a movie character and not TRULY human, while Garrett kills as that goofy character, who isn’t fully understanding EVERYTHING. Both really shine through in this movie and are constant sources of depth and emotion and humor.
Ross Lynch (Brady) is really good as the character who much more than the sum of his parts. As someone who hates kids who don’t really care about high school (Just wear a darn bag and carry your binders!), it was hard to sympathize for this character at the beginning, but I really felt for in after the first half hour. You also can’t deny that Ross is super talented. A true triple threat, who has more room to show off his major star power in this film compared to other projects (cough cough Austin & Ally cough cough).
Maia Mitchell (Mack) is just the best. There’s not else much to say. Maia sings with such beauty, her acting is top notch in this show, and she is instantly relatable. She has no faults and I want to be her best friend. I LOVE MAIA. Frankly, they should name the film Maia and Meta.
Speaking of Meta, the ending. I will get more into the ending in an upcoming article, but all I can say is “WHA?!?!” It was such a 180 degree turn that it took me a few hours to understand how to feel about it (Those few hours were spent seeing Inside Out again…). I think I enjoyed it, but I will completely enjoy it if we get a third movie, because what they leave you with is SO high concept for a Disney Channel film that I feel some kids will be confused out of their minds.
The only problem I had was that I wasn’t in the film, since it is just so darn fun, but that is a personal struggle I deal with on the daily. ANYWHO…
Overall, I loved TB2. It had the same fun quality of the first one, with a dilemma that really made you feel for the characters. On top of that, you also get some fantastic tunes, with some inspired by those great Annette Funnicello and Frankie Avalon films of yesteryear. Surf’s Up on June 26th at 8pm. Only on Disney Channel! *grabs glowing green wand and draws out shape of Mickey Ears*