
Disney's long list of TV movie musicals are as predictable as they are wholesome and pretty viewing. Why reinvent the tween entertainment wheel when you can simply toss all the same ingredients back into the Crock-Pot, reheat and serve it up again?
Even so, my teenaged daughters have been counting the days, if not minutes, until the debut of "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam," the follow-up to 2008's smash hit featuring the Jonas Brothers.
"I am actually, literally excited," 14-year-old Catherine told me after watching one of the movie's endless trailers. " 'Camp Rock' rocks!"
When: 8 p.m. Friday, Disney Channel
Starring: Demi Lovato, Jonas brothers
Who knew you could burn with Bieber Fever while also dreaming of a JoBro-mance?
The sequel, which premieres at 8 p.m. Friday on Disney Channel with an audio simulcast on Radio Disney, takes place one year later. And, as expected, all the original characters return to the summer retreat for budding music stars for another round of crooning and crushing on the shores of a wooded lake.
In the first movie, Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) worked her way through the exclusive camp by scrubbing pots and pans in the kitchen where her mother (Maria Canals-Barrera) worked as a caterer. Mitchie found a love interest in Shane Grey (Joe Jonas), the leader of a bro-band called "Connect Three." Shane's a teen rock star with a bad attitude, sentenced to a summer at his uncle's Camp Rock to break his bad-boy ways.
The lesson/challenge last time: Could Mitchie find love and success without abandoning her friends and values? (This being Disney, the answer was, of course, "yes," but not before a fair amount of drama.)
This time around, Mitchie arrives for her second summer at Camp Rock, eager to be reunited with Shane for another summer of squeaky-clean teen romance. She finds, however, that the situation has changed. Not only has a rival camp opened up across the lake, but Camp Star is run by an old rival of Camp Rock's owner who subscribes to a completely different ethos.
The down-to-earth Camp Rock is all about helping kids express themselves through music. Glitzy Camp Star is all about making campers into -- you guessed it -- stars. Consider it the Cobra Kai dojo of summer rock camps.
Will Camp Rock beat Camp Star in the final jam rock off? Can Mitchie achieve success without abandoning her values? Hey, wait a minute ... even a kindergartner knows the answer to this one.
While "Camp Rock 2" seems to be cobbled together out of bits and pieces of other movies -- "Meatballs" meets "The Karate Kid" meets a little bit of each of the "High School Musicals" -- the surprise is that it's pretty enjoyable.
The plot moves along, the teenage angst is kept to a few well-orchestrated montages and, while there are no laugh-out-loud moments, it's often amusing. The characters break into song and well-choreographed dance at the drop of a hat, but several of the numbers, particularly Nick's "Introducing Me" and the big group number "It's On," are catchy enough that my daughters were singing along as they watched, thanks to some serious pre-release publicity on the Disney Channel and the soundtrack's release on Aug. 10. (There's a Rock Along edition of CR2 on Sept. 4, and a Sunday Dance Jam edition on Sept. 5, with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of some of the dance scenes.)
With two CDs and an original Disney series under her 18-year-old belt, Ms. Lovato is ostensibly the movie's star. But two of the three JoBros give her a serious run for the money. Joe shares the spotlight equally with little brother Nick, who's got a crush on a girl at the rival camp (Angelina Jolie mini-me Chloe Bridges), but can't find a way to express his feelings without a guitar in his hands.
In the two years since the first "Camp Rock," Nick has emerged as a true talent, even if he needs to work on his lip-syncing.
There is also, of course, oldest brother Kevin, basically the Shemp of this brother act. He's along for some dim-witted comedy relief, but doesn't seem to mind. He's joined by "Bonus Jonas," Frankie, who makes his TV movie debut as a camper.
Despite an engaging storyline, there are a few continuity problems: In the first movie, the brothers' band "Connect Three" was a huge hit and its presence at the camp caused a big upheaval. This summer, no one seems to care or even notice that three megastars are sharing the cabin next door.
And Mitchie's money issues from the first installment seem to have magically disappeared. Most glaringly, everyone at Camp Rock, including the camp owner, seems shocked to find that there's a rival camp operating a canoe ride away.
But that's all beside the point. "Camp Rock 2's" audience just wants to watch Ms. Lovato and the Jonas boys dance, sing and be cute. Which they all do very well.
You, or at least the tweens in your house, could do worse.
Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.