Something Positive

I really enjoyed the movie Sky High. I watched it last week by myself because A refused to, saying that it was definitely one she would pass on. But there was something about it which had appealled to me since I saw the preview in the theatre. And somehow, it worked.

Don't get me wrong. When it comes to teenage super power movies, it is no Return from Witch Mountain nor Wonder Twins, but it does have its own creative feel to it. I felt like it was the Xmen school, but not taking itself so seriously.

Seeing Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Cloris Leachman, and Bruce Campbell all helped me. They had bit roles with some decent gags. Like, just seeing the character Medulla played by Kevin McDonald was too funny. He had this gigantic head, but the face was normal size, so it implied he had a huge brain. On a double date with Bruce Campbell, the two chicks are all impressed with him because of his intelligence, while Bruce has no play at all (which is kind of unbelievable).

As far as the teenage aspect of it goes, the movie moves along pretty quick. One gets a feel for the standard teen angst, but it does not get too sappy to not deal with. Maybe a couple of them step out of character a bit, but I was okay with it.

I liked the idea of the school judging the students initially to see if their super power qualifies them for "hero" or "sidekick". And the sidekick group has renamed themselves "Hero Support" to feel better.

The soundtrack was really good though. They took some great songs from the eighties and had them redone by newer groups like Bowling for Soup. I love hearing old English Beat songs. That is something you never hear in movies. Of course, it is just the song all teenybopped out but it works. For me anyway.

Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston were sort of forgettable as Will Stronghold's parents. They could have done something better with that. I thought Will's "popular" hairstyle was kind of weird looking. That's popular hair? Also, the sidekick friends were okay. One got the idea. They were lame, but individualistic. Blah blah blah.

All in all, it moved at a good pace. It was fun to see various super powers get demonstrated and whether each qualified as a "hero" or a "sidekick". Suspension of disbelief worked. I was pulled in and that is what matters.