StarStruck Struck Gold
I love StarStruck. StarStruck isn’t your average Disney teen movie, it’s a good Disney teen movie. The 2010 drama/rom-com directed by Michael Grossman takes place in sunny Los Angeles, California centering around the main character, Jessica Olsen. Olsen, played by Danielle Campbell, is a smart, no-nonsense teen. Sterling Knight plays teen popstar, Christopher Wilde. The two meet in uncommon circumstances and an unlikely romance ensues. StarStruck is the best underrated Disney film for many reasons.
Characters
The characters in this movie are really pretty different from anything Disney had done in the past. The movie starts out with the popstar, Christopher Wilde, performing on stage. Immediately, Wilde comes off as this famous, yet goofy kid. He doesn’t have a huge ego, and most of his actions are in his personal best interest. He also has really blue eyes, like really blue. Then, the movie moves to Michigan where Jessica Olsen is presented to the audience alongside her sister, Sara. Jessica is witty, calculated, and doesn’t take her sister’s attitude. She also writes for her school newspaper, how cool is that? Her sister, on the other hand, really has an attitude. Like, she’s mean. Jessica remains unbothered. In addition to her strange demeanor, Sara also has an extreme obsession with Christopher Wilde. Imagine that one friend, the one in love with Harry Styles. It’s like that, but 20 times worse. There’s also a minor character, Stubby, who is Christopher’s best friend and kind of picks up all his slack throughout the film. He has a pretty good sense of fashion, too. These characters may sound interesting here, but it’s a whole different (and much more exciting) experience on-screen.
Music
The soundtrack. Need I say more? Well, I will.
This soundtrack is something special. Sterling Knight doesn’t sing all the songs on it, which is due to casting and timing issues, but the best song from the movie is in fact sung by him. This song, sharing the same name as the movie, talks about all the positives of
fame, while also describing the things that Christopher is trying to escape from throughout the film. In addition to this literal masterpiece, the song “Hero” is a crowd favorite. There’s a scene towards the beginning of the movie where Christopher performs the acoustic version of this song to a crowd. It’s beautiful. In fact, fellow Lance writer Grayson Juel frequently serenades the class with this tune, which shows just how memorable it really is. Though these are just two examples of songs from the movie, there are many more that you should all listen to.
Plot
The final aspect of this movie that I will be touching on is the plot. It seems cliché, and it is. Cliché usually has such a negative connotation, but there’s nothing wrong with predictability with a fun, lighthearted film. This movie is the classic small town girl who goes to the big city and falls in love. But, there’s way more to it than that. There’s family drama, fame drama, and romantic drama. There’s all the drama you could ever ask for. This movie keeps things
moving, and it keeps things interesting. From the second the Olsen family arrives in California, the action never slows down. There’s concert montages, driving montages, and even photo-taking montages, and lots of sunglasses. Grayson Juel said, “my favorite scene was when they got stuck in the quicksand, that was my favorite part. It’s so good.” He then proceeded to sing the song “Hero” from the film’s soundtrack.
StarStruck is so cliché, and so predictable. But that doesn’t make me love it any less. Disney struck gold with this film, and you should all watch it. Please watch it. At the very least, find Grayson and have him sing the soundtrack to you, he will. You’ll love it.
