Sleepover Review
by Ronald O. Christian (ronc AT europa DOT com)July 12th, 2004
Sleepover (2004) Three stars of five (somewhat fresh).
Daughter Shannon turns ten in a few days. We try to go to one movie a weekend, budget and selections permitting. This weekend I was dragged to Sleepover (2004) starring Alexa Vega, Sean Faris, Mika Boorem.
I didn't really want to see it, but a deal is a deal. Besides, it has Alexa Vega in it -- how bad can it be?
-- Flash back to 2003 and an excruciating 84 minutes sitting through Spy Kids 3D --
Ok, it could be pretty bad.
But surprisingly, it wasn't. Oh, it wasn't Gone with the Wind, or even A Mighty Wind, but I didn't actually claw the fabric off the armrests.
I can see where the critics could really tear into this film. There's are certain expectations in a coming-of-age comedy, which include painfully embarrassing moments, huge interest in bodily functions, paper-thin villains, and characters hopelessly misunderstanding the most basic forms of communication. Sleepover almost entirely fails to deliver in these areas. It's charming in parts, funnier than I'd have given it credit, and doesn't gnaw at your brain. Much.
One thing that struck me almost immediately is that Alexa Vega actually has more than one facial expression, exhibiting more range in this lightweight comedy than Lindsay Lohan in her last three films. I think it's high time for Vega to appear in, you know, a real film.
The music was mostly by Allister, a fairly decent neo-punk group. They make a short appearance in the film as the high school dance band. (Yeah, like that's gonna happen...)
Anyway, if you must take your adolescent daughter to a film this weekend, you could do a lot worse.
Ron
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
