MOVIE:
A Week Away
WHERE TO WATCH:
OUR RATING:
2.5 Stars
WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
Troubled teen Will Hawkins (Kevin Quinn) has a choice to make - go to juvenile detention or attend a Christian summer camp. While at camp, and with the help of his music, new friends and love interest (Bailee Madison), he learns the healing powers of kindness, forgiveness, and faith can be found in the most unlikely of places.
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
I'm a Disney Channel kid. I grew up with Miley and Selena, I know all the words to Gotta Go My Own Way (both Vanessa Hudgens' and Zac Efron's parts), and I still listen to Demi Lovato belt out This Is Me every time I need to believe, usually in myself. I call that wholesome content, and A Week Away tries to give that to a whole new generation of kids, but it doesn't quite hit all the right notes.
The new Netflix musical sees a family take in troubled teen Will (Kevin Quinn), who must transform his life to avoid going to juvie by following them to a summer camp. Of course, just as he's starting to embrace it all, finding love along the way with the camp director's daughter, Avery (Bailee Madison), his past catches up to him. After some deep reflection in a musical number or two (of course), he must decide whether he'll run, as he's always done, or open himself up to something and someone new.
Both Kevin Quinn and Bailee Madison's performances were good, David Koechner and Sherri Shepherd added a little star power, but the real standout, vocally as well, was really Jahbril Cook, Will's best friend. However, neither the songs nor dance sequences were good enough to lift this movie from its eminent forgettability.
It's pretty much High School Musical meets Camp Rock – Will even looks exactly like Troy Bolton – only the summer camp is faith-based, adding a whole new aspect to the film, and yet, even that doesn't do much to side-step the predictability of the formulaic teen musical. It doesn't quite live up to it's predecessors either. Though I'm sure it'll win over the hearts of a few tweens and teens, I also don't think it can compare to films such as the To All The Boys and Kissing Booth trilogies or TV shows like Julie and The Phantoms from HSM legend himself, Kenny Ortega.
That said, I wouldn't completely rule out letting the kids watch this one. Though it didn't convert me, I'm sure others will be thrilled if Will and the gang return for a second summer of fun in the sun – Netflix certainly did open the film up to a sequel – and it is the perfect, family-friendly movie.
Cheesy? Absolutely. But you'll still get that sweet, wholesome feeling of the teen movie musical, with a heartwarming and positive message at its core: to believe and take a leap of faith.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
