HANNAH MONTANA: LIFE’S WHAT YOU MAKE IT
(TV-G)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5)
STARRING
Miley Cyrus as HANNAH MONTANA/MILEY STEWART
Emily Osment as LILLY TRUSCOTT
Jason Earles as JACKSON STEWART
Billy Ray Cyrus as ROBBIE STEWART
Mitchel Musso as OLIVER OKEN
Studio: Disney Channel
BY KEVIN CARR
If you don’t want to spend $2500 on Hannah Montana concert tickets from scalpers/resellers, you can always spring for the latest DVD of the hit Disney Channel show. ‘Hannah Montana: Life’s What You Make It” is another compilation disc that includes four episodes from the series.
Miley Cyrus stars as the plucky Miley Stewart, whose alter ego Hannah Montana is a popular music star. The first two episodes follow her whirlwind romance with a teen heartthrob who doesn’t quite understand the reasons (or the desire) for a private life. The character arc burns out fast, leaving Miley to deal with laryngitis and her overprotective father in the last two episodes.
It seems the Disney Channel practice is to now release these single-disc stand-alone DVDs with a handful of episodes rather than an entire season at a time. It works for parents because I would imagine that 500 minutes of Hannah Montana would get a little wearing to anyone over the age of thirteen.
The “Hannah Montana” show is a great series for kids. The actors seem to really enjoy the roles, and Billy Ray Cyrus is close at hand, keeping his daughter in check before she rockets off and turns into a Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears. And Miley Cyrus does a fine job as the teeny-bopper role model. Still, the highlight of the show comes from the interaction between Billy Ray and Miley’s on-screen brother Jackson (Jason Earles).
Special features on the DVD include a Billy Ray Cyrus music video and some backstage interviews with the stars to talk about each others’ secrets.