The Lizzie McGuire Movie

Based on the popular Disney Channel television series, The Lizzie McGuire Movie follows Hilary Duff’s titular character as she embarks on a two-week Roman holiday with her classmates (including Adam Lamberg’s Gordo and Clayton Snyder’s Ethan) to celebrate the end of middle school. Shenanigans ensue after Lizzie is repeatedly mistaken for Italian pop star Isabella Parichi (also played by Duff), and, through a series of events far too convoluted to get into, it’s not long before the star-struck teen finds herself performing before millions on a televised awards show. While there’s little doubt that The Lizzie McGuire Movie stands as a satisfying capper to the TV show, it’s just as clear that the film is ultimately not quite as effective as its small-screen forebear. The decision to take Lizzie and her friends out of their scholastic milieu proves to be disastrous, as the emphasis on Lizzie’s solo adventures ensures that there’s ultimately little separating the film from a garden-variety tween romp (and the conspicuous absence of Lalaine’s Miranda Sanchez probably doesn’t help matters). It’s a vibe that’s exacerbated by the filmmakers’ decision to employ precisely the sort of hackneyed elements that one has come to expect from such a movie, with the important moral lessons for the characters and the relentless barrage of pop songs on the soundtrack two particularly apt examples of this. Having said that, the film does improve considerably in its third act and there’s certainly no denying the strength of Duff’s affable work as Lizzie; the end result is an effort that’ll surely have a much more positive effect on fans than on neophytes to the Lizzie McGuire saga.

**1/2 out of ****