Review

Review Date: 1-August-05
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Sky High (2005)

I was confused at first why the soundtrack to Sky High is filled with tunes from the '80s, since it seems to take place in present day. But then it hit me: this movie was made for me and my early-teen kids to enjoy together. For a moment the screen vanished and I saw a neo-Rockwell scene in which a slightly balding husband and I chuckled in nostalgic satisfaction while Biff and Susie wrangled for the Red Vines.* This vision disappeared almost immediately (to be replaced by a nascent mid-life crisis), but a lasting impression remained. If I did have budding jujubettes, this is exactly the kind of movie I'd want us all to see.

The premise of Sky High is original, even if the execution is not. Young Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) is coming of age under the heavy burden of being the son of the world's most famous superheroes. As he begins his freshman year at a school for expected champions, he hopes to hide the fact that he lacks the invincible strength of his father (Kurt Russell) and the flying ability of his mother (Kelly Preston) and appears to be devoid of exceptional powers altogether. His secret comes out during a brutal sorting ritual that puts him in the "Hero Supporter" (i.e., sidekick) track, where he falls in with the other geeks and losers at the school.

Despite its unusual curriculum (like the gym unit "Save the Citizen"), Sky High is populated by all the usual suspects, from the obnoxious popular kids to the array of misfits that form Will's circle of friends. (His lifelong buddy Layla, played by Danielle Panabaker, is a nerd of the "hippie" variety. However, being the love interest, she's also gorgeous and preternaturally composed.) Like all teen heroes in the movies, Will must maneuver the obstacle course of adolescent culture, which in his case includes the hostility of the flame-throwing rebel Warren Peace (Steve Strait) and the siren song of a sexy senior (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Luckily for him and the world, he turns out to be exceptional after all.

Right up to the finale at the homecoming dance, Sky High is a study in simple pleasures. Although we have seen and rooted for these characters before, the superhero angle and the actors keep them fresh. Angarano is especially endearing; so too Nicholas Braun as his gangly school chum. For their part, the adults know they're comic sidekicks to the kids at the forefront of the tale, and Russell, Bruce Campbell (as a barking coach), and Dave Foley (as a nebbish instructor) make notably lighthearted contributions. (Casting Lynda Carter as the principal is a good joke, but I have to say her acting hasn't sharpened with age.) In the end the good guys thwart both evil and their insecurities, which I hope all teenagers learn to do. If geezer parents of my generation care to join their kids in this lesson, Sky High makes it a lot of fun.

*Don't worry. If I had a son, his name wouldn't be "Biff."

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.