 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Spectacular!
- Review Date: February 15, 2009
- NR
- Genre: Drama
- 2009
Common Sense Media says
Musical mixes positive messages and tween appeal.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this tween-targeted musical offers positive messages about self confidence, self expression, and finding friendship and inspiration in unlikely places. The main character evolves from self-absorbed rebel to a (mostly) reliable team player who's not afraid to stand up to peer pressure. Sure, the whole thing is a sanitized view of teen life (everyone's friends in the end, and, despite his missteps, Nikko gets to realize his rocker dream after all), but on the whole, it's a tween-pleasing tale with hardly any iffy content -- unless you count a teen couple's first kiss.
What's the story?
Rock star-wannabe Nikko (Nolan Gerard Funk) is a fish out of water after he's dumped by both his band and his girlfriend on the same night. When he's approached by bubbly classmate Courtney (Tammin Sursok) -- who hopes to recruit him for her show choir, Spectacular! -- he scathingly declines. But he changes his tune when Courtney promises him half the prize money if he helps her group win an upcoming competition against rival squad Ta-Da. Nikko grudgingly joins the troupe with dollar signs in his eyes -- but he quickly discovers that his talented new comrades are a surprisingly fun group. What's more, his fresh outlook on the competitive world of show choir energizes them ... but not Courtney. An ensuing power struggle threatens both the success of Spectacular! and the possibility of Nikko's own stardom.
Is it any good?
With SPECTACULAR!, Nickelodeon attempts to loosen the iron grip Disney established on tween-targeted modern-day musicals with High School Musical and its sequels. Spectacular! definitely has some similarities to HSM -- including a talented cast, upbeat song-and-dance numbers, and age-appropriate content for tweens -- but there are also some marked differences. Nikko is a bit of a bad boy, mouthing off to his older brother (who acts as his guardian) and flaunting a major superiority complex with the choir members. Courtney's also guilty of some errors in judgment, including allowing her passion for upstaging Ta-Da -- and lead singer Royce (Simon Curtis), who defected from Spectacular! -- to lead to promising Nikko money that belonged to the group.
But rather than weighing the story down, these character flaws actually benefit the overall package. They allow the characters to evolve -- and, in the end, that's what tweens will take away from this story. Spectacular! can't boast the same pure star power of its popular Disney rival, but it does offer equally kid-friendly entertainment with strong positive overtones. Though parents will find the story predictable and more than a little cheesy, tweens are sure to embrace it and the messages it sends.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about peer pressure. What kinds of ways do teens put peer pressure on each other? Is it always obvious, or can subtle comments or gestures have just as much impact? Have you ever experienced peer pressure? How did you handle it? Has fear over your friends' reaction ever kept you from doing something you wanted to do?
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Adult
April 13, 2009
AGE
HSM Wannabe that fails.
My title pretty much sums up my thoughts. It is clean, but it is just no good.
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Teen, 14 years old
May 21, 2011
AGE
More for a younger audience
Started off good but then it got pretty boring. Im 14, i think its more for a younger audience.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 12 years old
April 18, 2009
AGE
Nothing works
I'm sorry, but I think CSM is wrong. None of the characters are good role s. It's all on and off; one moment Nikko's right and the is wrong, then vise versa, then they're right at the same time, then also wrong, etc. There's nothing to take away here. Nobody is really that good of a character. It's kind of hard to explain, but the best way to is to say that the "good guys" aren't really that good.
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Kid, 7 years old
April 18, 2010
AGE
cool never seen it
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Teen, 14 years old
April 10, 2009
AGE
Movie helps you
This movie helps you realize that you can go for what you want and suceed
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Teen, 14 years old
May 22, 2010
AGE
Tweens would probably get into this more then I did . . .
I watched this last night on YTV, which is basically the Canadian version of Nick, and it was okay. Just okay. It kind of reminded me of a worse High School Musical and sequals, and apparently it reminded Common Sense of that too. I like how it had Victoria Justice in it, one of my favourite Nick actors, but I don't think this was her best role at all. I much prefered her in Zoey 101 where she had a bigger role. I actually stopped watching about 3/4 of the way through because it was getting late, and the movie was getting boring, so I didn't get to see the ending, but the beginning and middle were just alright, nothing special except for the pretty great vocals on Courtney and that Indian guy, totally forget his name here! Yeah, it was pretty good, but I wouldn't recommend renting, let your kids watch it on TV by themselves. Tweens would probably find this more appealing, but kids as young as 7 would probably enjoy themselves, and for anyone over 13, it starts to lose appeal- fast.
What other families should know:
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Adult
November 3, 2009
AGE
It's really great shows a lot of good messages. teaches you to be your own person and be yourself no matter what. i think that this is a great family movie especially if your kids like to sing or are really independant. In all this is a great movie and i think that all you haters need to get a life and re-learn what a great movie is. Spectacular was truly Spectacular.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 9 years old
September 18, 2009
AGE
I saw half of this movie and it is really boring! I recommend you watch High School Musical instead.
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Adult
August 21, 2009
AGE
Really good
Really good movie.
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| Studio: | Sony Pictures |
| Director: | Robert Iscove |
| Cast: | Nolan Gerard Funk, Simon Curtis, Tammin Sursok, Victoria Justice |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 93 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | February 16, 2009 |
| DVD release date: | March 31, 2009 |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
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