"Lying about who you are and refusing to let your awesomeness shine are big Disney no-no's. (Big ironic Disney no-no's, considering Hannah Montana is about a girl who lies about her superstar alter ego, pretending instead to be average.) The likable High School Musical was all about Troy and Gabriella's brave decisions — seriously, they did seem brave — to be true to themselves, ignore their respective cliques, and sing. The strange and objectionable thing about Camp Rock's morality tale is that no one makes an outright decision to be brave, to be better. Mitchie admits her mom is the cook only because she's cornered, and Mean Girl gets sweeter only because she flubs her big routine. Humiliation shouldn't be the motivating factor for self-improvement, but the script takes myriad such shortcuts: Shane proves he's not a jerk because he helps a clumsy drummer dance. Mitchie and Shane launch a romance in which neither says anything charming but they both laugh like they did (though Joe Jonas admittedly gives Zac Efron a run in the chaste-soulful-stare department) Certainly, these Disney concoctions tend to be broad-stroked — they're a lively bridge between cartoons and Gossip Girl. But Camp Rock is so rigidly formulaic, so unremarkable, that by the time the cast sings its finale,''We Rock ,'' it's hard to agree. C"re a lively bridge between cartoons and Gossip Girl. But Camp Rock is so rigidly formulaic, so unremarkable, that by the time the cast sings its finale,''We Rock,'' it's hard to agree. C”re a lively bridge between cartoons and Gossip Girl. But Camp Rock is so rigidly formulaic, so unremarkable, that by the time the cast sings its finale,''We Rock,'' it's hard to agree. C”
——By Gillian Flynn
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