Na Trilha da Fama

RAISE YOUR VOICE *** The theme of a young woman singer who travels to Los Angeles to try for a post-secondary music scholarship from a prestigious summer music school gets ho-hum treatment from director Sean McNamara and scripter Sam Schreiber. And it's a shame that the cute, miscast Hilary Duff doesn't have the singing talents to play the young outstanding vocalist in the making, who goes to the school against her over-protective father's wishes. As she is the "star" at the school, she gets the four-minute musical finalé while the other competitors only get 15 seconds of silver screen moments when everyone ultimately competes for the reward, go figure! Plot holes and inconsistencies abound, but its heart is in the right place.

This film did shock me in some respect. I expected it to be extremely cheesy (more so than what it was!) The music in it fitted so well. and the acting was actually at times believable (apart from the guy who played Hilary duff's dad in the film) He just wasn't right for any of the hospital scenes.

One thing that did disappoint me was the way after the crash the film used fade in/outs to get the point across that the brother had died, there was a funeral and that the friends didn't know how to act around her now. The film should of explored that a bit more rather than comment &fade out.

Overall i thought it was good. I've actually watched it more than once, but its mainly for the reason of the music and the type of instruments.

I liked the movie. It was very predictable and a bit sappy. That I could excuse. It's just incredibly unbelievable because this movie showed Hilary Duffs lack of vocal ability. I enjoy her songs but I just think that she was not of the same caliber that anyone real teen in a performing art's school would be. Duff's precious as can be in a world where you really don't need to be able to sing well to sell a record. It would have been better if they had her dubbed over entirely as opposed to just the "high" notes she couldn't hit. Once you get past that, it's a cute movie. It has an excellent cast to sell it and does just about enough to holds one attention. I can't completely trash it because I did sit through the whole movie wondering about it's outcome.

Don't get me wrong, I really love Hilary duff's movies, music and everything. But her acting in this movie specifically is really bad. Anyway, is the kind of movie that I would've loved in that moment. I have to admit I'm obsessed with the last song "Someone's watching over me".

Hilary Duff stars as Terri Fletcher, a 16-year-old anxious to explore her musical talent at a performing arts academy in L.A. for the summer. After a little persuasion, she makes it there, and the movie is more or less about her exploits therein.

The film starts well; the Three Days Grace concert helps set the musical tone for the movie. That was an unexpected surprise, although I suppose I'm partially biased since I like the band.

A beautiful performance by Hilary Duff. I am more and more impressed with her with every movie I see her in. She brought me to tears twice in the first twenty minutes of the movie. I was impressed by the colorful array of teens at the school, even if they were chosen primarily to make it believable that they're in L.A. I appreciated that none of the teens were written to fulfill any particular stereotype and all seemed like real people, for stereotypes are a sore spot for me, as my teen years were not all that long ago.

I loved the scenes with Denise playing the violin; again, very refreshing and stylistic. John Corbett turns in a innovative performance as a progressive music teacher, breathing a little more life into the film.

The direction really helps to further the movie along, as it is pretty anti-climatic. The 'unwanted kiss' was a bit predictable, however an element of predictability is generally assumed in movies of this persuasion. The make-out scene was completely unnecessary and should've been cut.

And it should be noted that the film is more or less like a Crossroads (2000) for a slightly younger generation, but despite that, it still maintains its own life.

I absolutely love the last song in the film—that was the perfect song for the theme of the movie. And I don't care what anyone says, Hilary Duff is a true performer, even if she isn't that great of a singer. She just always has this glow about her, and no matter how I feel, seeing her perform always makes me smile, and that's something to be commended.

VERDICT: Very enjoyable musical film despite its predictability. Recommended to anyone with kids, who's young at heart, who likes Hilary Duff, or just needs a good smile, but be forewarned—you might get a little teary-eyed before that smile reaches your lips.

6.5 out of 10.0