Read It and Weep

When i sat down on my friend's couch with a bowl of ice cream & turned the TV on, i never expected to find a new favorite movie. Read It and Weep is, in my book, one of the finest of all DCOM movies (and lets me honest, Disney has been feeding us a lot of trash recently). i thought the plot, though predictable, was funny, honest, and amusing. it had this sweet and sour feel, like you cant decide whether you want to hug the characters or smack them. it really expressed the ups and downs of popularity and fame, as well of the hardships of high school. and nick whitaker's singing ("Lenny" was his name, in the movie) blew me away, & made me want to know if he really sings and/or plays in the real world (i would buy his album!).

If you're looking for a deep, thought-provoking, lets-ponder-the-universe type of movie, keep looking. in fact, what made you think you could find that on the Disney channel anyway?? try USA, TNT, or Court TV.

But if what you want is a fun, hilarious, quite nearly tear-jerking movie that makes your heart bubble and your sides ache, look no further.

You've found it in Read It and Weep. -Krista C.

For as long as I can remember, I've been addicted to Disney movies whether they were animated or on the Disney Channel. I remember waiting every month for the latest Disney Channel film to premiere and throughly enjoying each new film. Though I cannot pin-point exactly when it started happening but slowly Disney Channel movies began taking a turn for the worst and I stopped watching them as I grew older; no doubt they were still entertaining for little kids but one of the things I always enjoyed (and still do) about Disney is that they masterfully appeal to both children and adults, not to mention those inbetween. The first Disney Channel movie I watched in as long as I can remember was "High School Musical" and my faith in the channel was instantly renewed. But this review is not about "High School Musical", but about Disney's latest film "Read It and Weep," the first Disney Channel film since "HSM" that actually caught my attention.

"Read It and Weep" follows the (mis)adventures of a high school freshmen, Jamie, who is always on the outside looking in. True, she's got three great friends, a cool but strange older brother and loving parents but Jamie wants something more. She wants the hottest boy in school, Marco, to notice her and wants to be able to stand up against Sawyer and her gang of "Populars" for once. But, seeing as Jamie will never be able to get up the guts to do these things, she creates the character Is to live out these wishes for her. Is (short for Isabelle) is the girl that every other girl wants to be and every guy wants to date; in short, Is is perfect. Not only can Is climb the rope in gym class and get the guy, but she can also "zap" away any problem that gets in her way. Accidentally, Jamie turns in the story of Is to her English teacher and the "novel" ends up being published in the school newspaper because making it all the way to the Bestseller list. Suddenly Jamie (or rather, Is) finds herself sky-rocketing in popularity; Sawyer and the "Populars" actually want to be friends with her and Marcco is starting to look her way. But slowly, things start to get out of control, especially when Is begins to manifest herself as a more permanent part of Jamie's life and prompt Jamie to wonder how much of Is is just a character and how much of Is is in herself. Jamie faces the age-old dilemma of choosing between what she thinks she wants and what made her happy before, leaving a good message for all tweens who watch the film.

As an 18-year-old, I found certain things about the film bothersome that wouldn't even enter the mind of the tweens and younger children who watch it, so I know I'm simply nitpicking. The fact that Jamie's novel is so successful in such a short time is highly impossible, though enviable, but the plot is bearable given the fact that it's a light-hearted kid's film and the intended audience wouldn't care too much about all the steps it takes to earning that sort of career and popularity. The story is cute (based upon the pre-teen novel "How my Private Journal Become a Best Seller -sorry if that's not the exact title) and the characters are warm, though Jamie is slightly obnoxious at times. The real winner of the story, however, is Is (played by Danielle Panabaker, Kay's older sister) who doesn't get as much screen time as she should. Panabaker Sr. plays her character with a comfortable ease, no doubt feeding off the fact that she's used to upstanding her younger sis (though Kay has a promising career in front of her in the children's movie set, if I'm not mistaken) and is enjoyable the entire time.

For the intended audience, "Read It and Weep" offers a very important lesson: you don't need to be superhuman to be happy and content. Being yourself is just as fine as being like Is. While most children's films will force their messages down the throats of the kids watching, "Read It" manages to work the meaning into the story without making it painfully obvious.

As with any children's movie, the story is sub duded, written for a child to understand and enjoy (though this is one of the first Disney Channel films I remember where two of the characters actually kiss; there was only a peck on the check in "HSM." The little romance between Jamie and her background best guy friend was more then enough to keep me interested) but still manages to capture the attention of any age group. Even at the age of 18, I found the movie adorable and entertaining, something I would watch again given the chance.

While "Read It and Weep" is no "High School Musical", it is certainly a movie to stand with "HSM" when it comes to turning around the quality of Disney Channel movies. If Disney continues to make films like "Read It and Weep", which smartly appeal to kids, teenagers and older teens like myself, then they were be right back on track with the old films they used to make "back in the day." "Read It and Weep" certainly deserves a viewing, no matter your age and, if nothing else, will leave you with a hint of a smile on your face.

Okay, so I just watched this movie on Disney channel and I think it was pretty awesome. Normally, I don't like Disney channel movies, but this one is the best I've seen. It left an impact on me. It teaches you to just be yourself and don't let anybody get to you. Be yourself and you'll do fine. This movie even almost made me cry and I hardly ever cry, so for it to actually do that is pretty amazing. It left me shaking and only the really good movies with great meanings do that to me. I really liked that song "Outside Looking In" By: Jordan Pruitt. I also like the song her brother sang at the end. Does anybody know if it's a real song (as in is it out in stores)? And how I can find it? I really want to listen to it again. Oh and I thought Nick Whitaker (The guy who plays her brother) is quite cute. This movie is certainly going in my favorites and I can't wait to watch it again tomorrow. What's your opinion on it?

The Panabaker Sisters Kay and Danielle play a high school novelist and her creation. Their film Read It And Weep shows what happens when your creation starts running and ruining your life.

Kay Panabaker is a freshman in high school with all the angst therein just trying to find your place. She's really treated bad by Allison Scagliotti the head cheerleader and mean girl. Her two friends are also some oddballs played by Alexandra Krosney and Marquise Brown are artists and activists and go in for causes like saving the whales.

Kay is a writer and diarist. She's written a diary in the form of a novel with characters modeled on the people she knows in school. When it accidentally gets published Panabaker is a celebrity.

Her sister Danielle plays the diarist and heroine Isabella and she becomes alive like Dr. Jekyll's Mr. Hyde and takes over. In fact the classic story is referenced.

The Panabaker sisters do all right in this Disney comedy. Kay gets to choose between faithful Jason Dolley and hunk Chad Broskey.

It's a Disney film, who do you think?

Read It and Weep (2006) tries to package elements of 1996's "Harriet the Spy" into an episode of "Naturally Sadie" and then throws in the standard "teenage girl's upward social mobility causes her to neglect her best friends". This is one of those movies that give film producer's anxiety attacks about their job security. It not only looks good on paper (the book from which it was adapted is excellent) but it is very well executed. Good songs, Kay Panabaker has an effortless charm and does a slick voice-over narration, the acting for the camera direction is excellent (even getting a nice performance from Jason Dolley-which will strike anyone who has seen him on "Corey in the House" as quite an achievement), and the budget was large enough for professional production design.

So why is the whole less than the sum of its parts? And why did this movie fail to generate any real reaction despite an aggressive promotional campaign on the Disney Channel? My guess is that when all is said and done the thing just doesn't have any bite, having had the book's more realistic and controversial elements stripped out for the adaptation. Couple that with the fact that the movie's structure sends the wrong message; heroine Jamie Bartlett is perfectly fine with her celebrity status and unconcerned about blowing off her friends until she overreaches and her new world begins to fall apart. It is not the shallowness of her new world that she finds objectionable but the fact that she has soon alienated everyone she has been trying to impress.

Then there is fact that none (absolutely zero) of the movie's comedy elements are humorous. It's not meant to be a comedy but the producers have clearly inserted stuff (the pizza selections for example) only for their comic qualities. Unfortunately none of this stuff is even remotely funny.

Finally there is the whole imaginary alter ego thing (Kay's older sister Danielle), a character who pops in and out of countless scenes as a kind of counterpoint to the voice-over commentary. Ultimately this adds nothing to the story and the repositioning of the character with each sentence is genuinely irritating. If they had to go with this kind of thing it would have been better to have the competing angel and devil whispering in her ear. The reason being that the alter ego thing is too close to actual schizophrenia; not the mentally stable heroine role model Disney should be showcasing to an unsuspecting preteen market.

High school sophomore Jamie Bartlett (Kay Panabaker, "Phil of the Future") has three semi geek friends (who would only be geeks in a teen movie), and documents her life in a journal- the names are changed to protect the innocent. The journal is accidentally turned in as a school assignment and then published and quickly becomes a bestseller. Jamie is plunged into the life of a big-time celebrity and elevated to the top of the school's social hierarchy.

Although it should be obvious that the characters in her journal have real-life in-school counterparts, no one seems to notice or to particularly care. Then during a talk show interview Jamie slips up and reveals that the journal's villainess is based on new friend and school queen bee Sawyer Sullivan (Allison Scagliotti-Smith). Since this should have already been clear to everyone, the viewer must work to suspend disbelief as Jamie's adoring classmates turn against her for the nasty characterizations in her journal.

The DVD (and the Disney Channel broadcasts) are in 4:3. The DVD has two featurettes. "Making of Read It and Weep" (4:30) talks about making the movie. The second featurette focuses on which cast members keep journals and on the Panabaker sisters discussing their careers from the perspective of sisters.

There is also a Jordan Pruitt two-minute video of her singing "Outside Looking In". The music video interweaves various types of students taking class photos with the song about fitting in.

The "Read It and Weep" premise needs a better treatment but the movie should still be enjoyable for many in the middle school crowd; especially if they are crushing on one or more of the actors. There is little that is worth the interest and attention of younger or older viewers.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.