Everyone has to survive their first day of high school - even superheroes, or superhero hopefuls and wannabes. A good pedigree can help one gain acceptance in high school , too - like, for instance, if your Mom and Dad happen to be the top superheroes of the time - but ultimately, it all comes down to the individual. According to Mom and Dad, everyone is super, but even in the high school superhero world, it turns out some are more super than others.
This is the theme that is visited in Disney's latest film, Sky High, starring Michael Angarano, as superhero hopeful Will Stronghold; and Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston as his parents, The Commander and Jetstream. Teenage angst abounds and social castes are revisited in this gentle parody of both the super hero and high school film genre.
Directed by Mike Mitchell and with a screenplay by Paul Hernandez, Mark McCorkle and Robert Schooley, this film offers some good laughs: like when Will brings his new girlfriend home, only to have the dad ask him, "You're not that guy with the six arms, are you?" (unfortunately, I think I was the only one in the theatre who actually laughed out loud at this one - but it was funny!). The story was well-paced and offered lots of suspense - I observed one young lady near us literally sitting on the edge of her seat.
For all you parents out there, the nostalgia factor will be very high. From the eighties music - all covers (one notable cover is a Styx song, done by Tribe - a band who happens to be fronted by the absolutely gorgeous Steven Strait, who plays Will's arch-enemy Warren Peace in the film), to the blasts from our TV past: Wonder Woman Lynda Carter appears as the school's principal, Cloris Leachman as the school nurse and Kids in the Hall Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald - hilarious as mostly useless, super-powered teachers. Most notable, of course, is Kurt Russell, originally famous as Disney's teen heartthrob of the late '60s - early '70s, who has now come full circle to play the ambitious, but loving parent. Bruce Campbell, of Evil Dead fame, is also excellent as an obnoxious gym coach.
The film opened July 29 and finished the first weekend in third place, raking in 14.5 million (behind the summer hit The Wedding Crashers). Rated PG for no reason, this is a good summer family show.
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