A Trip To 'The American Mall'
Posted by casey on 07-31-2008
This past weekend I flew to Los Angeles, courtesy of Clean & Clear, to catch the premiere of MTV's new musical endeavor "The American Mall." This is MTV's answer to the monster success Disney has had with its tween TV musicals "High School Musical" and "Camp Rock," and I have to admit I wasn't going into the experience with the highest of expectations.
To my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed the hour and a half of singing, dancing, and lighthearted (and, um, to be expected, embellished) glances at typical teen life. In true "Mall Rats"-style, the movie took place entirely in a mall. While I don't think a shopping center is quite the youth magnet it once was, teens - especially surburbanites - still spend enough time there that it isn't too much of a departure to think of it as a hang out. Well, except for many malls passing ordinances requiring teens to be accompanied by a parent…
The product placement was fairly pervasive. It's filmed inside of a mall, so there was a constant swirl of neon signs grabbing attention in the back and the majority of the scene transitions were sweeping views of Aeropostale and PacSun. Not so subtle was the incorporation of Kira Plastinina, who is obviously one of the movie's biggest backers. Not only did she walk the red carpet (at the movie premiere and on the movie screen), but one of the movie's subplots centered around a daddy's-little-girl who was attempting to launch a line of international boutiques. Sound familiar?
Because every teen musical has to have one, the moral compass of this movie was finding success while remaining true to yourself. And while the movie was squeaky clean - Clean & Clear was one of their biggest sponsors, after all - I had an issue with the way body image was portrayed. Not only was the entire cast of girls itty-bitty, but food deprivation was a reoccurring theme among the "rich girl" mall clique. It was in a completely over-the-top manner, but with eating disorders and body insecurity affecting so many young girls, even the jokiest dialogue ("Do you want to grab lunch?" "Not right now." "When do you eat?" "On Mondays and Wednesdays.") was a little disturbing.
Overall, I'm really looking forward to the movie's MTV debut. As an initial skeptic who could have turned around and watched it again, I think it's going to make a serious splash.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:26 pm
You hit the nail on the head with Kira Plastinina. They gave huge $$$$$$$$$ to be in that film. They they gave more $$$$$$$$$$ to have her on TRL. The question is….do you like her clothes? Are you glad to know who she is??
July 31st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I don't think Kira's clothes are particularly memorable and they don't have a place in my own closet, but I do think she has found a bit of a niche.
I can also say that after talking to her for a few moments on the red carpet, Kira is not that memorable either.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Ha! Funny stuff about Kira. I am one of the writers on THE AMERICAN MALL and I was glad to hear you had such a good time at the premiere the other night!
This is my first movie, so, as you can imagine, I had a really good time too. Yay! Anyway, I have some pretty fun pics from the AMERICAN MALL after party at the Cabana Club on my blog.
If you're interested in seeing them, check out my site at: http://beastandbean.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/american-mall-after-party-the-cabana-club/
Thanks again for your comments on the movie. Hope everyone else digs it as much as you did! :)
September 19th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
i love kira's clothes! can't wait to see the movie!