Picture This (2008 TV Movie) User Reviews

Teen drama limited comedy

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 13 May 2014]

Mandy Gilbert (Ashley Tisdale) lost her mother at 4 and her dad (Kevin Pollak) is clueless. Her close friends are Alexa (Lauren Collins) and Cayenne (Shenae Grimes). Drew Patterson (Robbie Amell) is the hot boy in school. He's from the rich neighborhood of Camelot and she's from Nottingham. He rescues Mandy from drowning and invites her to hang out by the lake. When Drew's mean girlfriend Lisa sees him hugging Mandy, she goes ballistic. Lisa finds Mandy's phone and Mandy's dad catches her in a lie. Drew invites her to his party but her dad grounds her. Cayenne thinks Drew has ulterior motives in the tradition of sacrificing a virgin. The girls lie to her dad, battle Lisa, and goes to the party. Along the way, they have to play in a Battle of the Bands contest and almost get into a major accident.

Firstly I like most of the actors. I think Tisdale has a great comedic touch. On the other hand, this is a run of the mill teen drama. She's playing the bespectacled nerdy girl not in with the cool crowd. It's a lot about how to lie to the parent in the age of cell phones. The comedy isn't that funny. Sometimes it's cute but it's never hilarious. It's not a good high school comedy although there is an attempt at something. On a side note, this is directed by Stephen Herek who made some great movies in the past. I hope he gets better material to work with in the future.

Good movie. Great moral of the story.

[charsie2004 · 6/10 · 3 July 2013]

The parts that ring very, very true make the badly acted bits worthwhile. It's a good twist on the classic Cinderella story with a great message behind it that all parents struggle with--once you've raised your kids properly, at some stage, you have to let go, and often that can avert a lot of the bad behavior from kids acting out.

Loved it, but would have been better if they cast different actors and moved away from the signature Disney Channel-style overacting. Ashley Tisdale's maturity really shines in the scenes between her character and her character's dad (Pollak). I liked that Robbie's character was the sweet, gentlemanly jock from beginning to end, but I wish there had been more of an explanation about why he was with Lisa (Busby) to begin with -- was it because they were expected to be together as top jock and "alpha blond" of the school, did she somehow coerce him, was it because you're expected to have a boy-/girlfriend in high school and Lisa just happened to be the most likely candidate in his social circle?

Also, more specific references to Camelot vs Nottingham would have been nice. It was a good idea that was kind of explained in the beginning, but they just seemed like labels slapped onto the Haves and Have-nots with no particular reason that tied into the rest of the movie.

Overall good, and maybe I'm expecting too much from an hour-and-a-half long TV movie, but I'd love to see a proper remake/sequel.

Not "fabulous".

[jerekra · 5/10 · 16 September 2008]

Going into watching "Picture This" I really had not that high of expectations. Seeing as how it did not get shown at any theatres and instead came out directly to television, I just figured that it would just be another average TV made movie.

The movie is OK. Basically Ashley Tisdale's character gets an opportunity to go to a party with a guy she always liked. Her dad will not let her go though, and he completely is obsessed with controlling her life. So basically she must sneak out to the house and go without her dad finding out.

One thing I liked about this film is that Ashley Tisdale is the lead. I always liked how she portrays her characters on the programs that she is on. Also she is really hot, definitely the hottest Disney channel star right now. As long as she does not have her bangs too long. BUt she looks great in this film and she really does a great acting job. Her character is someone the viewers can relate to. So I think as the lead character she is awesome.

Some flaws though. I do not know why but watching this film reminded me of "Mean Girls". The three bad girls in this film look very similar to the three bad girls in "Mean Girls". THe cover of this film also looks damn similar. So I really think I have seen the supporting female characters before.

Also Tisdale's father in this film is beyond controlling. HE basically buys her a video phone just so he can watch where she is every hour. But the fact that he does this really makes the movie really exciting towards the end when Ashley must fool him into thinking that she is over at her friends house studying.

There are a few parts that are just odd though. It seems like time is slowed down for the events in the film. THey do a lot of stuff on one night that should take more time. It is a movie though. Also the fact that the main reason the guy that Ashley is going to see only wants to go out with her to have sex with her supposedly in the shower? I mean I can see why he would want to do that, but they never really dismiss the idea that this was his intention. Ashley does not let this bug her though.

This film is OK. Not great, not "fabulous", but I have seen a lot worse films that came out straight to television. But I do see why it did not show at movie theatres. Ashley is great though so it is worth seeing for her alone, just not too many times.

So Contrived

[slvrchrfrk16 · 1/10 · 23 July 2008]

This movie was so contrived. All of the characters were stereotypes and the gross product placement was overbearing. There was nothing interesting about Drew's character and it really seemed like the only reason she liked him was because he was cute and popular. They hinted at depth with the photography, but it was never explored and she didn't know he did it until much later in the movie. The girlfriend was the stereotypical popular mean girl and Drew was extremely quick to say he didn't really like her and date someone who was supposedly unpopular (Mandy). But of course, take of the glasses, give her contacts, a nice dress, and a popular phone and all of a sudden she gets noticed. She's All That already did this and did it better. Mandy's relationship with her father was really strange. My father was very overprotective growing up, but this relationship was too extreme. The plot itself was unrealistic. Aside from the phone tag, going into battle of the bands to make money in order to pay a tow company to get a car back, and dressing up like cleaning staff to sneak into a gated community, I was hoping that Mandy would eventually realize that she didn't need some guy that she barely knew to feel better about herself, and she never did. The ending was rushed and there was no clearing of the air between them.

Not what I expected...

[lilclover94 · 1/10 · 16 July 2008]

I really thought this would have been a good movie the sneak peek caught my interest, but when I watched this movie I was disappointed. Everything moved WAY too fast. I mean she got the attention of the guy 15 minutes into the movie. 30 minutes into the movie they were practically together. Also everything in the beginning of the movie everything she wanted suddenly happens and everything falls into place. It is not realistic at all. Another thing is that part in the movie when the "bad" girls are chanting "Drew be one of us...", the main Antagonist of the story suddenly throws up. I question what the hell happened. Also the ending was crap, the dream guy crowns her prom queen, the end. Also don't people vote who the prom queen is? You can't crown a random person. All I could say is that it went too fast and ended too soon. 1 out of 10.

Shows all the reasons why teenagers shouldn't have cars and phones!

[TxMike · 17 October 2008]

Ashley Tisdale, who also was a producer of this movie, stars as Mandie Gilbert, definitely not one of the "in crowd". The cool, rich kids live in the gated subdivision called "Camelot", while she and her friends live in "Nottingham", with the emphasis on "NOT".

Mandy has an ongoing fantasy about the cute boy in school, who also happens to be the star athlete and lives in Camelot, Robbie Amell as Drew Patterson. She tries to get close to him, maybe get noticed, by hanging out in the school natatorium, but she falls and almost drowns, but Drew ends up saving her. Mouth to mouth and all!

So Drew, against all expectations, starts to take an interest in Mandie, and invites her to be his date at his family's own big party of the year. But she deceives her widowed father and he grounds her. She needs to figure out a way to get to the party on Saturday. She must have the help of her two best buds, Shenae Grimes as Cayenne and Lauren Collins as Alexa.

This was a free loan from the library. I expected very little, and my wife and I found it fairly enjoyable, in a silly way. Never for a moment did we believe any of it was realistic, but it was good, silly fun.

SPOILERS: Naturally the mean girl in school wanted Drew for herself so did everything she could to sabotage things, and keep Mandie away from the party. Plus Mandie heard that Drew only wanted to "hump her and dump her", allegedly a Patterson family tradition. But in the end Drew had sincere feelings for Mandie and pulled her out of the crowd to crown her his princess at Senior Prom.

Horrific

[torireadinggeek · 1/10 · 21 May 2016]

This movie was truly horrific. Every inch of it made me cringe. Everything was horrible. This is coming from someone who enjoys bad movies. This one was a whole level of complete useless, meaningless, pain. It leads me to question the actors and crew: why? why are you doing this? Do you realize that everything you say is the most cheesiest string of words in the English film language? I don't get it. And the plot line! Why? What is the point of it? Did someone actually write this in a serious manner? why??? I guess I can admit that there is originality within the plot line because it is a rare to see a plot written so horribly. It's such a useless story line that it is rarely ventured to. So cheers for that, I suppose.

Not bad

[brookenichole-98054 · 6/10 · 31 July 2020]

I used to watch this movie many times when I was little since Ashley Tisdale was in it. Without Ashely Tisdale this movie would have been awful. She brings so much light to the film and makes her character relatable. The other actors/actresses were entertaining. The best friends were great but the mean girls were pointless. I honestly thought they weren't needed for the movie. The dad was insane and made me lose my mind. He was so controlling that it went over the top. The love interest definitely needed some work but I really liked him. The performance in the middle of the movie was terrific and made me laugh. There's moments where it's super enjoyable and moments where it's super weird. Overall, it's fun and won't disappoint.

Nonsense

[kittykatgirl500 · 1/10 · 31 March 2022]

Truly a nonsense movie with no plot payoff and a bunch of loose ends. It has the classic ~uglies vs pretties~ vying for the prize (the hottie boy) but it's executed poorly.

Awful

[Stasha1000 · 2/10 · 16 July 2008]

This movie is horrible! Drew's character for instance is not even close to being realistic, I have never meet a guy who acts like him at all! It's so fake, the things he says, his actions, its stupid.

Also as much as I adore Paige and Darcy from Degrassi, there characters were kind of dumb too, especially when Paige goes "I could write a million songs about him and never even scratch the surface". Yep, who says that.

The acting is pretty decent expect for Drew and the three antagonists in the story, they just suck in general. And to finish it off, it has the worst ending in a movie I have ever seen, and is very explanatory.

Quite Good! :)

[tasha_223 · 8/10 · 9 August 2008]

I read reviews of this movie and thought it was going to be a let down-unfunny, boring and pathetic, just like all the reviews had said But actually upon viewing it, I happened to think it was rather good actually. A little bit predictable in places but I think well worth seeing. I see striking similarities between Picture this and Sleepover but I though it was a pretty good movie. Not the best I have ever seen but quiet high on the contender list! Good for a great night in and having a real laugh. Some great acting from Ashley Tisdale and Robbie Amell! Hsving brought this in the USA as it is not out where I live yet I feel that when this comes home to me this will be a popular film!

Horrible

[sonrebhi · 2/10 · 9 August 2008]

This movie was dreadful. When I saw the preview I thought "This looks really good!" then when I watched it, it was just lame. For one, the actors seemed really unrealistic. Drew had no personality, and he fell for her RIGHT Away when she had done NOTHING at all. It was like, um... okay so... he fell for her Randomly at this time even though she's been in his school for a long time? It just didn't make sense. There was NO Theme to the movie (Every movie NEEDS a Theme for it to be good, like a message to the movie; The POINT to watching it) and so I thought it was the most boring movie I have watched ever. However, when watching it, I thought "hey, maybe it'll get better..." and so I watched on and on and on. I waited for the ending. I ACTUALLY thought she was DREAMING in the end! It was just so unrealistic and stupid. To conclude it, Picture This was a Waste of my time and possibly to any other people who have watched it.

Rather Disappointing

[sauravtopper · 3/10 · 20 July 2008]

The only reason why I even wanted to see this movie is cause of Ashley Tisdale, being a big fan of her's, and frankly from the promos i had a feeling this movie would be good but i was wrong... the movie was outright boring, trying to bank on a rather cheesy plot, the movie tries to make a vague attempt at comedy frankly, i didn't find any of the scenes genuinely funny at all, it was more like a "been there done(seen/heard) that" kinda story. I certainly didn't like the way the movie started, felt it jump started instead of having a rather gradual beginning, maybe a little more scoop on Mandy's history or her life at school might have been better. The "Video Phone" was highlighted a bit too much honestly and one could even consider the movie being a commercial for the phone rather... my only favorite moment in the entire movie was when Ashley sang "Shadows of the Night", Ashley is well the only best thing bout the movie, she did a rather remarkable job looking like a nerd and pretty cute too... the supporting cast was good though a disappointing plot really overshadowed their performance, I'll admit though i like her better playing Sharpay or Maddie rather than Mandy, n even though she admitted being able to relate herself to the character very much she does better otherwise... Well this was her first movie as a leading lady n she definitely has a long long way to go... ill keep my eyes open for the day she really "Bops to the Top"..

A volatile and disgusting movie.

[mjjmolina · 4/10 · 17 February 2021]

A deplorable movie about a young woman who violates her father's trust and makes an adventure out of being deceitful. Among her many transgressions she jeopardizes the jobs of people, endangers the lives of innocent people, and inexplicably dupes a crowd of people to assist in her mendacity. The movie is full of other pedestrian stereotypes, such as the evil queen bee, the overprotective father, and the impossibly perfect love interest. The movie also treats the viewer with implications of exposing a toddler to inappropriate and graphic material and a feminist who abuses her husband's wallet, although he might be an ex-husband that doesn't excuse her comment. Some reading this review will wonder if we saw the same movie. I assure you, these scenes are in the movie if you pay attention.

Cute and funny

[vchimpanzee · 14 May 2013]

Mandy is not one of the popular girls. She doesn't live in a gated community like so many of the students at her high school. She supposedly looks like a nerd to others, but even with the glasses, she doesn't to me. And her architect father Tom, who has had to raise Mandy on his own since her mother died when Mandy was little, is more than a little overprotective.

On her eighteenth birthday, Mandy gets contacts to replace her glasses, and a phone that can send videos--not because she needed one to be like the others, but so he can spy on her! Mandy likes Drew, the hot guy at school, and after she falls in the pool and he rescues her, he likes her too. And he invites her to the party of the year. But he's still with Lisa, who is evil and hates Mandy; now she has a real reason to.

When Mandy drops her phone and Lisa finds it while Mandy is doing something her father would not approve of, that's it. Mandy is grounded. But will she let that stop her? No! With the help of Alexa and Cayenne, and a claim that she has to study with Alexa, Mandy really manages to put one over on her father.

Tom has his own problems; while checking in with Mandy every half-hour on her video phone while she is "studying", he must baby-sit the bratty son of his sister Marsha, who has an attitude.

And no matter what obstacles she faces (including more physical comedy, and more problems caused by Lisa), you just know Mandy will reach her goal!

This is nothing more than a cute teen comedy, though the deceptions are brilliantly executed and fun to watch. And there are plenty of surreal nightmares that make this at least a little more than fluff. The actor playing a furniture salesman is quite good. Kevin Pollak is too good-natured to come across as big brother, but definitely overprotective.

There's no quality acting here by the usual definition, but for what this is, everyone does a good job. Ashley is quite good-looking, even in the nerdy glasses, and really hot in the dress she eventually wears.

Ashley does sing, but it's not my kind of music at all. There is pleasant background music, but most of what is called music in this movie doesn't really qualify as music in my opinion. But I'm closer to Tom's age than Mandy's, and they didn't make this movie for me.

Even after being cleaned up for TV, this movie falls just short of family fare. It's fine for older children, but after cleanup, even some young kids could watch.

It's actually pretty good.

Sooo boring

[biswashok · 1/10 · 28 July 2021]

Ahhhh..its a slow movie.btw, it put me to sleep..so thanks for that.

Pollak monitors Tisdale for life.

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 27 May 2012]

Americans Kevin Pollak and Ashley Tisdale play father and daughter in a Canadian production about an incredibly overprotective father who can't see anything else but daddy's little girl in front of him. Lots of fathers are like that, but Pollak has taken this to exponential heights.

Poor Ashley is also crushing out big time on the high school rich boy king Robie Amell. And that is getting his mean teen queen girl friend Cindy Busby, a witch if there ever was one all uptight. When Amell invites Ashley to his party, THE gathering of her high school, Busby declares war on Tisdale and fights real dirty.

I really could not buy Pollak as such an overprotective dad. Juveniles will probably like picture this, but adults will not think much of it. Adults over 18.

Underrated teen comedy starring Ashley Tisdale

[lisafordeay · 5/10 · 5 February 2024]

Picture This is a 2008 romantic teen comedy starring Ashley Tissdale,Cindy Busey,Robbie Atwell,Shenae Grimes and Kevin Pollack.

Directed by Stephen Herrick(101 Dalmatians) the story follows a young nerdy girl named Maddie(Tisdale)who is in love with a popular quarterback(Atwell). Problems arise however when Maddie's dad grounds her and so she decides to sneak out of her home and have some girl time with her girlfriends and win the heart of her crush. Will her father find out that Maddie lied to him?.

Overall it was very underrated. If your a fan of Ashley Tisdale's then you might like it.

5/10.

Not a bad movie at all.

[Tenchi64589 · 8/10 · 14 July 2008]

Most people would just write a movie like this off as a waste of time. As for me, I actually gave this one a shot and watched 'til the very end.

I've gotta say that this is definitely a step up from the last ABC Family movie I watched, and that was three years ago: no lame stereotypes, no horrid acting, and it was very much how you would picture (no pun intended) a father-daughter relationship... the ending couldn't have been any better either... oh, and let's not forget that two cast members of Degrassi were also in this movie... that's good too.

My only real problems came in the form of the insufferable antagonists... other than that, this was very well done.

On to my trademark verdict: I give it a modest 8 out of a possible 10.

The act sulking was painful.

[emdat182 · 1/10 · 2 November 2018]

It was all terrible but the sulking was easily the worst.

Worst movie on Netflix.

Ashley Tisdale Grows Up

[UnusualYou · 9/10 · 17 July 2008]

Well me being of course a Ashley Tisdale fan I had to tune in to watch Picture this. Well it was very good. The acting was very good. Some parts I have to admit were a little cheesy and I find the fact that the cell phone had live streaming video (maybe it does that i don't know) was cheesy but hey its a movie and it added to the plot. And also the movie showed important teen lessons and issues which I think is very good. And also Ashley Tisdale can branch out and stop doing Disney flicks. It is a good start for her to have a successful movie career. So overall Picture this was a charming, funny, and sometimes dramatic film that was excellent and I think in my opinion that people should see this movie because it was very good, not the best but good.

One of the greatest teen movie, especially on TV

[dc_hsm_1992 · 8/10 · 15 July 2008]

This movie is so different from any teen movie I have watched and different in a good way. In Picture this!, Mandy just want to be somebody to Drew to find a Love that she have never had ('coz she's 18)then she's find out how important friendship is. And another thing Picture this transfer to us is Dad - Daughter relationship but most of teen movie didn't and I think it's very important thing if a movie is about teen age. In a word Picture this is a good picture for love, friend, family, hope and trying of the teenagers. I give 8/10 (I'm not giving 9 or 10 'coz I think nothing's perfect). And also Picture this is a only teen movie I think really good after Mean girls (2004, which starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams).

This movie absolutely broke me

[zgwwvktjz · 10/10 · 17 August 2022]

This movie took me for a RIDE. It's as if the writers tried to shove in every daydream of a teen girl. It's because of this that I love this movie. I had absolutely no clue where it was going at any point. It's hilarious to see which themes they try to lean into, making it all the more unpredictable. Watch this movie, with friends, and inebriated and you will have an incredible time.

I almost didn't watch this movie...

[repoed2 · 8/10 · 16 July 2008]

When I first saw the Ads for this film, I though "Ugh! Another one?!?!" in reference to the dump truck full of lame TV movies/shows that ABC has thrown our way since it began, but I REALLY enjoyed this movie! Ashley Tisdale left her annoying, ditsy, predictable Sharpay Evans persona somewhere else and played a very convincing role in this film (a not-so-popular High School Senior). I REALLY enjoyed watching her in this film. Her acting was really good, she didn't look like a 22 year old woman playing a 15 year old girl like she does in "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", and her hair finally didn't look like a horrible weave...

My FAVORITE part of this movie was Shenae Grimes and Lauren Collins, both regular cast members of The-N's "Degrassi-The Next Generation" who both brought the wit and charm they have on Degrassi, but played completely different characters. Both actresses were very entertaining, funny, and really made me believe that they and Ashley Tisdale were friends.

The plot was slightly predictable, but really, what plot isn't? There were moments in which I was pretty lost, and I had to watch the 2nd airing of the film to understand other parts of it. Other then that, the plot was entertaining, fun, and a relief from ABC Family's usual steaming crap....

I do believe that the scene in which Mandy (Tisdale), Alexa (Collins), and Cayenne (Grimes) were preforming a musical number was just a way to showcase Ashley's singing career, but it didn't make me cringe, so it's all good.

This film may not be Oscar Worthy, but it is by far one of the best Made-For-TV movies I've ever seen, I WOULD go and see this in a movie theater, and I recommend it.

About It

[osama_nasir_kamil · 10/10 · 26 July 2008]

This movie is extremely good it changes Ashley to higher level to PG-13 and displays her as a sensitive shy girl who struggles hard to achieve her goal with a lot of effort and problems she had face and overcoming the cruel vicious girls.So i really enjoyed the movie so i give it 9.5/10.And the pool scene was the best and the song was gr8 "Shadows Of The Night".I have bought the DVD and watched the movie twice with my family and friends and i really enjoyed it even wathching it again it was nice to see ash with new cast and crew i like all of u to buy the DVD those of don't have Abc channel the next premier is in august so catch it and enjoy the movie plus buy the DVD too!!!I live in Pakistan still i manage to see it!! So u guys are quite close to her.