If it is a theatrical release, you can pretty much be certain that anything coming from Disney will be superb. However, Disney's television releases range from superb down to pure crap. I'm happy to say that, while "Lemonade Mouth" is not up to the theatrical standards, it nonetheless lands closer to the superb end of the scale than the pure crap end. The story and screen-play were very good. The acting was well done. And, the music was terrific. Overall, the movie was enjoyable, and I would recommend it to anyone. That being said, I do have a few nits to pick.
SPOILER WARNING - If you don't want spoilers, don't read beyond this line.
Message: The general message seems to be, "Stand up for what you believe." This is a "Fight the system." movie, and I frankly don't agree with the way the message was presented. My parents taught me to stand up for what I believe, but they added a couple things to that. First, they taught me to be fair, keep an open mind, and hear the other side out before going to the mattresses over something. And, though the secretary suggested they take the matter up with the principle, they chose instead to surprise the principle by using their music spot at the school dance to stage a major protest. When they're dressed down for their actions, one of them complains that he "shut us down". Unfortunately, the principle doesn't take the opportunity to point out that what he shut down was them "shouting him down". The second thing my parents added was that I should pick my battles, that I should carefully decide if the issue is really important enough to make a fuss over. And, in this case, the removal of a lemonade machine seems like a poor choice of battles. Disney's audience is children, and I don't really think they should be suggesting to their audience that it is okay to take a stand without at least hearing the other side out, or that it is noble to make a huge stink over relatively inconsequential matters.
Continuity: There were a few continuity issues, but one was really glaring. The band goes to a pizza place to decide whether they'll continue performing outside of school. It is revealed in the pizza place that the pizzeria owner wants to book them to perform there. Some of the characters decide they don't want to do it and walk out, with the others chasing after them. They turn around and are amazed to see their band pictured on an enormous billboard mounted to the top of the pizzeria. ... What? They didn't see that huge sign when the went IN to the pizza joint? C'mon! That humongous thing wasn't just thrown up while they were eating. Heck! When they left, their backs were to the sign. They had to turn around to see it. THEN they notice it. ...
Music continuity: Several times, certain instruments could be heard playing, but the performer playing that instrument was doing something else. This sort of thing happens all the time, since the people producing movies expect the audience not to notice such things. (Examples: I could hear the base line in "She's So Gone" when the base player was doing only vocals, and the vocalist was playing a second guitar rather than the base. Keyboards could be heard during the pianist's rap sequence in "Determinate" and "Breakthrough" while his keyboard was slung over his back. We had base again in "Breakthrough" when the base player was solely on vocals. And, again in "Breakthrough", the drummer is standing and pointing instead of playing the drums, while you can clearly hear the drums playing.)
Spawned music videos: This isn't a problem with the movie, but rather with the hype. Disney spawned music videos from three of the songs in Lemonade Mouth. "Somebody", a song that showcases Bridgit Mendler was made into at least two different music videos. The "Breakthrough" and "Determinate" music videos were taken straight from the movie, and seem to largely showcase the group as a whole. What's missing is the "She's So Gone" music video. Bridgit Mendler is a very talented singer, but from what I saw, Naomi Scott is a strong singer, too. And, "She's So Gone" was my favorite song in the movie. And, that particular scene was well choreographed and would have made an excellent video. Do they not want to promote Naomi Scott? Or, are they only showing that video in the UK?
SPOILER WARNING - If you don't want spoilers, don't read beyond this line.
Message: The general message seems to be, "Stand up for what you believe." This is a "Fight the system." movie, and I frankly don't agree with the way the message was presented. My parents taught me to stand up for what I believe, but they added a couple things to that. First, they taught me to be fair, keep an open mind, and hear the other side out before going to the mattresses over something. And, though the secretary suggested they take the matter up with the principle, they chose instead to surprise the principle by using their music spot at the school dance to stage a major protest. When they're dressed down for their actions, one of them complains that he "shut us down". Unfortunately, the principle doesn't take the opportunity to point out that what he shut down was them "shouting him down". The second thing my parents added was that I should pick my battles, that I should carefully decide if the issue is really important enough to make a fuss over. And, in this case, the removal of a lemonade machine seems like a poor choice of battles. Disney's audience is children, and I don't really think they should be suggesting to their audience that it is okay to take a stand without at least hearing the other side out, or that it is noble to make a huge stink over relatively inconsequential matters.
Continuity: There were a few continuity issues, but one was really glaring. The band goes to a pizza place to decide whether they'll continue performing outside of school. It is revealed in the pizza place that the pizzeria owner wants to book them to perform there. Some of the characters decide they don't want to do it and walk out, with the others chasing after them. They turn around and are amazed to see their band pictured on an enormous billboard mounted to the top of the pizzeria. ... What? They didn't see that huge sign when the went IN to the pizza joint? C'mon! That humongous thing wasn't just thrown up while they were eating. Heck! When they left, their backs were to the sign. They had to turn around to see it. THEN they notice it. ...
Music continuity: Several times, certain instruments could be heard playing, but the performer playing that instrument was doing something else. This sort of thing happens all the time, since the people producing movies expect the audience not to notice such things. (Examples: I could hear the base line in "She's So Gone" when the base player was doing only vocals, and the vocalist was playing a second guitar rather than the base. Keyboards could be heard during the pianist's rap sequence in "Determinate" and "Breakthrough" while his keyboard was slung over his back. We had base again in "Breakthrough" when the base player was solely on vocals. And, again in "Breakthrough", the drummer is standing and pointing instead of playing the drums, while you can clearly hear the drums playing.)
Spawned music videos: This isn't a problem with the movie, but rather with the hype. Disney spawned music videos from three of the songs in Lemonade Mouth. "Somebody", a song that showcases Bridgit Mendler was made into at least two different music videos. The "Breakthrough" and "Determinate" music videos were taken straight from the movie, and seem to largely showcase the group as a whole. What's missing is the "She's So Gone" music video. Bridgit Mendler is a very talented singer, but from what I saw, Naomi Scott is a strong singer, too. And, "She's So Gone" was my favorite song in the movie. And, that particular scene was well choreographed and would have made an excellent video. Do they not want to promote Naomi Scott? Or, are they only showing that video in the UK?