REVIEW: Fun, moving 'Hannah' surprises skeptics

As the lights in the theater dimmed and the screen came to life for "Hannah Montana: The Movie," I once again ran over the litany I'd been practicing in my head all day long: "Think like a 12-year-old girl, think like a 12-year-old girl." Turns out, my recitations were hardly necessary.

"Hannah Montana: The Movie" is a common story told uncommonly well. Be you 12 or 35, the movie just plain works.

Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) has forgotten the reason she created Hannah Montana in the first place. Intent on ensuring she could still have a normal, uncomplicated teenage life, Miley and her father Robby Ray (Billy Ray Cyrus) came up with the idea of a songstress alter ego.

Only Miley's best friends know her secret. (Sure, anyone with half a brain can tell that Miley and Hannah are the same girl, but if simply putting on a pair of glasses throws everyone off Superman's scent, surely we can cut this girl some slack.) Problem is, Miley has started to believe all the spin her publicist Vita (Vanessa Williams) has been saying about her, and when she begins choosing Hannah over her commitments to her family and friends, her father decides it's time for a "Hannah detox."

Tricking Miley into thinking she's bound for a performance in New York City, Robby Ray has their private jet diverted to their hometown of Crowley Corners, Tenn. Needless to say, Miley is not pleased.

Of course, a dashing young cowboy (Lucas Till) appears to make her decision a lot more difficult. (No doubt about it, Miley is all grown up.) Miley's double life becomes even more complicated when Hannah is enlisted to sing in a benefit concert to save Crowley Corners from greedy developers, and a British tabloid (is there any other kind?), intent on discovering her secret, begins sniffing around. Suddenly it's all more than Miley/Hannah can handle.

"Hannah Montana: The Movie" could have been thrown together overnight, recycled on an assembly line from pre-existing materials without any interest in artistry or craft. We know that because almost every movie of this kind has been done in that way.

But what defies audience and, I dare say, more than a few critics' expectations, is that "Hannah Montana" has been made with real heart and creativity.

Sure, it's corny, you can predict the beats of nearly every scene, the cast frequently breaks into spontaneous song and much of the dialogue is hackneyed, but director Peter Chelsom ("Serendipity," "Shall We Dance?") has shot the film with more aplomb than the story deserves. His glowing cinematography whips up a world of idealized, setting-sun-drenched, Appalachian-infused Southern comfort. And it contains more than a few genuinely beautiful, moving moments.

The most surprising thing about "Hannah Montana" is not how it breaks out of its clichéd constraints, but how high it flies in spite of them.

HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE

Cast: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lucas Till, Emily Osment
Director: Peter Chelsom
Theaters: Hollywood, Tinseltown, Carmike, Chapel Hills, Cinemark
Rated: G
Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

GRADE: A-