Shot in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast, Spectacular! is Nickelodeon's effort to compete with Disney for the High School Musical market. It remains to be seen whether any of the characters come up to the iconic level that the principals of the High School Musical franchise enjoy.
Music class has certainly improved since I was in high school way back in the early part of the Sixties. Nolan Gerard Funk is a would be rock singer whose band gives him the gate and sends his career sputtering into stall. Britney Irvin likes his voice and likes him and wants him to join her jazz choir which do all kinds of choreography and glitz in their work. They're in competition and she thinks his presence could put them over.
Of course when young Funk gets several opportunities to advance his own career and get back with his old girl friend, Tammin Sursok, what choices will he make?
The only difference between this and the first High School Musical film was that Zac Efron had to choose between singing and sports, basketball to be specific. Here it's simply different musical venues, but the conflicts in the young teen mind are the same.
In producing Spectacular!, Nickolodeon will of course be accused of stealing the playbook from Disney's High School Musical which in point of fact they have. There's nothing terribly Spectacular in this film, but its nice enough and the cast is talented enough to put it across.
Now let's see if they become the icons that the High School Musical characters have become.
Music class has certainly improved since I was in high school way back in the early part of the Sixties. Nolan Gerard Funk is a would be rock singer whose band gives him the gate and sends his career sputtering into stall. Britney Irvin likes his voice and likes him and wants him to join her jazz choir which do all kinds of choreography and glitz in their work. They're in competition and she thinks his presence could put them over.
Of course when young Funk gets several opportunities to advance his own career and get back with his old girl friend, Tammin Sursok, what choices will he make?
The only difference between this and the first High School Musical film was that Zac Efron had to choose between singing and sports, basketball to be specific. Here it's simply different musical venues, but the conflicts in the young teen mind are the same.
In producing Spectacular!, Nickolodeon will of course be accused of stealing the playbook from Disney's High School Musical which in point of fact they have. There's nothing terribly Spectacular in this film, but its nice enough and the cast is talented enough to put it across.
Now let's see if they become the icons that the High School Musical characters have become.