Xpress, the Coolest Section of the St. Petersburg Times, is the home for features, news and views of interest to young readers. Most of the work in Xpress, which appears on Mondays in Floridian, is produced by the Times' X-Team. The team of journalists ages 9-17 from around the Tampa Bay area is selected every year at the end of the school year to serve during the following school term. The current team of 12 was chosen out of 150 applicants. Watch for X-Team application forms in Xpress during the month of May.
Read the reviews by Xpress Film Critic Billy Norris
This trip could have been better
By JOCELYN HOWARD
Published June 9, 2003
When a phony travel agency invites the Stevens family on a free vacation to a tropical island, the family has no idea what's in store. Louis Stevens (Shia LaBeouf), his brother, sister and parents don't suspect this trip will leave them fighting for survival.
Such is the premise of the new Disney Channel movie The Even Stevens Movie. The powers that be probably named it that so that fans of the Disney show will be sure to find it. Those who are not fans may want to stay away.
One summer day, smooth-talking travel agent Miles McDermott (Tim Meadows) shows up at the Stevens home. McDermott says that Louis' dad entered a drawing for a weeklong trip, something Dad (Tom Virtue) doesn't remember. McDermott says that his company is offering the free trip to help spread the word about an unknown island. He tells the family that the island is inhabited by shipwrecked survivors from all over the world.
The family is torn between going and staying home. Louis would rather stay home and spend the summer in his special chair, which, among other things, gives him snacks and shows his favorite movie. It even has mosquito netting. His sister, Ren (Christy Carlson Romano), is ready to go anywhere to get away from a breakup with her boyfriend. In the end, the not-quite-unanimous decision is to go and enjoy.
When the Steveses arrive, islanders welcome them enthusiastically with hugs and giant worms. McDermott says that the islanders will be offended if the family refuses to eat the hot dog-size worms.
That's just the beginning of a series of unfortunate events for the Stevenses, from Louis destroying an island temple to the family being shunned by the islanders.
What the family doesn't know is that its weeklong paradise vacation is a front for a new reality series. Cameras are set up throughout the island, recording their every move.
I thought that this was a mix of Survivor, Fear Factor and the Disney Channel, which don't necessarily work well. After the audience learns that the trip is a publicity stunt, the same basic things keep happening: chases, amazing coincidental meetings and predictable situations.
Sean McNamara, who directed the movie, reveals the major gag way too soon and leaves the audience almost bored for most of the movie's 95 minutes.
The story also gets more unreal, even for a movie, which was a turnoff for me. It was a typical Disney deal that had funny moments, love and happily ever after, which are big favorites for many.
This movie is about the same as the show. Louis and Ren argue almost nonstop, Beans (Steven Anthony Lawrence) gets in the way, the Stevens family and Beans take sides to make the plot even more mixed up, and there are many funny, confusing situations.
The main difference between this and the show is the many new characters, such as Miles. But other than that, if you like the show, you should like the movie. For others, it will be like a bad two-hour episode.
I would recommend this movie for kids in the 6 to 10 age group. Although I didn't particularly enjoy it, my brother, who is almost 8, really liked it, and I'm sure that most kids his age would.
- Jocelyn Howard, 12, will be in seventh grade at Bay Point Middle School in St. Petersburg.
PREVIEW: The Even Stevens Movie, rated TV-G, premieres Friday at 8 p.m. on the Disney Channel. Grade: C.
