Geek Charming

I'm one of those guys who does not believe chick films are for girls alone, actions are for men, as well as magic films for kids. I watch them all, well, at least I admit that. So, not in my childhood, but overall I've seen many DCOM and I've liked many of them. This film came half a decade ago, I was aware of it, but only now I had watched it and it got me by surprise. I thought it would me another mean girl tale, that's where I was wrong. Well, in the initial few minutes, that's how it looked, but everything has changed since the beginning of the second act. That was the biggest plus point of this film. Even though predictable scenes, still it felt good enough. The character transformation, the way it was done was very smart. At one stage you hate, then a soft corner develops. It is a television film, but that's not how it looked. The quality of the story was like a theatrical film. If they had risked on that, they definitely would have succeeded. I would say a bad decision by the production house, but still the product delivered more than its expectation. The casting was good, All of them were new face to me, except Sasha Pieterse. Expecting a sequel for a good/successful film is so common with its fans. I thought about the same, but seems they are not interesting in one which was kind of confirmed in the end itself. Even though if they decide to make, it won't be as good as this one. Because the main story, all happened in here. Just like 'Taken' which is very powerful original film, not suitable for followups. This is a silly concept, but very nice film. I totally suggest it. 8/10

Geek Charming is nothing special. It can be dull at times but has some convincing leads. Sarah Hyland and Matt Prokop are equally charming. They never fall flat at any scenes and have some character development. Their character's relationship with each other shines through. The story is interesting and fun for the genre. It was something new for Disney Channel that I liked. It tells a great lesson about popularity and what it really means. Overall it's enjoyable and won't bore anyone.

Even though "Geek Charming" borrows heavily from earlier teen movies, such as "Can't buy me love", "Clueless" and the like, the execution is fairly neat. The storyline is a typical rom-com about a geek and a popular girl where the romantic plot and the transformations of the lead characters through their interactions are perfectly predictable. Where this movie is different is that it shows more clearly than any other teen move I've seen (and I've seen plenty) is that the whole popularity issue is a by-product of the American obsession with celebrities. Granted, being famous brings a ton of perks and revenue streams from TV commercials, but that is only for the show. Personal life is something else. The trouble with high-school kids is that they sometimes so much aspire to a celebrity status that they end up convincing themselves that such status can be obtained by simply winning fake admiration of a subset of their peers at school. This movie shows that becoming a high-school celebrity is an objective hardly worth pursuing when stacked up against the alternatives such as friendship, love and developing one's real interests. The acting is decent and the lead characters are very likable. In sum, it might not become one of the teen movie classics, but for those who like the genre, it is definitely worth watching.