Lovestruck: The Musical! Movie Mini-Reviewed

I spent a good portion of the 80s worshipping that ass!

What is it? FREEFORM (well, back when it was still ABC Family) original movie/musical from about half a decade ago
Where did it air? FREEFORM although you might be forgiven for the confusion given that it was still ABC Family back then.
Who stars in it? Most immediately recognizable is Jame Seymour, who is most famous for being one of the wives beheaded by Henry VIII in his infamously desperate search for a male heir a number of things from being the Bond Girl on Live and Let Die (which perhaps has one of the most awesome theme songs from one of the most awesome bands to ever do a Bond theme) to the quintessentially 90s historical medical drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. But beyond that even, we've got Sara Paxton who also starred with Emma Roberts and JoJo Levesque in one of my most favorite guilty pleasures, Aquamarine (as well as being the replacement Marni in the last Halloweentown movie) and most immediately recognizable to Disney Channel fans, both Chelsea Kane and Adrienne Bailon who at this point probably deserve to not need an introduction. Also, Drew Seely, perhaps best known for Selena Gomez's Another Cinderella Story.
Why are we reviewing this? Because it's basically an adult DCOM. Well, slightly more grown-up DCOM. Like if back in 16 Wishes instead of making Abby 22 it just made her, I dunno, a year older. 

Incidentally it's...basically the same plotline but in reverse - Jane Seymour drinks magic potion, magically turns into Chelsea Kane, uses that to her advantage to prevent her daughter Sara Paxton from marrying some dude she (the mom, Chelsea) doesn't like.

So, yeah, it's also somewhat similar in plot to Never Been Kissed which we very recently just reviewed, just that instead of a magic potion it's totally grounded in realism by...having a clearly insane and senile magazine owner and his lackey editor assign a still young-enough-to-pull-it-off-looking Drew Barrymore back to high school.

Anyway, Lovestruck: The Musical! is better, end of review.

Movie Grade: B+. Yeah I know I'm a sucker for these guilty pleasures but it at least managed to meet the expectations I had for this way back in the day (see Extra Thoughts immediately below for an explanation on what that's supposed to mean).
Movie MVP: Dangit, I guess I have to give it to Chelsea Kane and Drew Seely here. Their ballroom dance really ended up being a highlight.

Extra Thoughts

 - there's actually a funny personal story here that I didn't even realize until I was already halfway through watching. I recorded this one off from Freeform's OnDemand service but I tried to watch it half a decade ago when it premiered on then-ABC Family, but I didn't get the chance because, funnily enough, I had to attend my brother's wedding instead (again, I'm old and granted that was five years ago) and for whatever reason they never bothered to upload it to OnDemand at that time, and so after a short while I just forgot about - until today, I guess.

 - I'm watching the movie again this morning just 'cuz, and I completely forgot that the movie opens up on Broadway (both literally and I guess a little bit figuratively) with Jane Seymour (or at least a voice double, I don't think I've ever heard Jane Seymour sing to really know) belting out (and I do mean belting out) Lady Gaga's Just Dance. I guess this was the intended effect but the opening does give the impression that it's a more comedic version of, say, Center Stage (starring the irrepressible Zoe Saldana, one of my most favorite movies of all time and a big reason why I love this genre of movie) or even Backstage (yes as in that long-ass Family Channel/Disney Canada production we recently reviewed two years after its premiere) instead of what it really is, with less then like 10 minutes out of the total run time (which is only 1 hour 27 minutes to begin with) taking place anywhere else other than this ridiculously gorgeous fairytale dreamlike Italian villa...which turns out to be freakin' Pittsburgh. 

 - BTW I've been to Pittsburgh, that's where the American side of my family's from.

Having a part of Pittsburgh double as a gorgeous Italian villa is like having a part of Cleveland double as a gorgeous Italian villa. 

 - And since I got this from Freeform's OnDemand service, being a Freeform original and all, I got bombarded by ads for all the hip, cool Freeform originals playing now. That said, Alone Together looks...interesting enough. Maybe kinda like a combination of an FX single-cam sitcom and maybe Girls but with more universal appeal beyond just Greenwich Village and Tribecca. And then there's Siren which I guess is...some paranormal mermaid thing? I dunno. You know how much I love Mermaids though. Alone Together has already been humming along for at least four episodes but Siren doesn't come on until pretty much a whole two months from now.