Jett Jackson: The Movie

(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Jett Jackson: The Movie)

Doug (vo): It's Jett Jackson: The Movie, based on the popular Disney Channel show that I haven't seen one episode of. So...yeah, I'm kind of going into this a little blind, but I did a little research, and here's what I discovered.

Story
Doug (vo): Jett Jackson is an actor who plays a superspy called Silverstone. He enjoys that the show's a big hit, but he also just wants to be a kid again, so the production moves out from LA to North Carolina, where big-time Hollywood people have to interact with small-town everyday people, and thus, hilarity ensues. That's about the most I know. The movie pretty much represents that with Jett Jackson filming his show, going to school, possibly going out on a date. But he discovers he's getting tired of playing the part, so when asked to do another season, he's considering saying no. But things take a surprising turn when somehow, Jett Jackson and Silverstone switch places. That's right. The real actor's in the fictional world, and the fictional character is in the real world. A super-spy has to learn to blend in as a real kid, and the real kid has to save the world from Michael Ironside. Oh, how can any production go wrong with him in it? (The poster for Next Karate Kid is shown) Okay, almost.

Review
Doug (vo): On the one hand, I think this is a pretty clever idea. I mean, we've always seen stuff with the "fish out of water" stories or somebody switching places, but the idea of a fictional character switching places with a real-life character, and not just focusing on one, but both of their lives as they try to blend in, is actually kind of interesting and a little funny. Just as Jett is getting sick of the character, he suddenly becomes the character. Just as Silverstone was trying to stop Chicago from blowing up, he then finds out he has to deal with people yelling at him for not doing the show anymore. Yeah, turns out the town kind of depended on the show to create jobs and tourism and...yeah, it's actually a detail most kids films would overlook.

(Several scenes of Jett Jackson and Silverstone interacting in the respective switched worlds are shown)

Doug (vo): And both sides have some good comedy. Like when Jett discovers that New York is about to blow up by the evil bad guy, what does he do? He just goes around telling everybody, "Leave New York! Leave New York!" Yeah, that'll work. Silverstone also has a hard time putting the super-spy away when he keeps seeing cast members who were villains in his world, tries to tell the cops, when they don't do anything, he takes matters into his own hands. As humorous as this is, it does also take time to show the trouble both characters are going through, each one trying to figure out what to do with their future, where they belong, actual high school stuff that a lot of kids think about at around this age. There's even a prom scene where they don't show the prom. Holy smokes! Has that ever happened in Disney history? There's a prom, and yet you...don't see it occur? Don't we have to hear the pop songs or see the girls in the latest dresses and, and...what? This isn't going on? Wow! I'm kind of speechless!

(Various clips resume showing)

Doug (vo): While that's all fine and good, I do have to question, though, does this have a lot to do with the original show? Now, again, I haven't watched the original show, so I don't know. But looking at the summary of it, this doesn't seem like what the show was about. It seemed to go back and forth between showing the Silverstone TV series and Jett Jackson just living his everyday life. When you suddenly bring the fictional character to life, does that overstep what the original show was doing? I'm not sure if this is a really clever change of pace or if it's something that's so different that a lot of the fans wouldn't relate to it.

Final thought
Doug (vo): So, if you're asking as someone who grew up with this show, I'm not able to give you an answer. I have no idea if this is faithful or not. But as a 30-something who was forced to watch a Disney Channel kids movie, I thought it was kind of clever. I like that it's not all jokes, and when there are jokes, a lot of them work. I like that the Silverstone show does look like a lot of fun, but you're also interested in what's going on in Jett's life as well. So I think it's clever enough, though I have no idea what fans of the show would think of it. But I think there's enough smart writing and good acting to pull it off. If you're looking for a decent Disney Channel movie, this isn't a bad one to check out. Put on your backpack and your spy gear and take a look.

(A scene showing Silverstone running through a city street is shown)