Sky High

Stories, sort of

OK, I'll admit it. Every now and then I'll go out to the movies and watch some mindless piece of eye candy. What can I say?

So anyway, last night we went to see Sky High, a recent teen flick from Disney. Hey, my wife wanted to go. My daughter wanted to see it. My granddaughter wanted to see it. And truth be told, I thought it looked like a couple of hours of just turning my brain off and enjoying something with my family.

Will Stronghold is an average kid. In his case, that's a very bad thing, because his mother and father are both superheroes. In fact in the world of this movie superheroes (and villains) are common enough that there's a high school for them. Everyone expects Will's superpowers to have manifested themselves by the time he starts his freshman year at his father's alma mater, Sky High (which is literally several miles above the earth). Unfortunately, they haven't shown up yet, so instead of being a hero, he's relegated to being "hero support" -- a sidekick, along with the other kids who either haven't manifested their powers or (in the case of Will's girlfriend) don't want to show them in public.

The movie is of course a superhero spoof, but it's also a riff on the "in kids vs. out kids" dynamic of high school. It has some great campy performances by Kurt Russell (who is obviously having fun) and Lynda Carter, whose exit line is one of the best in the movie, if somewhat particular.

Omir sez check it out.