Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Is this a PERFECT Disney Channel Original Movie? | Episode 15: Stuck in the Suburbs
35 Plays6 months ago
Feeling stuck? Time for a new episode! Stuck in the Suburbs is the cautionary tale of what can happen when two teenage girls steal their favorite pop star’s cell phone!
Let's discuss:
– How unrealistic was that phone swap?
– Early 2000s technology
– Fame and authenticity
All that and more in this episode!
Stuck in the Suburbs stars Danielle Panabaker, Brenda Song, Kirsten Nelson, and Taran Killam, and features the singing voice of the one and only Drew Seeley. You can watch Stuck in the Suburbs on Disney+!
Welcome to Once Upon A DCOM Podcast where we rave (and sometimes roast) classic DCOMs! We're rewatching every single Disney Channel Original Movie.
🔔 Follow us for future episodes
Find us on Instagram and TikTok 👇
@onceuponadcom.podcast
Recommended
Transcript
Brenda Song's Iconic Lines and Impact
00:00:00
Speaker
Brenda Song has so many amazing one liners, mainly from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, that I feel like I continue to quote to this day. Do you have that as well? Yes, I literally, this is in my intro, but I can quote so much of this movie and half of the lines are like her lines.
00:00:22
Speaker
Oh, she's so quotable. Things I say frequently, little me back from Betty all the time I say that. And then I'm not a child, Mosby. I know how to spell Prindle. I know how to spell Prindle from this movie. i I don't know if I say it all the time, but like as I was watching the movie, I literally said it with her in the movie is trouble has arrived on the wings of a tacky minivan.
00:00:46
Speaker
I loved that line. I think Brenda Song is so underrated as like a comedy genius. I think she's so funny. I agree with you. She's hysterical. Yeah, she really made this movie, but we'll get into that. We'll get into that.
Introduction to 'Once Upon a Decom' Podcast
00:01:05
Speaker
Welcome, fellow Disney Channel babes, whether you're from the nostalgic nineties or the awkward odds or you're giving Gen Z. We're glad that you're here. I'm Gabriela and I'm Natalie. And this is the podcast where we rave and sometimes roast classic Disney Channel original movies. You're listening to Once Upon a Decom.
00:01:25
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Once Upon a Decom, the podcast where we rewatch all of your favorite Disney Channel original movies. We do more than just recap the film, however, you know, if you stick around for the whole episode, you are going to hear us share the public's rating and reviews, give a little insight into where these actors are now, and do a deep dive into all of the nostalgia. My name is Natalie and this is my co-host Gabby.
00:01:49
Speaker
Hello. We're just a couple of 90s babes reliving our childhood one Disney film at a time.
Memories and Misconceptions of 'Stuck in the Suburbs'
00:01:55
Speaker
And this week, Gabby and I watched one of my childhood favorites stuck in the suburbs. Oh, it's a perfect movie. I hope we agree on this. Oh, we agree on this for sure.
00:02:07
Speaker
Now, in the last episode, we discovered that Gabby remembered exactly 0% of this film. but Meanwhile, I remembered every moment and was able to quote some lines literally word for word. um So, Gabby, before we get a movie recap, can I just get your insight? um Was this surprising? Did you remember it?
00:02:26
Speaker
Yes, once I was watching it, I was like, oh, this movie. I remembered so much of it. like I could tell you exactly what was going to happen before it happened. So it's in there. like It was ingrained. I just forgot. And there there was no soccer. I don't know there was what I was thinking. Literally last episode, Gabby's like, isn't this a sports movie? It's about soccer. And I was like, not even remotely. Not even remotely. Well, all of the marketing has them in soccer stuff.
Plot and Popularity of 'Stuck in the Suburbs'
00:02:56
Speaker
Not really though. Like the poster doesn't have them in soccer stuff. I don't know. I just remember a lot of soccer in like the trailers for it. And maybe I'm thinking I might be combining it with another film. This movie has nothing to do with soccer.
00:03:11
Speaker
Well, I know that now, and I enjoyed every moment. I loved reliving it and being like, oh, yes, I love this movie. I don't want to spoil later, but I just have to say this is a perfect DCOM specifically. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It hits every note for DCOMs. Okay, hold on to that. Hold on to it. We'll come back. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:03:34
Speaker
All right, let me give you a little intro into Stuck in the Suburbs. So this movie was directed by Savage Steve Holland. My understanding is the Savage is his first name, or at the very least the name that he goes by. um Holland is well known to the Disney universe as he directed several episodes of some of our favorites, including Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, Phil of the Future, Zoey 101, Ned's Declassified, literally so much more. like Oh, wow.
00:04:01
Speaker
He's a ah big old Disney Channel dude who's around all the time, so. I have to send him a thank you card. I know, honestly. He's not so much anymore. He's done a few things. Like he's been, he did debunked, I think. Debunked? How do you say that? Oh, yeah. I think it's debunked, but it's like a playoff of debunked. Right. So he he did a few episodes of that, but I guess that was a while ago. Anywho. That was like the sequel to Jesse.
00:04:27
Speaker
What? Really? Yeah, it takes all the kids from Jesse and like sends them to camp. Interesting. I never watched Jesse, so I don't really know anything about that. I've seen a few episodes, but I really don't know the
Comedic Twists and Character Dynamics
00:04:42
Speaker
whole plot. Yeah, that was just slightly after our time, but I know it's a big favorite of a lot of people.
00:04:48
Speaker
All right, this movie debuted on Disney Channel in 2002 and at the time it was the most watched telecast ever for kids ages six through 14. I had no idea it was that popular. What's a telecast? Telecast, I don't know, a televis televised event. Oh, more than like High School Musical or That's a Sweet Life of Hannah Montana? According to Wikipedia. Oh, this is before High School Musical. Oh, okay. Yes, it's 2002. So at the time,
00:05:18
Speaker
most watched telecast ever for kids ages 6 through 14. I mean, that checks probably was one of them. I mean, my sister can correct me if I'm wrong, but we probably watched this when it came out. I am sure I did as well. Actually, no, I came into Disney like after high school musical. So actually, no, wouldn't have been me. I must have seen the reruns.
00:05:37
Speaker
The film's soundtrack, which is arguably not the worst, but definitely not the best, um ended up as number 12 on the US Billboard top soundtrack chart, and it even peaked at number five for the kids category. That's impressive. I know, right? Wild. You go, Drew Sealy. Anywho, Stuck in the Suburbs stars Danielle Panabaker, Brenda Song, Kirsten Nelson,
00:06:02
Speaker
and Taryn Killam and features the singing voice of the one and the only Drew Sealy, which is a little insulting to Taryn Killam because Taryn has been on Broadway and he can actually also sing, so I don't know why they didn't let him sing, but it's okay because we love Drew Sealy. So can Zac Efron. I know, honestly. So can Zac Efron. If you have no idea what we're talking about, stick around until the where are they now and I will tell you about all of these little things we're talking about.
00:06:27
Speaker
So, Gabby, will you take us through the film? Yes, so this movie focuses on Brittany, your average teenage girl living in an ordinary suburban neighborhood. We learn right away that the three most important things to Brittany are soccer, her three best friends, and teen pop sensation Jordan Cahill.
00:06:44
Speaker
So one day at school, while Brittany and her friends are gushing over the new Jordan Cahill video, they are interrupted by a new girl named Natasha. Natasha is cool and spunky, and her outgoing personality immediately leaves an impression on Brittany, who has wanted an exciting and fast-paced life for as long as she can remember, and she and Natasha become instant best friends.
00:07:04
Speaker
We learned that before moving, Natasha spent a lot of her time traveling Europe with her dad and most of her time living in New York with her mom, although now her mom has decided to ruin her life by moving her here to the suburbs. Yuck. Shortly after the- Yeah, ruin her life. Just awful. How dare she?
00:07:22
Speaker
Shortly after they meet, Brittany's friends alert her that none other than Jordan Cahill is coming to their very town, in the suburbs, to film his next music video and they have to go see him. Natasha agrees it would be fun to go, not to see Jordan, but to make fun of his fans. The girls go and watch Jordan record his video, but during the recording he suddenly decides that he can't go through with it.
00:07:44
Speaker
The movie zooms in on Jordan and his team as they discuss this new development. And it turns out that Jordan used to write his own lyrics about life and the world, but now the record is not allowing him to perform them and instead wants all of his songs to focus on love. He refuses to go through with the recording and storms into his green room.
00:08:03
Speaker
Later, as he and his team begin to leave, there is a commotion in which Brittany collides with Jordan's assistant and best friend, Eddie, and all of their belongings fall on the ground. In the confusion, Eddie picks up Brittany's phone and Brittany accidentally takes home Jordan's phone, which I find very unrealistic because she has a hot pink phone in his name silver. I know. Oh, it's very unrealistic, but you know.
00:08:25
Speaker
That's what makes it a DCOM. And they're not even like not looking like they're straight up looking directly at the objects like yep. Also the phones are not the same shape or size. No. Or weight. No. The only defense I have for Eddie is it's not his phone so I don't know what Brittany was doing but I give Eddie a pass. They were both distracted I guess but like yeah it's yeah very unrealistic. Anyways.
00:08:51
Speaker
So, it's not long before Brittany discovers the mix-up and she assumes the phone belongs to Jordan's assistant. That's the other thing. It is so unrealistic that it took them like an hour to notice or whatever. Like what? I know. Like even back in that time period where you're like not attached to your phone all the time, I feel like you would notice.
00:09:10
Speaker
I feel like you would too, but also I guess you only used your phone for calling back then. So maybe if you just threw it in your bag, you're like, oh, the next time I call someone, I'll take it out. I guess. I don't know. I found that so weird. I was like, y'all didn't know. It is. You didn't know.
00:09:26
Speaker
No, it's it's very unrealistic. So anyways, she discovers it, she assumes the phone belongs to Jordan's assistant, and then her and Natasha go to a hotel where they assume Jordan is staying, and they're correct, to try and swap back the phones. But they're unable to convince the hotel to let them talk to Eddie, so they give up and head out.
00:09:44
Speaker
But their attempt to reach him does bring to Eddie's attention that the phones have been swapped and he needs to change them back immediately. Eddie tries to call Brittany and asks her to please return the phone, but then Madonna calls in and the girls realize that the phone must actually belong to Jordan Cahill.
00:10:02
Speaker
Natasha convinces Britney that it would be way more fun to mess with Jordan than return the phone, so they begin to change around little things in his life. First, they get all of his hair cut off. Then they change his entire wardrobe. And while Jordan's manager and his fans are none too happy about his new image, Jordan is relieved to be feeling like himself
Friendship and Personal Growth Themes
00:10:21
Speaker
again. He also looks so much better.
00:10:24
Speaker
He does. It's disgusting. The long hair and leather jacket fedora look. He looks like, I mean, I understand this was 2002 or whatever, but he looks like a child predator. I'm going to say it. That's what he looks like in the first, like what it's with his hair like that and the leather jacket and like, no, that's, that's, he looks terrible.
00:10:41
Speaker
You know who else he looks like? The detective from Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire. He freaking does. Another child predator. I should not say that. That's rude, but you know what? I already said it. too late It's too late. I said it.
00:10:55
Speaker
You were right. You were right. So he looks 10 times better. Unfortunately, the charm of all this wears off when Brittany overhears Natasha at school telling her friends that she personally knows Jordan Cahill, which is a bit of an exaggeration, and Brittany admits that it's true. But then she proceeds to leave Natasha out of all of her stories about what she's done with Jordan.
00:11:18
Speaker
She even goes so far as to say that she can make Jordan perform at her mom's upcoming fundraiser if she wants to. And she tells her friends that he will be there the following Saturday. So after being left out, Natasha is hurt and refuses to answer any of Brittany's calls. So Brittany goes over to her house to talk with her. When Brittany gets the house, she has a chance to talk to Natasha's mom for the first time. And she is confused to learn that Natasha's dad is actually a salesman and he hasn't been to Europe like at all.
00:11:45
Speaker
And Natasha's mom also thinks that her daughter can never make friends because she's extremely shy, which Britney knows isn't true. Britney confronts Natasha for lying to her about her life, but Natasha spins the whole thing back on Britney, saying that she's also a liar for pretending she doesn't love Jordan Cahill, and she accuses Britney of wanting to be just like her and says that there is nothing unique about Britney. So Britney storms out. Right, police though. Yeah, it's pretty awful. I mean, they're both in the wrong, let's be honest. but like If somebody said something like that to me, I'd be like, okay, yeah, we're not going to talk anymore. I'm going to leave. Yeah, no, it was totally justified for her to leave. It was a pretty bad fight, actually, for a DCOM. Oh, yeah. So after the fight, Brittany accidentally causes Jordan's girlfriend to break up with him and she's at a rather low point herself. But then she realizes there is a solution.
00:12:34
Speaker
She calls Eddie and tells him that if Jordan will perform at her mom's fundraiser on Saturday, then she will give him back Jordan's phone. And Eddie is infuriated, but agrees because he sees no other way around it, and he has to get this phone back. The next day, Eddie calls Brittany to tell her that Jordan has disappeared. Apparently, he ran away after Eddie told him the whole truth, which was the only way to get him to come and perform at the fundraiser. So Jordan's gone. No one knows where he is.
00:13:01
Speaker
A few minutes later after they hang up, Brittany gets another call, but this time it's from Jordan himself. Apparently he has taken Brittany's phone and is calling her from her own phone. They talk for a few minutes and Brittany has the chance to apologize for all that she did to him and Jordan assures her that none of the changes she made were that bad and he has been wanting to get out from under his label anyways.
00:13:23
Speaker
But their call is interrupted when Jordan's handling team shows up and tries to attack, not Jordan, but Brittany. Because remember, she still has his phone and they were using GPS tracking to find him. Which was very new at the time, apparently. Oh yeah, it was like this big deal. They're like, they can do that?
00:13:40
Speaker
Brittany escapes on her bike and rushes home to call Natasha and tell her what's up, but she doesn't have to. Natasha's already there. The girls apologize and make up from their fight, and they set out to find Jordan and convince him to sing one of his original songs at the fundraiser that afternoon. They end up finding Jordan and narrowly escaping his team. They then use the phones to leak his original lyrics to the entire world, kind of, and announce that he will debut the song at the performance.
00:14:08
Speaker
Once there, Jordan's team finally catches up to him, but they are too late because he's already heading up to perform for the growing crowd. Jordan's manager makes one final attempt to get him back by trying to bribe Eddie into convincing Jordan not to play, but Eddie instead announces Jordan's arrival. Jordan gets the chance to sing his song more than me with his own lyrics.
00:14:29
Speaker
and everybody loves it. In the end, Jordan stays true to himself and leaves the music industry. Eddie gets a chance to step into his place, and Brittany, Natasha, and all their friends get to be in one of Eddie's music videos. How cool. And then Brittany learns an important lesson, that you can be stuck anywhere, but you can't blame the location. The suburbs are just a state of mind, and she can succeed from anywhere. The suburbs are just a state of mind. One of my favorite quotes from this movie also. Yeah. Cause you're like, what does that even mean? But I love it. I know. I literally didn't get it. And I was like, I'm putting it in my review. in my Such a dumb statement, but I love it. It's so good. So yeah, that's stuck in the suburbs. Natalie, how'd you feel rewatching it?
00:15:15
Speaker
I adore this movie, genuinely. I watched this a lot as a kid with my sister, Megan. um and like Enough to the point where I literally, I remembered every detail. I remembered very particular scenes, um and like like obviously quotes, I can quote this movie. And so watching it again, first time in, and not since childhood, but definitely first time in probably at least six or seven years,
00:15:42
Speaker
I just had so much fun. I loved it. I love all of these actors. I i don't think they're going to win Oscars anytime soon, but like i I think that they're good at these roles and I just think it's so funny and it's so endearing. and like Even though the music is very dated, it still like hits you in the soul and like brings you back to the 2000s and you're like, yes, I love it.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah, it had all the right elements. Yeah, like I said before, I just felt like it was a perfect decom. It had the drama, the charm, just the right amount of cheesiness where you're not cringing, but you're like, that would never happen. It moves along pretty well. The pacing's not bad. I thought it was really well acted by pretty much everyone.
Realism and Family Dynamics
00:16:30
Speaker
Yeah, no, I had zero complaints.
00:16:33
Speaker
Like, I don't even think it not making sense is a complaint because like, that'd be what make it a DCOM. Right. Obviously. Yeah. Yeah. It was fantastic. I mean, I have some negative commentary, but very minimal and only because I'm reaching. All right. Hit me with it.
00:16:49
Speaker
Well, I really hated how Britney just discards her old friends at the beginning. Yes, but also why do her friends suck? Yes, like at first I felt like the movie wanted me to feel bad for them and I was like, I think they're in the wrong. I think they're the problem.
00:17:08
Speaker
Yeah, like first of all, I, okay, little rant. As a child, I moved around a lot. So I was the new kid often. And like, it's really hard to be the new kid. And I understand that like, Brenda Song, what's her name? Natasha. Natasha came in like guns blazing. But like, when someone's new, don't like brush them off and immediately be like, I hate you because you're weird. And like walk away like, you didn't give her a chance. And I appreciate that Brittany did give her a chance. I was like, hey, let's see if we can be friends. And they do become great friends. And apparently, like all of the other friends become friends with her too like at the end scene of the movie. So like clearly, they gave her a chance of eventually
00:17:53
Speaker
That was a little weird. Yeah, like what? Because she also because she's like, I don't do sports. I don't do sports. I don't do sports. Like the whole movie just wants you to know her character. Don't do sports. And then in the last scene, she's in a soccer jersey and you're like, huh? Well, her her character is also a pathological liar. So keep that in mind.
00:18:12
Speaker
That's true. That's true. But we never, with all the other lies, we see them come out. No, I know. Even after she has revealed all of her lies, she's still like, I don't run in flip flops. Like, I don't know.
00:18:25
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. It was, uh, I kind of hate her friends and I understand that like Brittany totally brushed them off and that's also sucky, but they also just suck. True. I was going to say there's a lot of dynamics, right? Cause like to their defense, she's kind of a little bit of a jerk, like right off the bat. So I can get why their feathers are ruffled. But like even after that, when clearly she's nice and like their friend Brittany like loves her, they're still just like, Ugh, no, don't want to hang in with her. But like they're also, like I said, lots of dynamics. They're mad that Britney just so quickly ditches them for her. And Britney's motivation for ditching them is not, oh, let me be you know helping the new girl out. like Her motivation is like, she seems cool. She can get me where I want to be. I want to be on the in with her. So I'll do anything for that, including lie about who I am. So I'm like, yeah, it's just like three wrongs. Don't make it right. I feel like they're all kind of in the wrong.
00:19:22
Speaker
No, I agree. It's, a I guess, realistic for just having stupid middle school drama. Yeah, which it is true. This happens all the time. Also, P.S., they were not in middle school. I'm sorry. They're like eighth graders. No, no, no, no, no. Those were teenagers. So that's actually in one of the reviews that I'm going to read later. So we will come back to that. The age gap weirdness. Yes. Again, age gaps. Yes. Also, like we'll talk about it in the review, but that pop star was definitely much older than that.
00:19:55
Speaker
A hundred percent. He's ancient. So this is not a bad thing against the movie. Actually, this is a point for it. I like that we get little hints of Natasha's dishonesty throughout. Like you kind of hear her talking about like, I know Madonna. And then she's like, I'm best friends with Jordan. And I was like, oh, oh, I like that. They're kind of giving it to you early on that she's yeah honest. It's good payoff later.
Nostalgia and Technological Changes
00:20:20
Speaker
I feel like the character development in everyone was actually pretty good cuz even at the start you're like wow everyone's pretty one-dimensional but then like even halfway through the movie you're like oh I see that was kind of the point and now they're developing into more real people as you see more about their personalities you know yeah.
00:20:39
Speaker
I also really enjoyed the family dynamic. I thought the husband and wife were like chef's kiss, marriage goals. Yes. They were so sweet. This is not in my where are they now, so I'll say it now, but Kirsten Nelson, who plays Brittany's mom, very, very famous actress. If anyone out there watched Psych, the TV show, she was Karen, the chief of police.
00:21:02
Speaker
And I just think she's incredible natural actress and like I feel like everything she does, like I would be disappointed if that wasn't her in real life. You know what I mean? like That's just like who she is. She's so naturally that character that like I don't know. Watching this movie, I was like, I believe entirely that she's this person's mother.
00:21:23
Speaker
Yeah, she was glorious and I thought her husband was so sweet with her. like When she's just devastated about the house and the crowd is turning on her, he just pulls her away and hugs her. He's like, it's going to be okay. You can care about this. like It's good to care about this. and I was like, I just love them so much. It was so sweet. So sweet.
00:21:43
Speaker
I liked all the characters. like There wasn't a single one that I was like, oh, I really hate them. I mean, the manager was a jerk, but he did it really well. Yeah, right, really right, right. He was a jerk in a way that wasn't so over the top and cheesy that I was like, I can't watch you. Yeah. Do we want to talk about your favorite topic in the world, which is technology?
00:22:04
Speaker
Oh, yeah, sure. What about it? so I didn't have that on my discussion points. That is shocking to me, actually. um Let's just talk about what would and would not work today. We kind of alluded to it in the beginning there, but like the GPS tracking instantaneously, they're like, you can do that. And I'm like,
00:22:25
Speaker
Have you heard of Find My Phone? Have you heard? like I track my friends who live in other states. like I know. I remember when that first became a big thing on Snapchat before it was even a huge thing. It wasn't it was possible, but not- Nobody had access to it, right? Yeah, no one had access to it before. Even when iPhones were really popular, there still wasn't like share my location for a while. And when Snapchat released that, and you could see where your people were. And it wasn't even specific. It was like they're in this state. It was like, oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever.
00:23:00
Speaker
I know. I mean the whole movie wouldn't have happened if they had iPhones. Or like when they're GPS tracking him in the car and it's like they're at 27 Arbor Street, 28 Arbor Street, 29 Arbor Street. I was like oh my gosh. I know that was, I audibly laughed at that. That was very funny to me. Me too. I was like that Was never realistic. That's never how GPS has worked. They did that for the comedy. And they're using like a paper map to like figure out where to be like, oh, we passed the street. I'm like, oh my gosh, throwback. Do you remember paper maps? Oh gosh, I remember them. I was never old enough to use them while driving. I had a GPS when I got my license, but it was a GPS only, like not a phone. You had a GPS when you got your license?
00:23:46
Speaker
Yeah, it was like a chunky nasty one. No, dude, I just had to know where I was going. No, I remember driving back from college. So like I had an iPhone, but I guess it wasn't fully what it is
Celebrity Authenticity and Public Persona
00:24:00
Speaker
today at the time. And I had like an actual chunky GPS and I was like, this is not working for me. I would get lost all the time. Yeah, my phone didn't I had an iPhone when I started driving, but it didn't have and ier didn't have maps or they weren't accurate. I don't remember, but I didn't use it. I don't know. For anyone who's grown up just having this blissful technology, there was like a weird transition period where like you had the technology, but it didn't work.
00:24:25
Speaker
or it wasn't fully accessible. Right. Or you didn't know how to use it. Or it kept changing. And I don't mean like there was an update and it changed, like drastic changes where you had to relearn the system. Yeah. And it was just not worth it. Yeah. Wild man. I wonder if we have any fans young enough to be like, what? What are you talking about? All the zombie lovers out there rise up.
00:24:51
Speaker
Yeah, but I feel like if they had GPS tracking and like share my location, the movie just wouldn't have happened. Which is sad because I love that this movie happened. Or even if somebody had found out sooner, if Eddie had just come clean sooner because the second they realize the phone is missing, they're like, guess what? We're tracking it.
00:25:11
Speaker
They could have done that. Eddie could have done that from the beginning. He just didn't know see that. See, that's what I mean. We didn't all know the technology that was available to us. Right. Or like when um when they have Jordan's phone and Natasha's like, you can access the internet, you can send emails. It's one of them so fancy phones. One of them fancy rich people phones. That's what the brother, he's like, I want the kind that can send emails. Wow.
00:25:38
Speaker
I wish my phone didn't send emails. I would probably have 25% less stress in my life. I crave a dumb phone, but I'm too addicted.
00:25:49
Speaker
Like i I have too many things on my smartphone that I use daily. Agreement. So one more topic I want to touch on before we move on is kind of this concept of like fame versus authenticity. um And like how often famous people put on like this front for like who they really are when they're performing and like how long that can last before they can't do it anymore. Have you thought about this like in real life?
00:26:19
Speaker
Oh, I think about this a lot, actually. I think about this when I watch celebrities in interviews and sometimes they talk openly about it. So then I think about it more. Yeah. My favorite example of this is like Lady Gaga, you know, especially in her early days where she like was doing the meat dress and like the the the drag makeup and like the everything crazy type of thing. And she would get in interviews and she would like really get in people's faces and say crazy things.
00:26:48
Speaker
And like, you see her now, and now that she has gotten to the level of fame that she's at, you're like, oh, she's like a normal person, you know? Yeah. And yeah like, she still does that in concerts and things like that. But like, I watched her documentary. This is an old documentary a long time ago. But like, she's a normal human being. And like, she loves Broadway musicals. And like, it's just like, at what point did she decide like, I don't want to have this like, this persona anymore. I want to be who I am.
00:27:17
Speaker
and i I wonder if that was like the label that told her they had to do that or if that was her decision. you know i just like I get so curious about like the the deep dive of what makes stars tick. Yeah, I think unless you're in it, it's hard to know where the lines are because they get really blurred and we don't really know them. Even if you know every interview they've ever done, that's all their persona. Exactly. You don't know them.
00:27:40
Speaker
I have two thoughts on it with the Lady Gaga thing. One is that you know I imagine with a persona that intense and you know shocking, like it might be easier to differentiate between who I really am and who I am on TV because they're so drastically different.
00:27:56
Speaker
I think about it more from like, I think about a Zendaya where I'm like, you've seen or Jennifer Lawrence who just seems so authentically themselves no matter what they're doing. But I'm like, surely there's another version of you that we don't see. And I'm wondering how thin that line is because they're coming off so normal.
00:28:19
Speaker
that I'm like, when you get home, do you have to go through a process of like taking off the Zendaya and putting on the whatever you call yourself, you know? Yeah. or Or, um, what is it? Is it Beyonce who has like her stage persona versus herself? I think it, okay, hold on. Like I have to dig back into my brain. I'm pretty sure it's called like Sasha Fierce is like her stage presence.
00:28:43
Speaker
And then when she gets off stage, she says that I'm no longer Sasha Fierce, I'm Beyonce or whatever her real name is. Is her real name Beyonce? I don't know. You know, I'm not sure. Same with Zendaya. That's why I was halfway through that sentence like, is that her name? I don't know. Yeah, I think it's just such an interesting dichotomy, I guess. And I also imagine to some degree it's cultural. So there was a season of our culture where shock value was really desirable and sought after. And I think that's when Lady Gaga really made her mark. So I don't know if it was her or the label, but somebody knew.
00:29:18
Speaker
this is gonna get you where you want to go and it only has to be for a little while but I don't know if at the time they saw it as it would only be a little while but eventually I think our culture shifted to like a we want authentic real people and a lot of celebrities started becoming really popular Jennifer Lawrence being one of them because they're like I eat pizza and fall over and we were like you're just like me and So so funny. Is that the one where she tripped going up the stairs?
00:29:52
Speaker
The first one, she studied multiple times. So it was the one Ellen hosted. It was the end of the good Oscars in my opinion, just a hot day. The Oscars haven't been good in a while, let's be honest. This was the last good one. Ellen hosted, which was a great decision, and Jennifer Lawrence was nominated and she tripped going up the stairs to like get her nomination and we were all like, oh my gosh, she's so real.
00:30:16
Speaker
And then later Ellen had pizza delivered into the auditorium. So there was a ton of A-list celebrities just like devouring pizza. And of course Jennifer Lawrence was like the main one. So there's all these memes and gifts of her just eating this pizza at the Oscars in her dress. And I was like.
00:30:32
Speaker
She's just like me, you know? I love it. I love it. But I think that was a cultural movement of like, we're no longer into shock value. We want real people. So all the celebrities are like, guess who I am on the inside and behind the curtain, but that's still a persona, you know? And you know who started this movement, Gabby? Who? Jordan Cahill from Stuck in the Suburbs.
00:30:53
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. This movie set the trend for all of culture in America. Yeah, she said authenticity.
Reviews and Age Dynamics in Cast
00:31:00
Speaker
Let me sing my song about being sad that I am not who I am anymore. You've got to stay true to yourself. True to your heart, you must be true to your heart. That's not his song. Is that from the Mulan soundtrack though? Yes, it is. What a great soundtrack. What is the name of his song? This Is Me? No, that's from Camp Rock.
00:31:21
Speaker
More than me. More than me. you know I was on the right track. I would have gotten there eventually. You were there. You were right there. All right. I think it's time to move on to public opinion because I actually am just so excited to get to your segment on where are they now because I need to know where Brenda's song is at now, so yeah I would like to move forward. Yes.
00:31:37
Speaker
All right, so as is always no tomato meter, unfortunately. The only critic, there was one critic review. It was two stars and it came from common sense media and I'm giving zero stock to this. It says, cliched Disney teen comedy explores downsides of fame.
00:31:56
Speaker
The end. So we're going to move on. Yeah. So we're going to ignore that. The popcorn meter surprisingly high at 62%. Ooh, that's a prize. It's a great movie. People loved it. So I do have a couple of reviews that I've pulled, but I just want to say there were a lot that I read and there were some common themes throughout that didn't show up in the ones I pulled. So I'm just going to let you know our common themes that everybody felt this way. Okay. One, Brenda song is the reason this movie's good.
00:32:26
Speaker
Everybody thought that. She is a delight. Number two, cute. The word cute was used in 95% of the reviews. Sure, I can agree with that. and Finally, Taron Killam, aka Jordan Cahill, is hot in this movie. Those were your common themes that everyone agrees on. He is post haircut. He is.
00:32:48
Speaker
hu So here's what people thought. This person gave four stars and said, the film checks several boxes from fast pacing to witty humor and a slither of heart and charm. It all adds up to be a typical decom, but what keeps it slightly better than the rest is the engaging leads in Daniel Panabaker and Brenda Song. ah This next person only gave it three stars. ah I'm just going to read a portion of what they said because it was very long review.
00:33:16
Speaker
is a decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't really recommend. The movie is good enough. Daniel Pennebaker and Brenda Song do a good job carrying most of the movie, but I don't know how an old Taryn Killam could play a teen pop star. The ladies look about five years older than their schoolmates and Killam about five years older than them, so it's super awkward anytime they share the screen with other actors.
Soundtrack and Cast Updates
00:33:41
Speaker
Yes. Let me interject to say, I do know this information. so Both Brenda and Danielle were 16 when they filmed this. They were playing 13-year-olds. Wow. Taron was 22. He is ah six years older than them. and I don't know how old he's supposed to be playing, but I think we can imagine somewhere between 18 and 22 and they're playing 13-year-olds.
00:34:04
Speaker
I mean, it's like me and the Jonas Brothers when I was growing up, except for Nick. I was closer in age to Nick. We're like two years apart, but like fangirling over Joe and Kevin was highly inappropriate at the age I did.
00:34:16
Speaker
Probably. But that's how it be. That's how it be. That's realistic. That's how it be. The good thing is, they in no way set it up for them to have a romance. Correct. He showed no interest in the girls, other than as a mentor. If they made this movie today, there would be a romance there. Yes. I actually don't have a problem with him being older. I don't even know. He's a successful pop star. He's been on the Grammys. Sure, he can be older, as long as he's not creeping on these girls.
00:34:41
Speaker
Yeah, I actually thought it was fine. I thought the two or three friends, the soccer girls, did look a lot younger yes than Brenda and Danielle. It was a strange casting choice. They should have aged everyone up to the leads. Because then even if I'm like, they don't look like they're 13, I would have been like, okay, well, none of them look like they're 13, so it's fine.
00:35:00
Speaker
Correct. Yeah. And I get that at that age, everyone kind of looks different, but it was a little drastic. It was extreme. Anyways, last review, five stars, all caps. Love it because it's a Jesse McCartney soundtrack on there. Is it? Is that true? I don't know. Now I have to look it up. I think they're right. I think one song was Jesse McCartney. Yes.
00:35:25
Speaker
Oh yeah, good life. Sure. Which I have to say, it's it's not a soundtrack. He's on the movie soundtrack as he sang exactly one song. So it levels with Kim Possible. Sure. And that is what the people think. So tell me, where are they now?
00:35:41
Speaker
ah Buckle up, Buttercup. All right, starting off strong with our heroine Brittany played by Danielle Panabaker. She went on to star in fan favorite films like Sky High and Read It and Weep, the last of which she starred in with her real life sister, Kaye Panabaker. Did you know that? That's her real sister. Oh, of course I knew that. Don't question me on the Panabaker sisters.
00:36:04
Speaker
Her big break, if you didn't already know her from this movie, was in CW's The Flash, where she played scientist Caitlin Snow for nine seasons, nine years she was on this show. She's also married- That was after this? Yeah. The CW's Flash. Wow. Have you not seen The Flash? No. She's really good on that show. I'm not going to lie to you. I believe it. She married an entertainment attorney and she has two little kiddos.
00:36:29
Speaker
Aw, love Danielle. Brenda Song, who played New Girl Natasha, she was already well known by Disney lovers for her role of London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. And though that is her most famous role, um she has been working pretty steadily since then. She's appeared in the film The Social Network. She's been in TV shows, including New Girl, Station 19, and Dollface, and a whole bunch more. um she She was in New Girl.
00:36:58
Speaker
I need to go find her. Yeah, she's in a handful of episodes. Oh, okay. I've never watched it straight through. I just watch it when it's on, so. Fun fact, Taryn Killam is also in one episode of New Girl and it is my favorite episode of New Girl ever. Okay, I'm gonna need to go watch these after. So, Brenda has been in a relationship with child actor Macaulay Culkin since 2017. If you don't know who that is... The Home Alone Kid? It is the kid from Home Alone, yes.
00:37:27
Speaker
They're together? Yes, they've been together since 2017. They've reproduced? They've reproduced. What does their son look like? What does their son look like? They're different looking. I think she's Ty or something to that effect. I think she's Ty. He is like the whitest person that's ever existed, so.
00:37:47
Speaker
Well, that's why I was like, I have questions. Oh, their son is precious. Show me. They reproduced well. Show me. He's got a mohawk. Oh, he's a little chubby little boy.
00:38:02
Speaker
He's cutie. Okay, we got to wrap this up. Taran Killam, who we are assuming we're pronouncing his name right. If we're not, I'm so sorry. But Taran Killam, who played pop star Jordan Cahill, has been in everything ever. Like literally this guy is in all of the movies, all of the TV shows. He is probably best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, which he was on for six years from 2010 to 2016.
00:38:30
Speaker
He is freaking hilarious. I adore him. I feel like I would have seen him, but maybe I just didn't know it was him. You definitely have, and you just haven't remembered. You have seen him in some of your favorite SNL skits. Okay. He is also no stranger to the Broadway stage. He played King George in Hamilton. He played Lancelot in Spamalot recently, um and a few other things as well. He is married to actress Cobie Smulders, the one from How I Met Your Mother and all of the Marvel movies, and they have two daughters.
00:38:59
Speaker
Oh my gosh, Maria Hill! Okay, I don't know how I met your mother, but I know Maria Hill, that's so cool! Yeah, and which is, it's just a fun pairing. Anyway, I just love the two of them. Yes! Aw, and you said they're married? Yeah, married and they have two daughters. so How great. We love it. Love to hear it. Okay, final one I'll mention just because I love him so much um is Mr. Drew Seeley, who played the hotel receptionist and who was also the singing voice for Jordan Cahill. If you did not know, Seeley was also the singing voice for Troy Bolton in the first High School Musical and helped write some of the songs for that film. He finally got his time to shine in another Cinderella story where he got to sing and dance alongside Selena Gomez,
00:39:44
Speaker
That movie was my entire personality. for months and probably still to this day a little bit. I love that movie. I knew the dance from that movie. I love that movie too. Me too. Okay, so you know how we talked about last week how Go Figure made people want to do ice skating? That movie made me want to be a dancer. And I already was taking dance classes and I specifically told my mother, no, I want to go to a studio that has the mirror like the one in this movie. Oh my gosh, that scene is so hot. Like, can we talk about how like... We were like 14 watching that movie and I was like, whoa, all the steam coming off that television. Awakening. Yeah, I had the yoga pants like her because of her. I do the dance. I loved that movie too. However, I don't like it more than a Cinderella story with Hilary Duff. Well, they're just very different movies, despite the fact that they're based on Cinderella, very different movies.
00:40:39
Speaker
Very different, but you know, it's a Cinderella, another Cinderella. I'm just saying it doesn't compare, but I do love that movie, as does my husband, Nick. He is obsessed with that film. I love it. All right, wrapping up Mr. Drew Seeley, because I have to. um He was also on Broadway. He played Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid in 2009. More recently, he was in Jersey Boys. um And fun fact, I just found this out in doing my research. He is a Canadian, but just recently earned his American citizenship so we can claim him as our own. We love you, Drew. Good job, Drew.
00:41:15
Speaker
Welcome to America. I feel like there's just an unfairness in the universe where all of the movies that have really cool, where are they now? It's like year rotation. Then when it's like, I don't know, they've fallen off the earth and they have tattoos and are drinking now. It's my week.
00:41:33
Speaker
But somehow both are interesting. Calling out you Spencer Breslin. Spencer Breslin. Oh my gosh, guys, please, please listen to the last episode, the You
Next Episode Teaser: 'Radio Rebel'
00:41:44
Speaker
Wish podcast. No, the You Wish two weeks ago, three weeks ago. Oh, two weeks ago, sorry. Three weeks, I don't know. Guys, you have to go listen to You Wish that episode. Oh my gosh, the Where Are They Now is jarring. That is our most... Sorry. That is our most off the rails episode by far, by far. Well, spoiler alert, we both hated it, that's why.
00:42:07
Speaker
Those make better podcasts, apparently. Oh, so much better. Okay, we got to wrap it up. so Let's yeah talk about what we're watching next week. All right. If you're new here, let me tell you, we're watching every Disney Channel original movie out of order, not chronologically. We have a random generator that has all over 117 movies in it.
00:42:30
Speaker
ah We are not doing sequels in less of course we've already watched the original here we go we're gonna find out what we're watching next week okay. Okay Natalie we are gonna be watching something a little newer.
00:42:44
Speaker
okay This is actually so funny. i'm I'm keeping you on the edge of your seat. I'm literally like actually nervous. No, no, don't be nervous. It's it's great. I think I've seen it once. ah We were just talking about this actress at the beginning of the episode. We're going to be watching Radio Rebel. Oh, yes. I have never seen it, but I am aware of what it is.
00:43:07
Speaker
I think this movie is most known for the weird face that Debbie's character makes at the end of the movie, and she's like recreated it on TikTok. Is it the the hair back over the ear? I do that all the time when I haven't even seen the movie.
00:43:24
Speaker
It's a pretty fun movie. I mean, i I haven't watched it in a couple of years. I remember it's pretty cheesy, but I think we'll have fun with it. And it's like the most modern sense zombies. Hey, I'm here for the cheese. Yeah, I'm yeah i'm like ah the rest of the people. I eat cheese pizza. I love it. I think this is going to be fun. I think we're going to enjoy it. So everyone watch Radio Rebel this week so you are prepared for our conversation next time.
00:43:49
Speaker
Hey, this is Gabby again from editing. ah We just wanted to let you know that during this recording, we weren't aware of it, but you can't watch Radio Rebel on Disney Plus, lame. So we wanted to let you know that you can watch it for free on either Peacock or Amazon Prime Video. And there's just a whole bunch of other streaming services where you can pay to watch it. So hopefully now you won't be freaking out when you go to watch it like we were. Enjoy the movie.
00:44:12
Speaker
With Debbie Ryan, right? or Debbie Reynolds, no. Debbie Reynolds is a different person. Debbie Ryan. Debbie Ryan. Yep, from Jesse. Jesse. Full circle. This is the second time that's happened. I swear to you guys, we are not setting you up. Like, because this happened with Will, what's his name? Will Friedl. Friedl. This happened with Will Friedl too. You were going to say Will Ferrell, weren't you? You were going to say Will Ferrell. Yeah, I was. But I knew, I knew I was wrong.
00:44:40
Speaker
All right, everybody, we gotta go. We're um unhinged right now. We need to and go to sleep. We love you guys. See you next week. All right, go take a nap. Thank you all so much for listening to this episode of Once Upon a Decom. Like what you just heard? Leave us a rating and review. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Also, follow us on Instagram and TikTok at onceuponadcom.podcast and share this podcast with your Disney-loving friends. A big thanks to Gabby for editing this whole podcast together. Thanks, friend. And don't forget to subscribe because there's always a new episode on the way. This is Gabriella. And Natalie. Signing off with a sprinkle of pixie dust. And a whole lot of nostalgia.