You have to give Hilary Duff credit.
Far more experienced actors have stumbled over plots as silly as the switched identity premise in “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” with Lizzie being mistaken for an Italian pop star in Rome.
But the star of Disney Channel’s hit “Lizzie McGuire” proves positively precocious in making fans smile throughout the most eye-rolling absurdities.
What can we say? We like her, we really really like her.
Series fans should enjoy seeing their favorites reprise their roles on the big screen as Lizzie takes a school trip to Italy with her best friend Gordo (Adam Lamberg), who is just starting to have feelings for her he doesn’t quite get. Also, Kate (Ashlie Brillault), turns out to be not as big of an enemy as she seems, and Ethan (Clayton Snyder), isn’t as dim.
Then there are Lizzie’s well-meaning but clueless parents, played by Robert Carradine and Hallie Todd, and her up-to-no-good little brother Matt, played by Jake Thomas, who eggs the folks to follow her in the hope of raking up some mud on his sister.
The sensibility of the movie, however, is different from the series. The “Lizzie McGuire” show works well because it shows middle-school situations – conflicts, competitions, jealousies, crushes and embarrassments – through Lizzie’s eyes.
But believability doesn’t play much of a part in the movie. It focuses on a handsome pop star, Paolo (Yani Gellman), who runs into Lizzie outside a gelato store and proclaims her a dead ringer for his ex-partner Isabella (Hilary Duff again, but as a brunette). Next, she’s faking illness to elude her chaperone, Miss Ungermeyer (Alex Borstein) and riding on a motorcycle with Paolo (always just a few hair-raising steps outside of Miss Ungermeyer’s view).
As the Cinderella story heats up, Paolo buys her a gorgeous dress and jewelry to wear to a highly publicized awards presentation where she is to impersonate Isabella.
But that underscores another element that kids and parents like about Hilary Duff’s Lizzie. It’s clear that Paolo is never going to do anything more than steal a kiss. It’s not that she seems asexual. She’s curvy and comfortable in her skin. But she also exudes a sense of sweetness and innocence that feels inviolable.
One of the key pop songs that Lizzie sings as she pretends to be Isabella is “What Dreams Are Made Of.” It’s fitting, because “The Lizzie McGuire Movie” is all about dreams – and we’re not talking about Lizzie’s dream of becoming a star.
It’s about the dream of the joyous and safe childhood you would want for any child. As headlines rage about a world of vulnerable and endangered children, Lizzie offers a restful and refreshing oasis in which to escape for a couple of hours.
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