Ahhh 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie'

Story

During her middle school graduation, Lizzie McGuire has to give a speech in place of someone and ends up tripping and effectively ruining the entire graduation.
After graduation she goes on a school trip Rome, a famous Italian singer named Paolo confuses her with another famous singer Isabella who happens to be his singing partner.
Paolo invites Lizzie out and she agrees. After sneaking out to meet him he tells her about their relationship with Isabella and how they were meant to sing together at the Italian Music Awards and convinces Lizzie to impersonate Isabella. And then chaos ensues.

The plot here is pretty straightforward, I'm not looking for a complex narrative in a Disney movie. The sheer ridiculousness of the plot is what adds to the humour heart of the movie and it's something that the characters address.

Acting

Seeing as she is the protagonist, we follow Lizzie throughout the film. This is the character that made Hilary Duff a household name. Her acting here does feel less authentic and forced in this movie compared to the tv show but in all honesty, I haven't watched the tv show in a very long time (I think it's time for a rewatch). I do have to give Hillary props for playing Lizzie and Isabella both of which are very different characters. (even though Linsday Lohan did it first in The Parent Trap).

The supporting characters range from fun to watch to pretty boring, the best of them being  Alex Borstein who plays Ms Ungermeyer the school chaperone, I found her funny and she was breath of fresh air while she was on screen.

Overall the acting is fine overall, there are moments that made me cringe in the way the lines are delivered but it didn't take me out of the film too much. Some of the lines fall on the way the scrpit was written and some of it falls on the way the actor delivered the lines.

Writing/Direction

As I mentioned earlier, the plot is a pretty simple one and the writing isn't any different. This movie plays like a long episode of the tv show and I'm pretty sure that was done deliberately so there would be a sense of continuity and familiarity.

This movie was released in 2003 and everything about this screams 'early 2000's', from the way characters, are written to the way they interact with each other. Safe to say that this movie doesn't age well as some of the lines are cliche, but I'm not it expecting to. The gaps in logic are a little questionable (I'm looking at you Lizzie) but overall the writing works for what it is.

Set Design 

99% of this movie was filmed in Rome meaning that it looks absolutely stunning, the scene where Lizzie is riding through Rome on a Vespa makes me want to ride through Rome on a Vespa.
This is usually what happens with movies that are filmed on location, they give you wanderlust.

There isn't much to be said about the set design as a whole when the characters visit Roman landmarks like the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum you recognise the importance of those landmarks, to the plot and society as a whole.

Score/Soundtrack 

The  movie's soundtrack in itself is forgettable but there is one song that is iconic, more so than the film itself and that is  'What Dreams are Made Of." The fact that I can remember all the lyrics and I haven't seen the film in over 10 years, is a testament to how iconic the song is.
The singing isn't great and the performance as a whole feels very oddly choreographed it also sounds too autotuned but overall it's a super catchy song. Once it's in your head, good luck trying to get it out.

You are very welcome. 😉

Overall Thoughts

This is the quintessential teen rom-com. It has the protagonist going to a foreign country where they want a fresh start and then goes on an adventure. It even ends with fireworks. (not gonna lie I rolled my eyes at that)
A review like this is hard to do, I'm not going to say this movie is bad because it's not, however it's not great and feels more like fan-service for the fans of the tv show.
When you watch a movie like this you know what you're getting into from the very beginning and that it's to have fun and live vicariously through Lizzie who goes to Rome on holiday and live like a pop star for a few days.
When I saw this movie I loved it, but that was over 10 years ago and my taste in film has changed considerably since then. I don't want to review this movie through rose-tinted glasses but I can't be too hard on it because it's not meant to be taken seriously either.
All in all, I enjoyed this movie and I would say that I still like it now, not as much as I did when I first saw it but enough to watch it again at some point in the future.