Kidz Bop: Everyone's a Star!

Based on the Kidz Bop CD compilation series that re-records top-40 pop hits with a kid-friendly sound, this program's lame framing device finds a saccharinely sweet child cast gathering together to start their own lip synching band after missing out on tickets to a sold-out concert. Mouthing their way through eight popular songs, such as Smashmouth's “All Star,” Three Doors Down's “Superman,” Christina Aguilera's “What a Girl Wants,” and Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up the Sun," the kids lurch from song to song with threadbare connecting narrative (like: a kid mentions parties, another kid says “yeah, parties”; cue song: Pink's “Get the Party Started”). Obnoxious for its reinforced ‘tween stereotyping (two of the kids are nerdy--i.e. they don't go to parties and wear glasses--and need the others' help in becoming cool) and its illogical stabs at plot (a mean music store owner yells at the kids but later transforms into a friendly hippie), this misguided project is not recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams)