Even Disney’s garbage is sanitized. I find it amusing that Disney is the current target of Republican hatred these days because everything Disney does is scrubbed clean of filth, ambiguity, and controversy. Take this film, for instance, about a Broadway bound boy who is clearly LGTBQ –but the film only hints at such and never states. Even his trip to the “seediness” of NYC is stage crafted: Goodness! Bags of trash! (That are neither opened, nor containing obvious gooey waste) Goodness, a rat! (And darn Ratatouille-lookin’ one at that) This is Port Authority?! Have you never been there? First time I got to Port Authority, I was a teenager and had to –almost literally- wade through a lake of junkies just to get to NYC night. Disney didn’t show that. We were supposed to be alarmed by the rat outside his Habitrail. (“Not too thick, people; it’s Disney!”)
Nate (Rueby Wood) might be destined for bright lights and big city, but right now, he can’t even land a decent part in the school musical. The question is: “Do you really want to star in a musical about Abraham Lincoln?”
Say, what would you title an Abraham Lincoln musical? “The Gettysburg Redress?” “The Great Emanci-tainer?” “For score?”
Never mind. The kid probably makes a lousy Lincoln anyway. Auditioning always means leaving yourself vulnerable and such rejection seems wrong for a kid so into the staged lifestyle that he wakes up signing “On Broadway.” Check it out, there’s an open audition in NYC for the Lilo & Stitch musical, a favorite of both Nate and his bestie, Libby (Aria Brooks … Seriously? The kid literally named “Aria” isn’t doing the singing here?), so, you now, they HAVE to go, right?
Hmmmm … I can only see about 5,000 problems immediately starting with the fact that the two kids live in Pittsburgh … add to that little issues like they don’t have transportation, money, parental approval, time off school, or a place to stay in New York. Then there are the pure logistics of auditioning: To do so on Broadway, you often need representation, an invitation, or at least a reservation. And there’s the weird-but-necessary omission here in preparation. Broadway casting agents rarely take somebody on looks alone.
Pfft … it’s Disney. Who needs all that noise?
I cannot say this film actually grabbed me in any way until Nate, when put on the spot during an unlikely callback, delivers a hilarious monologue straight from the pages of “Designing Women.” Until that
moment, Better Nate Than Ever rated “barely watchable,” especially given Disney’s sterile narrative. However, I dare any human soul -no matter how jaded or disbelieving- not to shed a tear or two over Nate’s stage solo of the musical’s goto number “No One Gets Left Behind.”
Rueby Wood strikes me as a kid who is so locked into performance art that he doesn’t have a genuine personality. This is all speculation; I know zilch about the teen outside this film. And, admittedly, people who are performers need to be performing, which is why the first half of the film didn’t floor me. It’s a performer just … acting. When do we get a performance? If you can wait for it, it’s worth it. I’ll be very interested to see where Rueby goes from here; I daresay his talents are much likelier built for stage than screen.
Was Pittsburgh Nate born for fame and riches?
His stratagems seemed replete with hitches
But given a chance
To audition his dance
He might leave you in Lilo & Stitches
Rated PG, 94 Minutes
Director: Tim Federle
Writer: Tim Federle
Genre: Disney’s ongoing attempt to control the market in-between children and parents
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Broadway aspirants
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Broadway realists
