Jump In! (2007)

You won't be disappointed!

So much average

Simply Perfect

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

If I didn't knew "Jump In" was a Disney Channel movie, I would guessed it was a TV movie from another channel. This urban-oriented flick is a rare DC flick with a more mature feel and tone and it genuinely feels like a TV movie from a more mature channel. While it's still a light-hearted film, "Jump In" is the least cheesy Disney Channel flick I've seen. It seems as the executives of Disney woke up and decided to made a DC flick aimed for a older teen group, although kids and tween's can still safely enjoy the film.And to be honest, it's good to see a DC film which isn't overwhelmingly sugar coated. Anyhow, "Jump In" is still a cute and lighthearted movie. It's nice and refreshing to see a urban film with almost an entirely Afro-American cast (which is something they should tried out for "The Princess and the Frog") from Disney Channel. While the story and moral is quite traditional, the film delivers a valuable message to the viewers and comes off with a quite decent drama, insuring the story's mature tone.Although none of the acting is Oscar-worthy, the cast are a good fit for their roles; Keke Palmer is adorable and likable as Mary, David Rievers is a good TV-dad, Kylee Russell is a cute little sister for Izzy without outshining the other cast, while Patrick Johnson Jr is credible as Izzy's hostile nemesis Rodney. Those who watches "Hannah Montana" will recognize "Amber" (Shanica Knowles) as Mary's friend Shauna and Shanica delivers a decent performance. And Izzy's two friends Chuck (Masin Elsadig) and L'ilEarl (Micah Williams) are amusing.It's no strange that Disney wanted Corbin Bleu to Starr in his own film. He's got lots of star potential; charisma, looks, presence and sex appeal. But is he really a good actor? Well, to be fair on him; although he's far from an Al Pacino or an Robert De Niro (just to take some examples), he does a decent performance as Izzy.If there's anything to complain on "Jump In", it must be the overall presence of the "villain" Rodney, which also was a problem in "Camp Rock". Although the villains in DC have back-stories which makes the viewers sympathize more for them, their back-stories doesn't get solved and they still have to surrender to the protagonist. Those solutions feels too slight and out of order.Otherwise, "Jump In" may not be innovative or a masterpiece, but still a entertaining and cute film to recommend and to enjoy. It has pacing, boxing, lot of impressive double dutch movements, a little romance and catchy, urban music.

Previews of HSM's Corbin Bleu jumping double dutch made us want to catch the replay broadcast of this Disney Original Movie. I never really thought that double dutch is a serious sport for some people. I have never even seen anyone jumping double dutch in real life where I live. The conflict of Corbin's character Izzy to be a boxer (as the dream of his ex-boxer dad) versus that of being a double dutch jumper (thought to be a sissy girls' sport) has been tackled in so many other youth fims, not the least of which was High School Musical itself. But the leads are very talented and engaging. And furthermore, I was very entertained by the music, dancing and jump rope skills displayed in this movie.

No major spoilers in this, but I want to be safe.What a delightful surprise. My kids wanted to see this, and when it came on the Disney channel we all watched. I had a book in my lap, figuring I wouldn't find the movie all that interesting. But the book stayed closed in my lap (except for during commercials.) A nice movie. Clean. A message of "violence doesn't get you anywhere." And many more. It even taught some nice family values. In one scene, the boy says some harsh things to his father, but as soon as he sees the hurt in his father's eyes, he says he's sorry. A nice and rare example in this day and age of movies. All in all, a good family movie. I recommend it. Oh yeah, and the Double Dutch scenes are pretty good, too. :)

I thought this movie was OK... I mean it was everything I would've expected, but from the previews they kind of gave most of it away... the story never left its predictable plot line. The actors... well... they were OK... it wasn't 2007's golden globe nominee performance... if you know what I mean. So there's the whole boxing thing and then he finds his heart in double dutch... yea... OK... and of course they win the competition in the end and everyone's merry or whatever... But you know you can't really expect much from typical Disney movies... I thought it was realistic... at points... and it was a great story... but... shall I say... BORING? Keke Palmer is a great actress... and she was OK in this movie too... but it wasn't her best. Same for Corbin Bleu. Don't get me wrong, the movie was good... non-original... but GOOD... Just WAAAYYY WAAAAAY too predictable. For those of you who haven't seen this yet, you're not in for a mind-boggling story. Ugh, I mean it was decent and enjoyable... I guess... but couldn't they have at least added some twist to it? COME ON!!!