Teen Beach 2 (2015)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Just perfect...

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

the story line is not too strong, but Garrett Clayton made this film a total 8. i just enjoy watching him acting so gay in the film, it was just crazily funny. he fits this role so perfectly. it is too funny to see him acting all silly and cute. his lines were too funny, he performed very well. i don't know if the director made him doing that, or he thought it himself, i think that this film was funnier than teen beach movie. and Garrett Clayton is just so good looking to look at. but his role just seems so gay that they should have given him a boyfriend to play with in this film, that girlfriend relationship obviously doesn't work. i would watch teen beach 3 if he is in it again.

I came into this movie expecting a low-quality high-school-music-imitation like the last movie but I was pleasantly surprised.The choreography experienced a major improvement. While High School Musical showed up Teen Beach Movie in it's choreography intricacy Teen Beach Movie 2 matched it. Ross Lynch stepped up his dancing too - seen in the school dance off - he must have worked his butt of for that quadruple pirouette and barrel turn. It was a little cheesy at points - the frown/smile song - but I think they made it clear in this movie they weren't taking themselves too seriously.The humour in the movie flowed better then the first movie - or at least for me it did. I actually found myself laughing out loud at this movie compared to the eye rolls I experienced during the first movie.I feel like the content dealt with in the second movie was also more mature then the first movie - excluding the ending. The characters had to deal with greater sacrifice then simply friendship, they had to deal with coming to the reality of teenage relationships and most importantly independence. Seeing Lela so excited to be able to follow her dreams and "do anything even if you're a girl" was really great to see. Women being treated like damsels and simply objects of romance in old musicals was a real problem so this movie subtly calls that out with Lela's pursuit of happiness. I remember how angry I was that Mack gave up her schooling opportunity to surf with Brady in the first - considering how intelligent Mack is supposed to be - so seeing this new focus on independence was awesome.I see a lot of reviews claiming the 60s and 70s vibes are gone in this movie, as if it's a bad thing. I thought it was pretty clear that was on purpose. They did that old vibe for the first movie and did modern for the second as to not recreate the first movie but still keep the characters alive. I really appreciated this because I don't know if I could handle another surfer-vibe movie because I, along with the thousands of other kids watching it, don't have that nostalgia towards surfer movies. So by having this movie less surf-ery it gives the audience something they're familiar with while still relating it to the classic movie.Now some bad things. Of course the whole forgetting each other because they met in the movie spin made little to no sense so that was a major downfall of the movie. I also wish they hadn't added the concept of the disappearing movie but I understand why they wanted to keep the idea that each world balances off each other so they can't intermingle or something along those lines. It was also strange how Mack said that Lela could do all these things such as start a math club in the movie world yet it seems plausible that the movie world is confined to only the locations and resources contained in the movie, making some things impossible and being trapped in a confined world unbearable for Lela. But that's probably a little nit picky. I would recommend it if you're in for a silly, light movie to lift your spirits. Just don't come into it expecting a seamless homage to your favourite 60s musical because that's not what this is. Just enjoy it and don't be a grumpy parent about it either, please.

It is the eve of the first day of school for Mack (Maia Mitchell) and Brady (Ross Lynch), who spend it at Dolphin's Cove celebrating their "meet-iversary" and reminiscing about the summer and the day they met at Dolphin's Cove over Brady's favorite movie, Wet Side Story, the movie Mack and Brady got stuck in during the events of Teen Beach Movie ("Best Summer Ever"). After surfing, Brady asks Mack if things will change between them at school. Mack says no; she then notices she lost the necklace she received while in Wet Side Story's universe. Thinking it is lost forever, they swim away.The next day, Brady reunites with his friend Devon (Raymond A. Cham, Jr.), while Mack reunites with her friend Alyssa (Piper Curda); both are shocked about their new relationship due to their polar opposite personalities. Brady then runs into Mack, and both are taken aback by how they act at school. Later, in marine biology class, Brady is working on designs for a surfboard, but hides it when Mack asks him what he's up to. Mack then bumps into Spencer Watkins (Ross Butler), who Alyssa said was the cutest guy in school, and Brady becomes defensive. After school, Brady tries asks Mack to hang out, but Mack is too busy preparing for a "Save the Beach" dance. Mack reminds him about a college fair, and he promises he'll be there with Mack. Brady struggles with a college application, so goes to work on a surfboard with Wet Side Story on in the background.The movie turns to Wet Side Story, where Tanner (Garrett Clayton) is preparing to go to the lighthouse to save Big Momma's. Lela (Grace Phipps) suggests she could help, breaking the movie's plot line, but Tanner gets Lela to back down, and the movie returns to normal, albeit with a visibly shaken Lela.Later, Brady realizes he's late for the college fair, but by the time he gets there, the fair has ended. Mack and Brady argue about how Mack is so busy and Brady hides things from Mack, and they agree not to see each other until next summer ("On My Own").Meanwhile, in the Wet Side Story universe, Lela sings "Fallin' For Ya," but ultimately can't take it anymore and leaves Big Momma's, breaking the movie's plot line. Tanner rushes out to see what's wrong with Lela, and she says she was changed by her encounter with Mack. Lela then finds the necklace she gave Mack washed up on the beach, and Lela and Tanner go into the ocean, ultimately winding up in the present day real world, where they are stunned by all of the modern day advances.Brady and Mack run into each other on the beach, still with tension, but they spot Lela and Tanner and reunite with them. Mack and Brady tell them they're in the future, exciting Lela and Tanner ("Right Where I Want to Be"). Mack and Brady debate telling them the truth after noticing that Tanner and Lela's hair can't get wet, but decide instead to show them that the real world isn't as great as it seems.Back in Wet Side Story, the characters are confused without Lela and Tanner. Butchy (John DeLuca) has Cheechee (Chrissie Fit) sing "Fallin' For Ya," but she is constantly interrupted by Seacat (Jordan Fisher) ("Fallin' For Ya"). Nobody notices that a background character disappears as he enters Big Momma's.Brady and Mack bring Lela and Tanner to school, where their movie characteristics come out against Mack and Brady's cautions, culminating in a big musical number in the cafeteria ("Turn That Frown Upside Down"). Lela becomes too enthralled with math homework to hang out with Tanner after school and goes to Mack's house, so Tanner hangs out with Brady, and they have a heart to heart – Tanner was worried that Lela came to this world because he wasn't enough for her. Brady then alludes to his rough patch with Mack, and reveals that he's been working on unique surfboards; he says that Mack can't know because she might not get it, given her plans to go to college. Mack, meanwhile, tries to convince Lela that the movie world was better, but when she suggests that Lela only needs a boy who loves her, Lela uses Mack's words against her. When Mack notices Lela wearing normal clothes, something she couldn't do before, she calls Brady, and they both discover that the two are becoming part of the real world. They then tell Lela and Tanner that they are just characters in a movie, showing them clips from Wet Side Story ("Silver Screen"). This doesn't sit well with Lela, who throws the necklace into the ocean, prompting Mack and Brady to search for it; this leads to another argument between them, which disturbs Lela and Tanner.While this all is happening, in the Wet Side Story universe, the gang sees people disappearing. Butchy, realizing that all of this started after Tanner and Lela left, notices the necklace washed up, and leads the gang into the ocean to get Tanner and Lela back. They come out into the real world and everyone reunites. When Lela resists their calls to return, Butchy tells her about the disappearing characters; Brady and Mack realize that with no movie stars, there's no movie. Lela agrees to leave, and the movie characters retreat into their world, and Mack and Brady leave separately.

Can't believe after a two year wait this was the best Disney could come up with ... a disjointed story, less then memorable tunes, and plenty of missed opportunities ... Two years ago the idea of a Disney musical about kids on a beach sounded kinda lame to me, but I kept getting drawn in as I walked by the TV as my kids watched the original Teen Beach Movie. Finally, I sat down to watch the whole thing ... and watched it with them again, and again, and again. Yes, I'll admit it -- I was a late-40's mom who fell in love with Teen Beach Movie.Having grown up on Beach Blanket Bingo films, I loved what Disney did with this parody in the original film. It was a cute premise that paid homage to the old goofy classics in a really charming way. It was fun, funny, and the tunes were so catchy, we still break out into them from time to time in our house.So needless to say, over recent months the excitement has been building in our household in anticipation for the premiere of Teen Beach 2 ... then we watched it. Even my youngest who always thinks the sequel (or any most recent movie he's seen) is the best movie ever, looked sadly to me afterward and said he expected better. I'd been holding my tongue with pretty much the same sentiment since the movie started. My son is still holding out for redemption in a Teen Beach 3. As for me? This was the lame movie I thought I was avoiding the first time around. Sigh ... that's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back ...