A Semana da Minha Vida

Will hit rock bottom when he had the choice to either go to camp or to.youth detention center. There he found friendship, love and God and family. When he first got to camp he didn't want to be there but the longer he was there the more he actually liked it. This movie might be a little cheesy but it's better than the 1 star ratings some are giving it.

This is Camp Rock for the church crowd with a dash of High School Musical sprinkled in (the two leads will remind you of Troy and Gabriella). You'll especially love the movie if you were into Christian music in the late 80's and 90's (there are even a couple of artist cameos for you).

I am a Christian, but my eyes get sore watching Christian movies because I'm rolling them so hard. They're very typically over-earnest, heavy-handed, and usually far-right in sentiment. One Week Away is none of these things, and if you like Camp Rock you'll enjoy this movie too, whether you appreciate the churchy message or not. The themes are universal: love, redemption, belonging, and the characters play through the themes without being schlocky - or at least more schlocky than any teen musical. I like that Will asks the hard questions that Christians are often afraid to ask, and there's no ready answer for him.

There are many things to criticize - the acting is at times uneven and the music isn't for everyone (although the showstopper is the Awesome God/God Only Knows mashup - brilliant performance), but the movie was short and fun and a very pleasant trip down memory lane for me. Worth watching, and worth watching with the kids.

Troublesome orphan Will Hawkins (Kevin Quinn) is on his last chance. He's set to go to group home until foster parent Kristin (Sherri Shepherd) volunteers to take him in. Only he has to join her and her son George at a Christian camp run by David (David Koechner). Immediately, he falls for sweetie Avery (Bailee Madison).

This Christian film is trying to be a Disney TV musical. It's not the worst idea but the first half is a dud. The lead kid is written as a prankster troublemaker but he's played like a lightweight. At most, he's lying to get the girl. He doesn't even try to run away as his first move. He's bland until the second half. Along with the movie in general, it gets better in the second half. The first half is a boring version of High School Musical. Will and Avery don't even get a good meet-cute. Their first meeting is a perfunctory love-at-first-sight moment which turns immediately to a big musical. It's a meet-perfunctory. It's not until 45 minutes when the couple has a good one-on-one heart-to-heart. From that moment on, the movie improves markedly. They even have their first good song by the campfire and they let their God flag fly. It's like the movie decides to land all the big punches at once. If Will is more of a brigand earlier, his character could have a bigger arc. If the Christianity gets let loose sooner, it could set up the internal religious conflict better. If Will and Avery have more moments quicker, they could have more punch in their emotional drama. Bailee Madison could eat up those Emmy moments if she's released. The first half is a missed opportunity.

A Week Away is High School Musical meets Camp Rock with a little bit of faith thrown in. High School Musical fans will not be able to miss the Troy Bolton likeness of the Will Hawkins character. He's got the charm and talent that's perfect for this type of role. Rather than including original songs, the music is mostly Christian classics from the 1990s. This isn't a bad thing. I grew up with these songs so it was cool hearing them in a modern musical. One of the standout moments of the whole movie is the mashup of the songs Awesome God and the more recent hit, God Only Knows by For King and Country. This movie is a wholesome, feel-good experience. Is the lip-syncing great? No. Is it cheesy? Yes. But is it also lighthearted and fun? Absolutely. It captured a lot of the elements of church camp. There's lots of flirting, lots of competitive recreation, and of course, drama. The only noticeable thing missing from this church camp compared to the church camps I grew up attending, is the Bible study and worship sessions. The faith element is mostly kept in the background. While there are some deep questions that come up regarding God and the problem of suffering, this movie never tries to answer these questions. The story moves very quickly. With all the fun musical and dance numbers, there isn't a lot of time for character development. It's a simple story that isn't very ambitious, but it is likable. Teens should especially enjoy it.

It's a good Sunday family movie please see it as it... when they made it was not to run for an Oscar or something... was to be just a light family movie... and they'Ve got it!