The Challenge

This was a pretty cute kids movie by fraternal twins Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen. They play Shane & Lizzie, who have spent the last 4 years apart because their parents wanted different things and the girls had nothing in common anyway. The producers of this Survivor-type reality show (spoofing it right down to the host and the physical challenges, but lacking the elimination of members) noticed that these twins both sent in audition tapes and thought it would be great ratings to have them on the same team.

I won't spoil the rest for you, but needless to say it is a cute movie, and the twins are very adorable (they are almost full-grown adults).

As far as Olsen movies go, this one is pretty good. It has a plot, and is actually watchable. Mary-Kate and Ashley have always been bad actors, and they haven't improved at all here, and once again they are practically playing themselves, but this is just a straight to video release and in that respect, it's just decent. And whereas most Olsen movies are basically an archive of them having fun, I think there was only ONE Olsens-having-fun moment in here.

To be critical, the acting is crap, the love interests aren't at all cute, and some of the supporting cast are pretty annoying, especially the girl who plays to win. It's a good movie for the Olsens, but it is unfortunately let down by a "twist" ending which is totally crap, ridiculous, and completely big headed on the Olsens part. Fortunatly, this marked the end of the Olsens' run of videos, and thats probably why they set out to try and make it half decent.

To praise the movie, it is watchable, and it's one of the Olsen movies where they don't come across as annoying (at least they aren't annoying, until the, as Mary-Kate called it, "cool surprise"). That cool surprise isn't cool at all. It's pretty big headed.

Ultimately, it's worth a look in.

Shane and Lizzie are sisters whose parents divorced. Shane went with her mother to California, and she cares about nature, she refuses to eat meat, and she practices yoga. Lizzie stayed with her father in the Washington, D.C., area, and she is intelligent, politically involved, driven to succeed, and carries a cell phone everywhere. Both girls want to change the world, in their own way.

Shane and the others wonder why there are only seven contestants when eight is normal. It seems Lizzie is late (unusual for her, actually), and when she finally does show up, Shane is not happy. Both girls come close to quitting.

The show is part 'Survivor' and part 'Fear Factor'. The eight young people are divided into two teams. Since the show is being filmed in Mexico, the teams are the Aztecs and the Mayans. Both sisters end up on the Mayan team.

As is often true in Disney movies, the ones you don't want to win get ahead in the competition, and you begin to wonder about the team you support, who are subjected to humiliation whenever they fail. But both Shane and Lizzie contribute unique abilities to their team, so there is a chance.

Though I have seen only clips of reality shows, I thought the 'Challenge' program seemed very realistic in its presentation, as if I was watching that show rather than a movie about it. The acting performances were stereotypical for the most part. But I especially enjoyed the conceited swimmer on the Aztec team. And I can't help but like those Olsen twins. At times, especially in the blooper reel at the end and in the interviews that appeared on the 'Challenge' program, they seemed more sophisticated than the cute little girls we have come to know. But they have yet to shake that adorable image.

It wasn't a great movie, and not a classic by any means, but it was Disney-style fun.

This movie is amazing! As always, there are love interests and jet skis, but there's something really different about this one. It actually has substance and a plot! The very end really made it for me. This surprise ending was truly inspired, the best these twins have done yet! Keep it up girls!

1st watched 5/13/2023 - (Dir-Craig Shapiro): Mostly lame, although watch-able near the end in this Mary Kate & Ashley late offering for the twins. They kind of follow the pattern of the Disney film "The Parent Trap" in this one as sisters from across the continent living with divorced mom and dad meet un-expectantly by both applying to be in the reality game show called "The Challenge." Thru a marketing gimmick, the producers decide it would be good for ratings for both to be on the program, and in a weird twist - are also put on the same team. They haven't seen each other for 4 years and don't like each other at all. The producers figure the conflict will bring up ratings. This conflict initially make's their team not do well, but after each challenge - they start learning from each other and start connecting again and the team flourishes. There are the typical romantic things happening - with a nice montage at the end bringing back boyfriends from other movies - making me wonder if this is their last. Also - the tension of the last challenge with Mary Kate & Ashley facing their biggest fears brings the movie out of the "really bad" to "ok" fare. There is never much deep in any of these movies - which is expected, but they definetly have appealed to some to last this long. Not for me, though - and I'm probably not the target audience, either.