Mark Reviews Movies: 13: THE MUSICAL

13: The Musical, Netflix

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Become a Patron

Review by Mark Dujsik | August 12, 2022

The cast and filmmakers of 13: The Musical have put a lot of obvious energy toward something that doesn't amount to much. In a way, that result is almost to be expected. The movie is based on a stage musical that's novel for the fact that the entire cast was made up of teenagers (A behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the Broadway production, with all of the logistics of arranging such an enterprise and the various dynamics that would form among the cast, sounds instantly fascinating, but that's beside the point). The concerns here are inherently juvenile, which isn't necessarily a criticism—just a statement of fact.

A new kid in town wants to be popular. The nerdy kid just wants a friend. A happy couple is obsessed with planning the perfect first kiss, and a major plot point involves a scheme to sneak into a bloody horror movie.

Most of this feels right in terms of what a group of pre-teens and early teens from well-to-do families in small-town America would concern themselves with on a regular basis. The innocent simplicity of the characters, story, and ideas here is worth something. That's probably true more so for an audience around the age of the characters on screen, although it's surely to be pleasantly inoffensive and a bit nostalgic for anyone beyond high-school age.

Some of this works on that level of being intrinsically juvenile and staying within that mindset. A lot of it feels as if the material, adapted by screenwriter Robert Horn (who co-wrote the musical's book with Don Elish), is trying a bit too hard to inject melodrama where it doesn't need to be, as if the regular worries and joys of being in the 8th grade aren't enough drama for kids like these.

Then, there's the presence of adults, who are played by fine actors who understand they aren't the stars, which certainly gives the adults who would end up watching this some focal point, while also giving the kid characters people to impart life lessons on them. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of this tale?

Anyway, the premise has 12-year-old Evan Goldman (Eli Golden), a Jewish kid from the heart of New York City who's preparing for his forthcoming Bar Mitzvah, moved from the Big Apple to a little town in Indiana. That's because his mother Jessica (Debra Messin) and father Joel (Peter Hermann) have separated on account of the latter's affair with another woman. Mom has decided to move in with her mother Ruth (Rhea Perlman) while she tries to get her life in order, leaving Evan without his friends, his rabbi (played by Josh Peck), or the chance to have a big party on the day of the big event.

He does make a fast friend in Patrice (Gabriella Uhl), a young environmentalist who seems like the coolest kid in town during the summer when Evan only knows her. When the first day of school arrives, though, Evan finds himself drawn toward the likes of super-cool jack-of-all-trades Brett (JD McCrary), super-nice preppy girl Kendra (Lindsey Blackwell), and super-popular cheerleader Lucy (Frankie McNellis). They're the key to Evan having a big Bar Mitzvah bash, but since Patrice isn't welcome among that clique, the two friends become estranged.

There's not much for Evan to do here, which might be why the parents' marital problems, Jessica's desire to become a writer, and grandma's words of wisdom seem to overshadow him. Most of the plot is dedicated to the naïve romance between Brett and Kendra, who won't kiss for the first time unless it's under the perfect circumstances, as well as Lucy's jealousy of the couple. She has a crush on Brett, and when Evan comes up with a plan for the couple to kiss (The classmates are weirdly, almost voyeuristically obsessed with this), Lucy blackmails him: Prevent the kiss from happening, or she'll tell everyone not to attend his party.

Most of this is an excuse for the various songs, which are poppy and peppy tunes that do the job in the moment but are instantly forgettable, and dance numbers, which are competently shot by director Tamra Davis and very well-performed by the young cast (The unconvincing lip-syncing to the actors' pre-recorded singing becomes a distraction, which is more an issue of a likely rushed production than anything else, and the alternative would have been a technical nightmare). Like the story, the musical numbers are most effective when they're in service of conveying a youthful attitude and outlook, such as the big song where Evan devises the scheme to get into the movie they're too young to see. It's the little things that seem to be such a big deal at that age.

Some of that spirit is in 13: The Musical, which unfortunately seems to be in a rush to get to the betrayals, the love triangle, and the chance for everyone to learn an important lesson or two about growing up. In that rush, the movie loses its relaxed, adolescent bearings.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products

Buy the Soundtrack (Digital Download)