I was "eh" on this film until I bought the soundtrack for 12 bucks at a local Wal-Mart, and I was surprised to find that the songs were actually not just great, but Spectacular! (Yes, that was cheesy, quiet now). They are actually rock songs you would accidentally find on limewire and fall in love with. They're just plain better.

Nikko (Funk) is a wannabe rock star with his eyes set on the future, but when he is dumped by his band, he meets up with Courtney (Sursok) who invites him to be in their show choir, Spectacular! to win a music competition. But the rival choir, Ta-Da!, has other plans to win the music competition, with Royce (Curtis) and Tammi (Justice) in the lead of the show, and they plan to win for another year. Nikko completely changes what the band once was, but will that be good enough to win? Okay, I won't lie, the situations were not exactly original, but it was pulled off in such an original way. And the acting in this film is incredibly impressive for people this young. Props to Simon Curtis and Tammin Sursok, who I believe made the film. And Nolan Funk's rock voice was what made the film a hit for me. The only thing a bit disappointing was Victoria Justice, who plays her part well, but has about 10 minutes of screen time in this 90 minute movie, and she doesn't really seem like that "bad girl" that Sharpay Evans was in HSM.

The direction is, at most, basic. The editing is decent, and the placing of the songs is great, however, "Everything Can Change" has got to be one of the most boring finales ever done. They just stand there in the studio and sing. I figured it'd be some "You Can't Stop The Beat" or "Hot Honey Rag", and explosive incredible finale! But it wasn't.

All in all, it was a great, entertaining film, and I will be the first in line for the DVD, because it's one heck of a TV movie.

So I already knew I was going in with high expectations. I can't help myself when I get excited for something. And while this movie didn't meet those expectations, I still enjoyed it and will enjoy it again through future viewings. The story seems a bit empty and disjointed and the resolution leaves something to be desired but you can tell what they're trying to accomplish with this little flick.

I gave it a higher rating probably than the actual quality deserves simply because I could watch and enjoy without worrying about the content found all over TV elsewhere. It was actually more tame than I was expecting from a Nickelodeon movie - they tend to push the limits Disney Channel doesn't - but they held back this time and it worked.

It's not the best movie ever made and if you HAVE to compare it to HSM - which you shouldn't, but many will - then maybe it's not quite up to that par. But it's enjoyable in it's own right.

And anyone who was every in show choir - as I was once upon a long ago - then maybe you'll get a nice little trip down memory lane.

Shot in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast, Spectacular! is Nickelodeon's effort to compete with Disney for the High School Musical market. It remains to be seen whether any of the characters come up to the iconic level that the principals of the High School Musical franchise enjoy.

Music class has certainly improved since I was in high school way back in the early part of the Sixties. Nolan Gerard Funk is a would be rock singer whose band gives him the gate and sends his career sputtering into stall. Britney Irvin likes his voice and likes him and wants him to join her jazz choir which do all kinds of choreography and glitz in their work. They're in competition and she thinks his presence could put them over.

Of course when young Funk gets several opportunities to advance his own career and get back with his old girl friend, Tammin Sursok, what choices will he make?

The only difference between this and the first High School Musical film was that Zac Efron had to choose between singing and sports, basketball to be specific. Here it's simply different musical venues, but the conflicts in the young teen mind are the same.

In producing Spectacular!, Nickolodeon will of course be accused of stealing the playbook from Disney's High School Musical which in point of fact they have. There's nothing terribly Spectacular in this film, but its nice enough and the cast is talented enough to put it across.

Now let's see if they become the icons that the High School Musical characters have become.