Hannah Montana - TV Show Review

Hannah Montana - Overview

“Hannah Montana” is a live-action comedy series about a teenage pop star leading a double life. Miley Cyrus plays Miley Stewart, who appears to be a typical 14-year-old with the normal teenage struggles of finding herself and fitting in. But, unbeknownst to her classmates and others around her, make-up, lighting, and a blonde wig transform Miley into popular singer Hannah Montana, whose confidence and charisma light up the stage.

Originally from Tennessee, Miley now lives in Malibu, California with her father/manager Robby Stewart (played by her real-life father country music star Billy Ray Cyrus) and her brother Jackson (Jason Earles). Her family and her two best friends – Lilly (Emily Osment) and Oliver (Mitchel Musso) – are among the few who know about Miley’s secret.

Guide Review of Hannah Montana

BILLY RAY CYRUS as Robby Stewart and MILEY CYRUS as Miley Stewart in the new Disney Channel comedy series "Hannah Montana"

Photo © 2006 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

With country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus and his adorable daughter Miley as the stars, this show has a lot of promise. Billy Ray and Miley convey a great daddy-daughter relationship, and both add humor as well as a touch of sentimentality to the show. Emily Osment (Lilly) and Mitchel Musso (Oliver) deliver solid and contributing characters as well. However, some characters and themes in the show go a little too far.

A major focus of Hannah Montana is the plight of Miley to be treated as a normal teen despite her fame, thus the need to keep her pop star status a secret. In portraying her school-time struggles, the popular girls take antagonist center stage. The “in” girls trade insults, pranks and such with Miley and her friends. These unrealistic exchanges don’t provide great examples to the tweens watching the show. Even with only a 30 minute show, I think the writers could come up with more thoughtful insights into the difficulties of the middle school social scene.

Miley’s brother Jackson’s exaggerated twang makes his frequent comments about his love interests sound a little icky, and the tailor’s embellished character traits are also a little grating.

As the show is so new, it may be that the characters evolve and mature. With a cute (although unrealistic) storyline and some awesome main characters, I hope the show will soon realize its potential. Either way, it is sure to be a success among the targeted age group.

Hannah Montana - Topics and Themes

• Miley struggles to fit into the school's social scene.
• Miley and her friends at times contend with ridicule and teasing from some of the other students.
• Miley keeps her star status a secret because she wants people to like her for who she is and not just because she is Hannah Montana.
• Miley has a crush on one of the boys at school