Film Review:’Stamped!’ Is’Breakfast Club’ With A Modern Twist; Features Hannah Montana Actor

It’s not the same script as “The Breakfast Club.” But “Stamped!” is a fresh take on the old John Hughes genre and it uses an actor the audience will recognize from such television shows as “Hannah Montana” and “Wizards of Waverly Place.”

(The film premieres at the Fox Theater at a red carpet event Friday, Feb. 27. Actors will be attending!)

Fans of 80s movies like the “The Breakfast Club” (1985) or newer high-school themed TV shows like “Camp Rock” and “Hannah Montana” are going to want to see ”Stamped!” The film appeals to two generations of film and TV lovers, which is nice for those who miss the rawness of 1980s John Hughes flicks. Today’s Disney-made high school themed productions seem too afraid to dig into certain themes and rarely allow an actor like Kubach to literally turn the screen into a series of hilarious comedy routines.

While “Stamped!” doesn’t dig too deeply into teenage angst, it does hint at what teenagers face: tough talk from peers on issues that involve stereotypes and ethnic divides.

The film actually takes a brave stance on race as a black character, Deshawn is confronted by the goofy albeit sarcastic realities coughed up by the film’s white main character, Mitchell. The only uncomfortable scene in the film doesn’t come from Mitchell, but rather another student, played by Matt Thompson, who asks Deshawn a race question that would make most people’s skin crawl.

Mitchell is played by the hilarious up-and-coming actor Brian Kubach. Every class clown who sees the film will want to one-up Kubach who is able to take classroom shenanigans to bizarre levels. His Jim Carey-style facial expressions, slapstick humor and zany off-the-cuff acting carries the film, which uses six Screen Actors Guild actors and lots of Bakersfield extras.

Created by Director Bryce Hatch of Frontier High school, “Stamped!” was shot on location at the school. “As cute as the script is, the actors made the film,” Hatch admits. And he’s right. Kubach’s on-screen improvisations are a hilarity to watch throughout the movie, which begins with the actor in a rather uncomfortable scene involving about a dozen pencils.

Hatch said Kubach originally tried out for the part of the jock Cody in the film. But after Hatch and editor Andrew Waite met the actor, Kubach was asked to read for the part of the main character: the bizarre-humored Mitchell who is out to disrupt class while doing a make-up test.

The film was created on a budget of about $35,000, most of which was invested in the actors. ABC (not in Bakersfield) donated tens of thousands of dollars in lighting equipmet to use during the two-week shoot. Waite said actress Lindze Letherman, who plays Tori, one of the film’s troublesome teens, helped get the equipment donated. Waite joked that he actually had to bribe someone with a bottle of Jack to finalize the deal.

Hatch wrote the screenplay in about two months time in 2006. There was a film crew of about 35 people for a July and August shoot in 2007. Waite has been editing the film ever since.

What people should get from “Stamped!” is a chaotic journey through the harsh realities of teenage life. The make-up test the students work on and their goofball actions, led by the crazy Mitchell, is a microscopic peek at how order comes out of the chaos of high school life. While the film doesn’t have Emilio Estevez, Judd Hirsch or Ally Sheedy, what the movie does have is a formula that works and Kubach, who is a delight.

David Peres who plays the student’s dorky teacher giving the test also has some funny scenes in the film.

Hatch said that ”Stamped!” doesn’t get excessive. He leaves those trademarks for the rest of Hollywood as he said he wants people to leave the theater with a happy feeling inside. Anyone who watches the film will not only leave the theater laughing, but trying out some of Kubach’s facial expressions.

The film also stars Matt Thompson, G. Lane Hillman, Kaitlynn Lerma and has a guest appearance by Bakersfield’s George the Giant, who was recently featured on “America’s Got Talent.”

“Stamped!” is premiering on Feb. 27 at the Fox Theater. Any kid obsessed with Disney television should be in attendance.

Tickets: $6; Purchase tickets here or at box office.
Where: Fox Theater
When: Friday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
Watch Trailer: View
IMDB: More on the film

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Director Bryce Hatch

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Editor: Andrew Waite

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Goofing around the set of Stamped!

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Posted by Nick on Feb 23rd, 2009 and filed under Music/Arts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site

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