On Broadway (seldom welcoming to kid-centric musicals even when they have quality like a HENRY SWEET HENRY, a TUCK EVERLASTING or a BE MORE CHILL - the one possible exception, ANNIE, is really not about the kids but the adults taking care of them), 13 felt like it was written and directed by 13 year olds and bombed out almost immediately. There *were* adults involved however, and the composer had a certain following. In the 12 years since the show tanked it even proved somewhat popular in local high-school productions so Netflix, the largest streaming service and always hungry for new product, took a chance and sprung for a full fledged movie version of the stage mistake. This version is more obviously professional but still aimed clearly at the teenagers it attempts to portray on the verge of young adulthood. It is admirably diverse (within a limited "middle American" range, which is to say mostly white Christian and Jewish - preparation for a Bar Mitzvah plays a central role) and the child actors turn in appealing, professional performances of the songs (which pretty much all sound alike in a bland pop-rock mode) and book scenes, but the few moments which were memorable on stage (cross-couple flirting at the movies) don't really work in a realistic film - at least under this fairly standard direction. This 13 The Movie isn't hard to sit through, but for an adult it's simply passing dull. The target audience may enjoy the energetic dances and if they don't have a particularly broad frame if reference may identify with the kids struggling with problems of parental divorce and having to move away from established friends and support systems (certainly broadbased experiences in the 2020's), but there is little original or surprising. Not great, not disastrous, just a "5" out of "10."
Review of 13: The Musical
