Yeah, right.

An ABC Family Channel production, this made-for-TV movie adapts the former pop superstar's fairy-tale collaboration with her mother. If there was ever a source certain to result in a saccharine-coated movie it's a book by the Princess of Pablum and her mom. A thinly-veiled attempt to fictionalize Britney's already fictitious life, Brave New Girl piles on the tripe, melodrama and pre-told plot, in an attempt to get across the now-standard girl-power message of "Be Yourself." Of course, as with all these tales, being yourself means becoming the complete opposite of yourself, with the help of make-up.

As the Britney stand-in Holly Lovell, Lindsey Haun isn't bad. Her southern twang is as thick as necessary, and her singing voice is better than Spears' best day. The story doesn't ask her to do much more than over-emote and play the best country rube she can, so in that respect, she succeeds. Playing Lynne Spears' part, Virginia Madsen continues her descent into B-Movie Purgatory, delivering a Texan accent that would make every hack dinner-theater actor proud. Together, they set back the cause of mother-daughter films at least 20 years.

Since this is a TV movie, an annoying fade to black occurs regularly to allow for commercials during broadcast. As such, a movie with a lack of pacing is made to seem even more labored by false dramatic pauses and stings, before a commercial for life insurance or something. I will say, the writing is better than expected in terms of dialogue, but the story balances on an edge of ridiculousness that grows more perilous with each sitcom-level plot point introduced. If you can think of a "very special episode" idea, it's probably in this movie.

By the way, my wife attended a music conservatory, like Holly, and came away from this film insulted by the portrayal of classical music students, especially Angela, Holly's nemesis. The idea that an uneducated, incapable student like Holly would be accepted to a conservatory, when the average student has been working on their skills for 15 years or so, came off as a complete joke to her. I don't think it's a stretch to say that most viewers would get that same feel from the movie. Especially when it comes to the unbelievable Britney-inspired ending that made me question the existence of God (or at least good editing.)

The DVD
The DVD has animated full-screen menus, based on the opening titles. Among the options available are scene selections, special features and an extensive set of DVD credits. The scene selection menus have animated previews to help in finding the right spot, while the DVD comes in a keepcase. Chapter stops are listed on the back, as there is no insert.

The Quality
For a TV movie, the quality of the full-frame video is surprisingly good. The film is reproduced faithfully, with vivid colors and no obvious video problems, but the movie has a definitely soft, almost soap opera-like quality to it. The audio is done in 2.0 Stereo Surround, a good match to the amount of activity in the soundtrack. The songs, ranging from pop standards to operatic arias, sound very good, at a volume well above that of the dialogue.

The Extras
There are two extras included, both way more extensive than could have been expected. A behind-the-scenes featurette runs nearly 28 minutes, broken up into eight chapters. This isn't a one-day deal, as it covers a large portion of the filming, and it's not bad at all. Interestingly, for an ABC Family Channel production, one of the leads talks about touching Haun's breast and then curses. The second feature is an EPK-style interview reel, featuring almost 20 minutes of chats with Haun, Madsen, Barbara Mamabolo, Joanne Boland, director Bobby Roth and writer Amy Talkington. Mostly it's an ass-kissing contest to see who can mention the Spearses more often.

The Bottom Line
Considering how dull Britney Federline's star shines these days, a movie based on a book by the pop tart doesn't contain much of a draw for anyone anymore. Though the hypocritical messages and clichéd characters don't make for much of a film, I can't help but wonder how this movie would have been accepted if done without the Spears' names attached. At this point, they can only hurt. But even so, this story has been done before and done better and without the ridiculous climax. Brave New Girl is a rental for only the hardcore Brit fans.

Follow him on Twitter

*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.