Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Troop Beverly Hills, Jane Lynch
Likes: George Lopez
Dislikes: Weak family movies
Hates: Tween-focused films

The Movie
It's nothing I'm ashamed of, nor do I promote it much, but I am an a big fan of Shelley Long's seminal fish-out-of-water comedy Troop Beverly Hills. There's just something about her prissy rich-bitch mom and her struggle to adjust to outdoor life that really amuses me, and trying to figure out why is a lost cause. It's just one of those comfort films I can always put on and enjoy, no matter where or when.

It is a safe bet Mr. Troop Mom will not be joining Troop Beverly Hills on my heavy rotation playlist.

It's certainly not because George Lopez can't stack up to Ms. Long in the comedy department. I may not watch his show, but just from seeing him as the town's mayor on Reno 911! and catching a touch of his stand-up, I know the man is funny. The problem is, this is not his film. Yes, he's in it from start to finish, and he's the titular Mom, but he's not the focus. In fact, he probably ranks in somewhere around third or fourth in terms of importance. Such is the fate of the dad in such comedies. This is a TV movie for tween girls, about tween girls (with some pre-teen-boy catnip sprinkled in.)

Lopez plays Eddie, the widower father of young Naomi (Daniela Bobadilla, in her film debut), and he's got a strained relationship with her (like most humans trying to connect with a pubescent girl.) A busy attorney, he doesn't have a lot of time to spend with her, and even has an au pair to fill in the gaps (a surprising broken-English stereotype that shows it's not just white folks keeping people down.) But when Naomi's camping trip is threatened by her pregnant chaperone's sudden labor, Eddie steps in to take her and her friends, which puts him in the midst of tween angst, as Naomi's "Killer Bees" clash with their school foes, the "Wasps." It's classic mean girls conflict, including mostly harmless (though messy) pranks and camp competitions, and all Eddie can do is try to support his little girl, keep off camp leader Ms. Hulka (the always funny Jane Lynch) radar and fend off the advances of the lead Wasp's cougar mom (April Telek.)

That sounds like a lot of Lopez, but his role, which fills the gaps between montages, is mainly to take pratfalls and alternate between being a goofball and a caring father, playing off the wide-eyed attempts at acting by the young girls in the film, as he "learns" how to be a dad. It's obvious that this is not a Disney film, because the actresses don't have that Disney Acting Factory sense of nuance that has been instilled in their stars like Selena Gomez. Instead, every reaction is as subtle as the boat paddle Lopez takes to the face, with punk bad-girl Yvette (Lopez' daughter Mayan) and tomboy Sam (Pyper De Marsh) being the worst offenders.

Though the emotional father/daughter storyline, combined with the light, airy camp competition may speak to young girls watching, the real reason they'll want to stay tunes is the appearance by the oddly-named Naked Brothers Band, a Jonas Brothers Lite, made up of a pair of mop-topped young guys, who sing inoffensive pop music and make young girls scream. At just 84 minutes, there's not a lot to sit through to get to the pot of heartthrobs, which will probably work just fine for the group's fans. Lopez fans, on the other hand, will probably want to stick with his series or other work.

The DVD
A one-disc release, this DVD is packed in a standard keepcase and features a static, full-frame menu, with options to watch the films, select scenes, check out the special features and adjust languages. There are no audio options, but subtitles are available in English SDH, French and Spanish (there is no closed captioning.) The film is presented in both full-frame and anamorphic widescreen.

The Quality
The anamorphic widescreen transfer looks fantastic, with bright, vivid color and a good amount of detail, and no issues with digital artifacts. The image is super crisp and there's no noticeable dirt or damage.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is solid overall, presenting the film's dialogue cleanly, kicking up with the many pop songs by utilizing the side and rear speakers for emphasis. You won't notice anything dynamic in the mix, nor is there much in the way of atmospheric effects.

The Extras
For a TV movie brought quickly to DVD, there's actually a decent amount of quick-hit bonus material. Things kick off with the fluffy six-minute "George Goes to Camp," focusing on Lopez and his role in the film, mainly through on-set footage and interviews with him, his wife and the cast. It's followed by "Naomi's Journal," a collection of short clips (12 in all, running 6:24,) focusing on Lopez' daughter in the film, and topics connected to her, including it being her first role, and bios of the characters' friends in the film.

"Rockin' the Bonfire" spends four minutes on the participation of The Naked Brothers Band in the film, with plenty of footage of them goofing off behind the scenes, while "Killer Bees vs Wasps" is a five-minute look at the main competition in the film, between the mean girls and the heroes, and how it was heavily structured by the film's creators, with interviews with the actresses and Ann Lopez.

A gag reel running 3:39 includes cut footage of Lopez' improvisations and flubs from the filming, but it runs more cute than funny. The extras wrap up with a quartet of deleted scenes, almost five minutes worth, but none of them really would have added anything to the film.

Also included is a code that allows you to download a digital copy of the film.

The Bottom Line
No one was looking at the title of this movie or reading the description and thinking it would be a piece of cinematic mastery, but it still managed to disappoint, mainly because anything with Lopez and Lynch should be better than this cutesy TV-movie. But that's the opinion of a man on the wrong side of 30, and not the tween girl this movie is made for (namely Lopez' daughter.) To them, this might be a bowl of heaven topped with The Naked Brothers. What I can accurately judge is the quality of the DVD's audio and video, both of which are in fine shape, and there's a surprising amount of extras, which will appeal most to the film's core audience. For a household with a tween girl, it's a perfect pick-up, but it's certainly not a family film adults and kids will likely enjoy together.

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*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.