There is no doubt that Demi Lovato has been crowned the next Disney superstar. Selena Gomez may soon overshadow Lovato, but Demi has gotten the big push from the Walt Disney Company thanks to her co-starring with the Jonas Brothers in the Camp Rock films. Besides movies, Lovato has her own music album, merchandise, and her own television show on The Disney Channel. Disney hopes Sonny with a Chance will be as big a hit as Hannah Montana. Cashing in on Lovato’s newfound success, the first few episodes of her series has now been released on DVD.
On the show, teen performer/writer Sonny Munroe (Demi Lovato) moves from Wisconsin and gets a job co-starring on the fictional Hollywood teen sketch comedy, “So Random!” There on the set, Sonny tries to make friends with the cast’s blonde bombshell, materialistic prima donna Tawni Hart (Tiffany Thornton), but that’s not going to happen. Especially when Sonny proves to be just as talented a writer as she is a performer. Other cast members of “So Random!” include the geeky best friends, Nico (Brandon Smith) and Grady (Doug Brochu), and small 11-year-old Zora (Allisyn Ashley Arm). The show is produced by Marshall Pike (Michael Kostroff), who takes an immediate liking to the bright, warm, and helpful Sonny. Meanwhile, Sonny’s mom, Connie (Nancy McKeon) keeps a watchful eye on the shenanigans going on the set. In addition, Sonny soon finds herself competing with a tween show that shoots over in the next soundstage called “Mackenzie Falls”. That show is a super-serious tween soap opera starring handsome creep, Chad Dylan Cooper (Sterling Knight), who Sonny quickly begins to like despite hating him at the same time. Now Sonny must learn to come to terms with her newfound backstage knowledge all the while juggling her work on the show, her schooling, and her personal life.
If you just read the premise to the series, you would probably think that Sonny with a Chance has a lot of depth and many layers to be revealed. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. This is just another silly, over-the-top, sitcom/sketch comedy show, and it feels like it should be on Nickelodeon rather than The Disney Channel. But as it is Disney, there is a moment or two during each episode where Sonny’s mom comes in to teach a lesson or preach a message to the characters on the show, and the kids watching the show on TV. As far as the comedy goes, well it’s not that funny. The humor is basically juvenile and not witty at all with them relying too much on slapstick.
The cast acts like they are hyper-active monkeys. Maybe the the intention is to be as crazy and ridiculous as possible. That probably won’t help the careers of actors in the long run. And Demi Lovato may be billed as the star of the series, she’s continuously upstaged by Tiffany Thornton and Sterling Knight. Lovato has proven that she has comedy skills, but the writing behind Sonny with a Chance surely doesn’t help Demi showcase those skills.
Sonny with a Chance just seems like a lazy attempt at trying to force Demi Lovato even more down the throats of “The Disney Generation”. They will probably enjoy it, but unless the writing improves significantly, this show won’t last long in the years to come.
Episode 1 – Sketchy Beginnings
Small town Sonny gets a shot at the big time when she lands a role on her favorite teen comedy show, So Random. But her first days on set don’t go as planned, especially when Sonny meets the rest of the cast and finds that not everyone is happy to welcome her to the show.
Episode 2 – West Coast Story
Sonny is thrilled when she meets the cute young star of Mackenzie Falls, Chad Dylan Cooper, but a terrible rivalry between the two casts forbids friendship between them. Can Sonny help establish peace between the two shows, or will her attempts at friendship make things even worse?
Episode 3 – Cheater Girls
Sonny worries about an upcoming geometry exam that may decide the fate of her future on So Random. Meanwhile, a pretty new girl on set catches the eye of Nico and Grady, who go to extraordinary lengths to impress her.
Episode 4 – Sonny at the Falls
Sonny is hurt when her ideas for a new sketch fall flat with her castmates. Will her rejection convince her to leave So Random for a starring role on Mackenzie Falls?
The video presentation has an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is on par with other Disney Channel-related DVD titles. The audio options are English 2.0 Stereo sound or Spanish 2.0 Stereo sound. There are subtitles available in English and Spanish as well.
Bonus Episode –
Another episode from the first season called “Sonny in the Middle” is included here. In it, Nico and Grady celebrate their birthdays, which both fall on the same day. A single gift from Sonny, an electronic video game chair, threatens to tear the duo’s friendship apart. If you utilize FastPlay, you won’t have to select this as an “extra” episode. This episode is about as good as the other episodes on this DVD set.
Mackenzie Falls Season Finale Cliffhanger –
This runs 7 minutes and viewers finally get a chance to properly see how melodramatic “So Random”‘s rival “show-within-a-show” series is. It’s actually more entertaining than “So Random”.
Demi’s Audition Tape –
This runs 3 1/2 minutes and it’s Demi Lovato’s original screen test for the show. There are clips of the show thrown in the middle of this as well, so that detracts from the extra a little bit. But still interesting to watch.
With only five episodes on the disc (one them which is a bonus), Sonny with a Chance shortchanges fans. But those who are SUPERFANS might want to check out the extras anyways.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment presents Sonny with a Chance: Sonny’s Big Break – Volume 1. Created by Steve Marmel. Starring Demi Lovato, Tiffany Thornton, Sterling Knight, Brandon Smith, Doug Brochu, and Allisyn Ashley Arm. Running time: 113 minutes. Rated: NOT RATED. Released on DVD: August 25, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
