Reviews

Be Somebody is a 2015 film about a teenage pop-star's escape from his celebrity life and his developing relationship with a normal girl. I agree that the plot is quite cliché, but his film definitely brings a lot of meaning topics to the table. One significant difference between the two protagonists is their relationship with their parents. As the opening scene shows, Emily's parents are extremely indifferent; while Jordan's mother, also his manager, over-concerns. Even though the film extravagates Emily's parents' indifference, I must say that it is a worthy topic to be discussed. With the fast pace in current society and high pressure from nowadays workplace, modern people, not just parents, have grown a habit of indifference. Another intriguing topic that this movie has brought up is the celebrity pressure. Celebrity pressure has been a constant them in celebrity with non-famous people Rom com. This film is interesting because it is a teen movie about teenage celebrities. The other teenage movies such as Another Cinderella Story, Hannah Montana and Camp Rock tend to focus more on the shiny, fun side of the celebrity life. This movie discusses celebrity's identity. One character says that "He is celebrity, so he is not real." There has been a constant discussion of celebrity's identity. Are they just fake images that are built to be worshiped? This movie gives a sneak peak of celebrity's real self when they are no longer on the media altar. This movie also again confirms that even as successful as Jordan, there is something he wants from normal people's life. The celebrity and non-famous Rom com genre works as a modern, more realistic fantasy. I have always look at films as a window for audience to fantasize and let go of reality. This film does it very well and at the same time discuss realistic problems in modern family and in celebrities' image. There are parallel between this film and a 1999 film Notting Hill (Of course, this film is far not as good). Even though both film discuss the pressure and the downside of being celebrity, they also show the power a celebrity has. I think Be Somebody is a film worth notice.