Broken Base: Hilary Duff's acting career was the subject of much scrutiny at the time of the release (driven largely by her public feud with actress Lindsay Lohan). As a result, for several years almost everything she did (including this film) was the subject of highly polarized critique. For some, the movie was a cringe-worthy, unrealistic, saccharine film unsuitable for even the youngest and least sophisticated of audiences, but for others, it was a Moment of Awesome for Duff, proving that she could carry a more emotional role, and an age-appropriate, feel-good title for her tween fan-base.
Harsher in Hindsight: The various warnings about how the L.A. entertainment "scene" can mess people up can resonate as particularly tragic when looking at the short life of supporting actor Johnny Lewis. Though Lewis had a promising career and a role in a major cable television series, his downward spiral began when he was on the cusp of household-name-level fame in 2010, after losing custody of his daughter. In 2011, an untreated head injury may have been the cause of various psychological issues, including drug and alcohol abuse, a patter of bizarre behavior, a stint in rehab and his eventual accidental death in Los Angeles — in which it was ruled that he murdered his landlady and her cat in a botched robbery attempt.
He Really Can Act: Though critics were indifferent, a lot of viewers found that Hilary Duff was perfectly capable of handling a more dramatic role, making Terri's grief about Paul genuinely heartbreaking.
Iron Woobie: Terri's perfect life essentially shatters after her brother dies, and it manages to haunt her everywhere she goes, costing her opportunities in class and getting in the way of her new relationship.
Narm: The whole movie is full of it, but a few moments take the case.
Goth girl Sloane is characterized as one of the best piano players in the program, so it takes viewers out of the narrative in a particularly harsh manner when all of her playing is shown to be wildly out-of-sync with what the audience is hearing. Epitomized early on when she practices a piece with a teacher and she performs a leading melody in a high octave with her left hand, at least three octaves below where it should sound. Even someone who has never touched a piano can tell something is up.
The movie is full of out-of-sync notes and instrumentation, including one where Terri, Jay, Kiwi and Sloane sing with Denise and Terri's beautiful singing voice pierces through the night... while she appears on-screen to be talking to her friends.
The very same scene evolves into a montage to show how much fun Terri is having with her friends, and out of nowhere comes... a mime. With sparklers.
The overly contrived improvisational jam session in the courtyard, in which every instrumentalist magically knows that a key change is coming.
Los Angeles is built up to be a horrifying cesspool of risky behavior, but in this PG-rated film, no one is quite willing to mention drugs or alcohol, leading everything (such as Aunt Nina's recollection of Simon's friend getting caught up "in the L.A. 'scene'" and becoming "messed up") to sound more like a bad cautionary tale than anything.
Terri's mother yelling at her father, "But Paul would have wanted this! Paul!!"
Jay's depressed, drunken breakdown in the dorm comes off as though it was written by someone who has never seen a drunk person — not to mention Terri earnestly begging, "Why would you drink?"
Audio quality and editing frequently take the viewer out of the moment throughout the movie; many singers and instruments were recorded in studio and sound as such, even when the character is singing in a huge, echoing hall or outside.
Kiwi: Oh, spring, when a young man's fancy turns to love.... There's a hole in my chest where my heart used to be 'cause someone else yanked it out, and she doesn't even friggin' care that she did it.
...and his subsequent joy when Terri arranges for the two of them to go out.
Terri: You're in.
Kiwi: (gasps) YOU BEAUTIFUL LITTLE PETUNIA!!! You... ah! Sacré bleu!
The death of Terri's brother, as well as any scenes dealing with it, really hit home for viewers who lost a loved one in a car crash.
Also it's pretty much impossible not to get a little misty-eyed when Terri sings "Someone's Watching Over Me" in honor of her brother.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: When Jay first says that he likes Terri, she asks where that leaves Robin. Jay says that he met Robin at the school the previous summer, and that they had a thing then, but that "some people hold on when they should let go". As nasty as Robin is, this seems like a harsh way to dump someone.
Unintentional Period Piece: There shouldn't be any doubt this movie was released in 2004, considering Terri is seen a good deal in a velour tracksuit/hoodie. Much of the fashion – striped polos, bootcut jeans, choppy bangs (and on the guys, the classic "swoop" hairstyle), terrycloth wristbands, graphic tees, puka shell necklaces – are a monument to the early/mid-aughts. Not to mention, she and Paul sneak out to a Three Days' Grace concert.
