Well...

We just finished watching Camp Rock.

And, well, it was good. But certainly nothing like High School Musical.

The first half of the movie was a little dry. Unpopular Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) finally succeeds in getting her parents to send her to Camp Rock, a high-priced summer camp where kids with musical abilities go. But there's one catch. In order to afford the camp's fees, Mitchie must work in the camp's kitchen alongside her mother. However, to fit in with Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin), daughter of a Grammy-winning singer, and the other kids at the camp, Mitchie lies and says she is the daughter of the president of Hot Tunes China. These lies come at the expense of Caitlyn Gellar (Alyson Stoner), who was Mitchie's truest friend at Camp Rock from the start.

Mitchie also forms a bond with Shane Grey (Joe Jonas), a spoiled "bad boy" rock star from the band Connect Three who was sent to the camp to retain a basic attitude. What Shane doesn't know is that that a magical voice he overheard belongs to Mitchie.

The movie does not become good until Tess becomes enraged with jealousy that Mitchie is befriending somebody famous. In retaliation, Tess outs Mitchie as being a kitchen worker and frames her from stealing a charm bracelet, which causes Mitchie to get suspended from camp activities, including the final competition.

The plot shares similarities with two stories our readers should be familiar with: Cinderella and High School Musical. Mitchie's job as a kitchen worker and the oppression of Tess make her a modern-day Cinderella. However, her fear of audiences, innocent disposition, and strong character allow her to easily be a Gabriella Montez clone. Tess, being wealthy and snobby, is clearly the Sharpay and evil stepsister of Camp Rock. And Shane's desperate search to find the girl with the beautiful voice is almost identical to Prince Charming's search for the girl who fits the glass slipper.

The script of Camp Rock isn't as well written as the ones for the High School Musical films. The songs were catchy, but too robotic. They hardly help Camp Rock qualify as a musical.

Also, the cast is short on talent. Though Demi Lovato has a charming singing voice, her acting could use some work. The Jonas Brothers, too, may be great singers. Joe and Nick are decent actors, but Kevin is not. Jasmine Richards is the only other cast member to exhibit memorable singing, and she easily outshines the heavily-computerized and robotic voice of Meaghan Jette Martin.

There is no doubt that this movie will have a large audience (the numbers will be in tomorrow), but Camp Rock is nothing more than a summer movie. High School Musical will always survive in its fans' hearts, but will Camp Rock? Who knows, but its sequel is already due out next year.