As an example, this movie has former "Kids in the Hall" Dave Foley and Kevin MacDonald around to collect their cred-obliterating Disney paychecks, along with "Mr. Show" vets Jill Talley and Tom Kenny. And Bruce Campbell. And Lynda Carter (get it?! She was Wonder Woman!!). And They Might Be Giants on the soundtrack, along with many 80s tunes that used to fall in the "modern rock" category. Sure, if you catch these references, you were probably once "cool." But it's awful clear just when you were cool, and it's been a long time. It's like the creators want to somehow remain "above" the movie they were hired to make. You get the sense that they feel they are being subversive by slipping in these supposedly counter-cultural signifiers into a Disney movie. Does the audience for Sky High really appreciate that, like, "Voices Carry" and "Save It For Later" are used in the soundtrack? Perhaps the intent was to reinforce the film's generation-gap theme … except it's pretty fuckin' dubious to play that theme in favor of the older generation. I'm not saying you have to cram Haylie Duff down people's throats, but the continual attempt to cater to parents with winking in-jokes during kids' movies basically assumes these parents are contemptuous of themselves for having become parents. And while that's probably a correct attitude, I don't think self-loathing parents ought to be encouraged to feel smug while watching movies with their kids. And come to think of it, is it not troubling to people my age that our beloved cult entertainers from high school and college have ended up attaining success almost entirely in the sphere of children's entertainment? Who's the joke on, really? Now, the movie itself is fine. The lead kid has crazily bad 70s hair; Cloris Leachman is, it must be admitted, increasingly funny with age; and it's good to see Kurt Russell return to his Disney roots. But as with most movies these days, I find myself arguably more concerned with the intent behind a movie than with the movie itself. The intent here should have been to make a rockin' good kids' film. You just can't do that if you're incessantly winking at the parents. The resulting film isn't so much a kids' movie even the parents will love as a parental cred-check the kids won't give a shit about. I urge my generation to start aging more gracefully, ASAP.
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