The pattern I find with a lot of these Disney Channel movies (and shows) is that they usually have a charismatic, talented performer to build around, but the writing is incredibly flimsy. In this case, Olivia Holt's performance wasn't enough to redeem the terrible choices the filmmakers made. Although my elementary age daughter enjoyed it, I had a big problem in that there were almost NO monsters. The title made me think it was going to be like an episode of Buffy with all different kinds of monsters coming at her. Then, the design and costuming of the three villains was so underwhelming that they alone pretty much sucked any interest out for me. Also, you get a lame reworking of Ghostbusters for a story, and some really dismal performances. Sometimes, in spite of these shortcomings, Disney's made for TV movies still somehow turn out to be watchable and fun. I didn't think so this time. It's too bad, because they have some talented kids on their roster, but they don't put nearly as much care into these quickly made productions as they do their theatrical features. These could do better if they really wanted to.
Review of Girl Vs. Monster
