There is this giant female group called the ‘tween’ market that modern advertisers drool over.  It’s a group that aren’t quite teenagers and not little girls but they seem to have disposable incomes and Madison Ave. wants to be ‘in’ with this demographic.  And of course, in the syngeristic society that Hollywood has bred, this crossover is a part of modern media.  The latest DVD for this group to consume is Sleepover.        The film stars Alexa Vega, the daughter from the Spy Kids series, again as a young daughter.  Here she’s Julie who on the last day of middle school is planning a sleepover with her best girlfriends.  They see the grand adventure known as high school in the near horizon and want to do everything right.  But they are not a part of the ‘in’ crowd.  During the sleepover, the popular clique gives our heroines a chance to win the convened lunch spot by the fountain, the ‘in’ location in high school.   The challenge -- a scavenger hunt.  The problem  Mom has told the girls not to leave the house.

So, they have to sneak past a preoccupied Dad and a dimwitted Brother in order to start the game.  The film is about their breakout and the scavenger hunt.  Along the way, they build emotional bonds, make allies, find out hidden strengths, struggle to defeat the popular girls, and outwit the local rent-a-cop (The Daily Show’s Steve Carell in another small stand-out role).  The scavenger hunt ends at a high school ‘end of school’ dance, where the girls get a glimpse of how their lives will change in the fall.
    
Director Joe Nussbaum seems to have a good grasp of storytelling and a fond memory of the teenage experience.  He never lets his camera lull as the story soars to its conclusion.   He gets mostly great performances from a young cast of little seen’s or not known’s.  And he does a great balancing act keeping the character arc of each girl flowing while letting the drama unfold.  Writer Elisa Bell must either have a wonderfully long memory of that time of life or a bunch of teen-age girls.  She captures both the excited exuberance and the innocent introspective of the age.  The film, even with some fantastical events, never truly loses its reality.  
    
The extras include the now standard audio commentary with Director Joe Nussbaum and the cast.  All seem to be pleased with their work here and the enthusiasm for the project still lingers in their voices. There are some very short actress video profiles and a ‘making of’ featurette.  The gag reel is more of a giggle reel, with the young actresses flubbing line after line.  And, yes, the adults get their chance to mess up as well.
    
This film is for junior high school girls and it’s a must own for that group.  It is a very watchable film with a gaggle of girl power performances and not a bad rental on a cold winter day.

Starring Alexa Vega, Mika Boorem, Jane Lynch, Sara Paxton, Brie Larson and Steve Carell
Directed by Joe Nussbaum
Written by Elisa Bell
Special Features: Audio commentary by Director Joe Nussbaum and cast; “A guide to the perfect sleepover” featurette; “Meet the girls” actress profiles; “Ready, set, action!” featurette, Sleepover confessions, Gag reel, Behind the scenes photo gallery; Original theatrical trailer
Running time 1:29
MPAA Rating PG
Website

We'll give Sleepover a B.