Stuck in the Suburbs
Encyclopedia
Stuck in the Suburbs is a Disney Channel Original Movie based on unused material created by Walt Disney
for his live-action films. It was released on July 16, 2004, and stars Danielle Panabaker
as Brittany Aarons and Brenda Song
as Natasha Kwon-Schwartz. Brittany, a regular middle school student in the suburbs, who accidentally exchanges cell phones with pop singer Jordan Cahill. This was one of the first made-for-television movies
by Disney
which was also accompanied by its own soundtrack. The film gathered 3.7 million viewers which made the film the most-watched telecast in its time period in the kids 6-11 and 9-14 demographics. The film's soundtrack entered the U.S. Billboard 200
and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio charts.
) is one of many 14-year-old girls who has a crush on popular singer and boy-toy Jordan Cahill (Taran Killam
). However, she is bored of living a suburban existence and seeks a little something more. She meets the new girl Natasha Kwon-Schwartz (Brenda Song
), who looks like an Upper East-sider
from the City, except she's not. Upon Natasha's arrival, Brittany slowly starts to make a move towards breaking out of her conformist routines, but not before becoming an extra in Jordan's latest music video, and inviting Natasha to join her and her fangirl friends. When Jordan and his team bump into Brittany and Natasha after a show, Eddie and Brittany collect their stuff, and accidentally take each other's cell phones.
Once Brittany gets a hold of Jordan's much more sophisticated phone, Natasha convinces Brittany that it would be fun to mess with his career. They prank call his hair stylist, get her to cut off all his hair, and have someone serve him raisins, which he hates. Along the way they find that Jordan's life is not the life he chooses, but rather the one his record company wants for him. They will not even allow him to use the original lyrics he wants for his own songs. At first he is terrified that his personal barber gave him a major haircut, but eventually accepts it as the first step towards a break from his manufactured image. Eventually the girls attempt to force him to do a concert to save a historic house but he runs away.
He calls Brittany (who had previously been dealing with his best friend Eddie) and explains everything to her. She and Natasha (who had a falling out) make up and go to meet up with him while being chased by the record company who are tracking his phone. They send his lyrics for one of his songs "More Than Me" to everyone through Brittany's phone, ditch his phone and get a ride to the concert with Brittany's sister. At the concert Eddie tries to stop him but ultimately supports him and they save the house. Brittany, Natasha, and Brittany's fangirl friends become dancers in the music video he was making at the beginning of the movie with Eddie replacing Jordan in it. It is shown that Brittany and Jordan keep in touch, and although he invites her to go to New York with him (over the phone), she declines, saying things are really exciting in her suburban town.
in the 1950s for his then-new live action film division.
The film was mostly shot on several locations throughout the Greater New Orleans Area
, in particular St. Tammany Parish
. The school scenes were filmed in the atrium, front steps, and the courtyard of Ben Franklin High School
in the Lakefront area. Lockers were temporarily moved into the atrium to give the appearance of a hallway, and door frames were painted with temporary red paint.
The music video for "Make a Wish" was filmed in City Park in New Orleans
. The other video is filmed at the Piaza d'Italia in Downtown New Orleans
.
The "Old House" from the film is actually the Otis House from Fairview-Riverside State Park
in Madisonville
on the Northshore. The house was aged for production, but restored to its actual appearance at the end of the film. The Otis House was originally built in the 1880s, has been on the National Register of Historic Places
since 1998, and it actually is located near the expanding suburb of Mandeville
. When Brittany is riding through the suburbs on her bike she is actually riding through Lafreniere Park.
released a soundtrack for the album to promote the television movie with the original movie promotional poster. The songs below are included in the first edition of the soundtrack:
and Walt Disney Records
albums and complaition soundtracks. "More Than Me" by Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
was featured in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Haylie Duff's "A Whatever Life" was in 7th Heaven.
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
for his live-action films. It was released on July 16, 2004, and stars Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
as Brittany Aarons and Brenda Song
Brenda Song
Brenda Song is an American actress, film producer, and model. Song started in show business as a child fashion model. Her early television work included roles in the shows Fudge and 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd...
as Natasha Kwon-Schwartz. Brittany, a regular middle school student in the suburbs, who accidentally exchanges cell phones with pop singer Jordan Cahill. This was one of the first made-for-television movies
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
by Disney
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
which was also accompanied by its own soundtrack. The film gathered 3.7 million viewers which made the film the most-watched telecast in its time period in the kids 6-11 and 9-14 demographics. The film's soundtrack entered the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio charts.
Plot
Brittany Aarons (Danielle PanabakerDanielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
) is one of many 14-year-old girls who has a crush on popular singer and boy-toy Jordan Cahill (Taran Killam
Taran Killam
Taran Hourie Killam is an American actor and comedian best known for his television work on shows such as The Amanda Show, Scrubs, Wild 'N Out, MADtv and currently on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
). However, she is bored of living a suburban existence and seeks a little something more. She meets the new girl Natasha Kwon-Schwartz (Brenda Song
Brenda Song
Brenda Song is an American actress, film producer, and model. Song started in show business as a child fashion model. Her early television work included roles in the shows Fudge and 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd...
), who looks like an Upper East-sider
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
from the City, except she's not. Upon Natasha's arrival, Brittany slowly starts to make a move towards breaking out of her conformist routines, but not before becoming an extra in Jordan's latest music video, and inviting Natasha to join her and her fangirl friends. When Jordan and his team bump into Brittany and Natasha after a show, Eddie and Brittany collect their stuff, and accidentally take each other's cell phones.
Once Brittany gets a hold of Jordan's much more sophisticated phone, Natasha convinces Brittany that it would be fun to mess with his career. They prank call his hair stylist, get her to cut off all his hair, and have someone serve him raisins, which he hates. Along the way they find that Jordan's life is not the life he chooses, but rather the one his record company wants for him. They will not even allow him to use the original lyrics he wants for his own songs. At first he is terrified that his personal barber gave him a major haircut, but eventually accepts it as the first step towards a break from his manufactured image. Eventually the girls attempt to force him to do a concert to save a historic house but he runs away.
He calls Brittany (who had previously been dealing with his best friend Eddie) and explains everything to her. She and Natasha (who had a falling out) make up and go to meet up with him while being chased by the record company who are tracking his phone. They send his lyrics for one of his songs "More Than Me" to everyone through Brittany's phone, ditch his phone and get a ride to the concert with Brittany's sister. At the concert Eddie tries to stop him but ultimately supports him and they save the house. Brittany, Natasha, and Brittany's fangirl friends become dancers in the music video he was making at the beginning of the movie with Eddie replacing Jordan in it. It is shown that Brittany and Jordan keep in touch, and although he invites her to go to New York with him (over the phone), she declines, saying things are really exciting in her suburban town.
Cast
- Danielle PanabakerDanielle PanabakerDanielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
as Brittany Aarons - Brenda SongBrenda SongBrenda Song is an American actress, film producer, and model. Song started in show business as a child fashion model. Her early television work included roles in the shows Fudge and 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd...
as Natasha Kwon-Schwartz - Taran KillamTaran KillamTaran Hourie Killam is an American actor and comedian best known for his television work on shows such as The Amanda Show, Scrubs, Wild 'N Out, MADtv and currently on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
as Jordan Cahill - Ryan BellevilleRyan BellevilleRyan Belleville is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor. He was born in Calgary, Alberta and moved to Toronto where he studied at the Humber School of Comedy, winning the Phil Hartman Award when he graduated. He was the youngest person to tape his own Comedy Now! special for CTV and also appeared...
as Eddie - Amanda ShawAmanda ShawAmanda Amaya Shaw is an American cajun fiddler, singer, and actress from Covington, Louisiana.- Musical training :Shaw received some of her early musical training in Southeastern Louisiana University's Community Music School. She studied classical violin starting at age 4, and at 8 began playing...
as Kaylee Holland - Cici Hedgpeth as Ashley Simon
- Jennie Garland as Olivia Hooper
- Todd StashwickTodd StashwickTodd Stashwick is an American film and TV actor. He played the role of Dale Malloy on The Riches until its cancellation. Stashwick actually preempted the official announcement that the show was canceled when he announced the cancellation on his MySpace blog on September 25, 2008...
as Len - Kirsten NelsonKirsten NelsonKirsten Nelson is an American actress. Born in Oklahoma, though raised in Chicago, Nelson attended Northwestern University and became a founding member of Chicago's Roadworks Theatre Ensemble before moving to Los Angeles. She currently stars in the USA Network dramedy Psych, where her character,...
as Susan Aarons - Corri EnglishCorri EnglishCorri English is an American actress and singer.English was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She worked with actress Danielle Panabaker twice in 2004—once in Stuck in the Suburbs and later in Searching for David's Heart...
as Jessie Aarons - Patrick Stogner as Cooper Aarons
- Lara Grice as Soccer Mom (Olivia's Mom)
- Ric Reitz as David Aarons
- Drew Seeley as David (Desk Clerk at Hotel)
Production
Stuck in the Suburbs is based on a concept originally created, but never used by Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
in the 1950s for his then-new live action film division.
The film was mostly shot on several locations throughout the Greater New Orleans Area
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, in particular St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
. The school scenes were filmed in the atrium, front steps, and the courtyard of Ben Franklin High School
Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Benjamin Franklin High School is a public magnet high school in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Commonly nicknamed "Franklin" or "Ben Franklin", this school should not be confused with Franklin High School in Franklin, Louisiana. Ben Franklin was founded in 1957 as a school for gifted children...
in the Lakefront area. Lockers were temporarily moved into the atrium to give the appearance of a hallway, and door frames were painted with temporary red paint.
The music video for "Make a Wish" was filmed in City Park in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. The other video is filmed at the Piaza d'Italia in Downtown New Orleans
New Orleans Central Business District
The Central Business District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Iberville, Decatur and Canal Streets to the north, the Mississippi River to the east, the New Orleans Morial...
.
The "Old House" from the film is actually the Otis House from Fairview-Riverside State Park
Fairview-Riverside State Park
Fairview-Riverside State Park is a tourist attraction east of Madisonville, Louisiana. Its is set along the banks of the Tchefuncte River. Within the park is the Otis House Museum, built during the 1830s, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Visitors go to...
in Madisonville
Madisonville, Louisiana
Madisonville is a town in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 677 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
on the Northshore. The house was aged for production, but restored to its actual appearance at the end of the film. The Otis House was originally built in the 1880s, has been on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
since 1998, and it actually is located near the expanding suburb of Mandeville
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
. When Brittany is riding through the suburbs on her bike she is actually riding through Lafreniere Park.
Soundtrack
Walt Disney RecordsWalt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
released a soundtrack for the album to promote the television movie with the original movie promotional poster. The songs below are included in the first edition of the soundtrack:
Songs
- "A Whatever Life" - Haylie DuffHaylie DuffHaylie Katherine Duff is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the older sister of actress and singer Hilary Duff...
- "Good Life" - Jesse McCartneyJesse McCartneyJesse McCartney is an American singer-songwriter, actor and voice actor. McCartney achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career...
- "Stuck" - Stacie OrricoStacie OrricoStacie Joy Orrico is a Contemporary Christian and R&B singer-songwriter and occasional actress. In 1998, she signed to ForeFront Records when she was 12 years old, and recorded her first album Genuine , which sold 13,000 in the first week of release.After her first album she signed to a new record...
- "Over It" - Anneliese van der PolAnneliese van der PolAnneliese Louise van der Pol is a Dutch-American actress and singer. After an early career in musical theatre, she was cast as Chelsea Daniels in the Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven, a role that gained her renown among young audiences. Van der Pol also has a career as a singer and...
- "Stuck in the Middle With You" - Stealers WheelStealers WheelStealers Wheel are a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in Paisley, Renfrewshire in 1972 by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty.The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed without Egan and Rafferty in 2008.-Biography:...
- "Take Me Back Home" - Greg Raposo
- "More Than Me" (Acoustic) - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
- "On Top of the World" - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
- "Make a Wish" - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
- "More Than Me" (Pop Version) - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
Collectors edition
The enhanced golden collectors edition included the following songs with the same promotional movie poster:- "A Whatever Life" Remix - Haylie DuffHaylie DuffHaylie Katherine Duff is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the older sister of actress and singer Hilary Duff...
- "Good Life" (Acoustic) - Jesse McCartneyJesse McCartneyJesse McCartney is an American singer-songwriter, actor and voice actor. McCartney achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career...
- "Stuck" - Stacie OrricoStacie OrricoStacie Joy Orrico is a Contemporary Christian and R&B singer-songwriter and occasional actress. In 1998, she signed to ForeFront Records when she was 12 years old, and recorded her first album Genuine , which sold 13,000 in the first week of release.After her first album she signed to a new record...
- "Over It" Remix - Anneliese van der PolAnneliese van der PolAnneliese Louise van der Pol is a Dutch-American actress and singer. After an early career in musical theatre, she was cast as Chelsea Daniels in the Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven, a role that gained her renown among young audiences. Van der Pol also has a career as a singer and...
- "Stuck in the Middle With You" - Stealers WheelStealers WheelStealers Wheel are a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in Paisley, Renfrewshire in 1972 by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty.The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed without Egan and Rafferty in 2008.-Biography:...
- "Take Me Back Home" - Greg Raposo
- "More Than Me" (Acoustic) - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
- "On Top of the World" - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
- "Make a Wish" - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
- "More Than Me" (Pop Version) - Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
Contributions
"Good Life" and "Over It" was featured in several DisneyManiaDisneyMania
Disneymania is the first of a series of albums released by Walt Disney Records featuring various musical artists performing Disney songs. The original album, released on September 17, 2002, featured contemporary Disney classics...
and Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
albums and complaition soundtracks. "More Than Me" by Jordan Cahill / Taran Killam
Taran Killam
Taran Hourie Killam is an American actor and comedian best known for his television work on shows such as The Amanda Show, Scrubs, Wild 'N Out, MADtv and currently on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
was featured in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Haylie Duff's "A Whatever Life" was in 7th Heaven.
Charts
| Chart (2004) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
182 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soundtracks | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Kid Audio | 5 |