Introduction:
In a time where all media feels unoriginal, trite, and created with the intent of making spin-offs, sequels, and remakes, I think that the art of garbage media is often mistaken for high-budget art that requires people to take it seriously. Despite this, the need to be subversive and original creates a sense of pretension and that makes me somewhat miserable and takes away a lot of fun that can come with consuming bad media. There’s a fine line between bad-not-good and bad-good, and things are starting to lean into the former and complacency is making bad-not-good media somewhat of an industry standard.
The Wattpad Effect:
As a connoisseur of garbage media, I think that there is a need for things to be a little cheesy and unoriginal in their originality. This weird combination makes these stories a universally enjoyable experience. I think this vibe is very much encapsulated in pre-2019 Wattpad and very little has mastered the cheese, unironic comedy, and bewilderment as “My Parents Sold Me to One Direction” or “y/n’s Not Like Other Girls… She Fell in Love with Her Brothers Best Friend.”
For those unfamiliar with it, Wattpad is “an online platform that allows people to read and publish original stories. The platform allows users to write and publish stories, or read stories written by other users.” The essence of the site is content created for people by people who share similar interests and hobbies. It was also fairly egalitarian as anyone could post on the site and since everything was free anyone with an account could read the stories on there.
I say pre-2019 because the current state of Wattpad is a hellscape that seems to put profit over most things, making the rise and fall of Wattpad similar to that of Tumblr’s. Beloved stories were put behind paywalls and some authors were even forced to go elsewhere as they could not adapt to the new structure of the website. Despite all of this, the people of Wattpad committed the most cardinal of sins, attempting to pass its products off as ‘reasonable.’
With the rise of niche cultural phenomena like After, Through My Window, and Kissing Booth a lot of what used to be cheesy and junky is now being played straight. Producers are toning down the stories and making them more palatable, catering to a more general audience. I think that most tween/teenage readers of Wattpad knew these stories were wacky as conveyed in some of the comments left throughout books on the website. Despite this, the nonsense and wackiness added both to the charm and fun of reading these stories. These stories are nostalgic in the sense that they are likely garbage, but you knew they were going to be a (un)ironically good time. This isn’t to degrade all the stories on the website as some are genuinely and objectively good, but rather the egalitarian, anyone can upload, nature of the website left the majority of content to fall within some degree of questionability. The unpredictability of their predictability is beyond enjoyable, entertaining, and fun! You can go into these stories and know what you are getting into, terrible writing, terrible characters, and an extremely fun time. These stories are a self-insert driven fire and reading it fuels the desire to not only write fanfiction but become it.
The Disney Effect:
Becoming fanfiction is something that Disney has mastered to a tee. Since its inception as an animation and film company, Disney has made a multi-billion-dollar empire by creating and distributing fanfiction. Like, when you think about it Disney’s distortion and bastardization of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen stories can be viewed in the same vein as prolific Harry Styles fanfiction After. Both draw heavy inspiration from the source material while simultaneously creating a distinctly different product that is drastically different from the original. I think that there is a lot to say about this and the “fanfiction-ness” of Disney’s public domain storytelling legacy, but that isn’t what the topic of this essay is, rather I’d like to discuss the most Wattpad story that was never published on the site. The movie I really want to talk about is Starstruck.
Starstruck (stylized as StarStruck) is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), it was made for TV, and it is the best Disney Channel movie ever made… maybe? It oozes Wattpad and manages to capture the same charm, comedy, and vibes that movies like Kissing Booth aimed for and missed. It’s an extremely simple story of a famous dude who falls in love with everyday, girl-next-door type and it manages to do this in a compelling and fun way. Like, nothing about this movie is ground-breaking or particularly original but despite all of this it is still a fun, and dare I say a good movie. Pulling the first paragraph of the synopsis from Wikipedia makes it seem like this movie was taken straight from the depths of Wattpad.
“Kalamazoo, Michigan teenager Jessica Olson is annoyed by her older sister Sara’s obsession with teen pop idol Christopher Wilde and is unhappy to have her spring break used visiting her widowed grandmother in Hollywood, California. She is even more disgusted by Sara’s plans to drag her along to stalk Christopher.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes of celebrity, Christopher has earned a reputation as a “spoiled punk” who often scuffles with paparazzi. He is on the brink of landing a movie deal, despite the director’s reluctance to give him the role due to his reputation and celebrity. In order to prove that he is serious about landing the role, Christopher agrees to remain out of the tabloids for a while.”
We can contrast the synopsis of the movie to a story found on Wattpad and the similarities are wild. For example, 2013’s Like Crazy by millie_ reads as follows:
Meet Aria Austin. She’s a normal seventeen-year-old teenage girl. She receives good grades, she’s nice and has a stable after-school job at the town’s local bookstore. She’s the complete opposite of her two best friends, Holland and Clark, who are completely and totally obsessed with all things Hollywood. Aria, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about keeping up with the latest scandals.
That is until Mason Carter comes back to his home in Indiana and finds his way into the tattered old book shop where he and Aria meet for the first time. Despite the fact that she’s a normal non-famous high-schooler and he’s the most famous teenage actor on the planet, the two become fast friends.
Much like Starstruck, Like Crazy is about original characters but you don’t have to look very hard to find books following this story arc including groups like BTS, One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, or Magcon. I think what sets these apart from Starstruck is both the general wholesomeness of the movie but also the fact that it is a made-for-TV Disney movie and very, very PG in nature. This makes the stakes of the movie very low, allowing for the character to shine and be the main intent of the show. Despite being fleshed out and having ambitions, worries, and wants, these characters follow much of the same tropes and general vibes of the Wattpad characters of the time.
The Elephant in the Room – Camp Rock:
I think it is important to note that Starstruck wasn’t Disney’s first time dipping its toes into this type of story. Camp Rock came out in 2008 and the Wikipedia synopsis reads as follows:
Shy singer Mitchie Torres and her family are unable to afford the fees required to attend Camp Rock, a summer music camp. Her mother, Connie, a chef, is hired to cater food for the camp, which enables Mitchie to attend at a discounted rate. Her mother tasks Mitchie to help her in the kitchen when not performing camp duties. Upon arrival, Mitchie meets fellow camper Caitlyn Gellar, an aspiring music producer.
Shane Gray, the spoiled lead singer of the pop music trio Connect 3, returns to Camp Rock at his bandmates’ behest to rehabilitate Shane’s public image. Shane assumes a position as a dance instructor and is required to record a song with the winner of Final Jam, the camp’s closing singing competition. Shane overhears Mitchie singing in a hall; unable to see her before she leaves, he obsesses over finding her, with the camp knowing he is searching for the girl with “the voice”.
Camp Rock follows much of the same vibe and content as the previously mentioned stories, but I think what distinguishes it from the others is the prevalence of the Jonas Brothers and other household names staring in the movie like Demi Lovato.
To be fair, I think that the importance of the Jonas Brothers (Connect3) in the movie, could make Camp Rock more akin to modern fanfiction, I also think the movie is too self-aware with its intent and strays away from unintended nuance found in and around modern fanfiction. Like, Camp Rock is, at its core, a Cinderella retelling and, as previously mentioned, isn’t a new concept for Disney. Retelling are Disney’s bread and butter and I think that it is disingenuous to this paper and the movies themselves to put both Camp Rock and Starstruck on the same level. Additionally, Jonas Brothers’ content was central to Disney’s programming in and around 2008. I think that you can argue that they were vital to the institution and programming of Disney Channel and its subsidiaries, with shows like Jonas and Jonas LA.
Why is Starstruck so special?
2010’s Starstruck is a movie that is incredibly sincere in its messaging and the way it tells the story. Like, I believe that Jessica’s sister, Sara, is obsessed with Christopher Wilde in the same way that I believe Christopher likes Jessica. I think that despite being incredibly cheesy and crammed into a 90-minute run-time the movie believes in itself and the characters in it. I also think that the flow of the story feels very organic and is as believable as a story like this can be. I’m not saying that this movie is Oscar-worthy or that it is the best movie to exist, but rather that when it comes to children’s content, especially DCOM movies, this is one of the best and most organic feeling movies. Both in its story and its portrayal of its characters.
I think this also lends to the feeling of Wattpadness that comes from the movie. This movie feels like something a 14-year-old would write online and the movie doesn’t poke fun or condescend, rather it embraces that feeling and takes it seriously. Ideas and stories liked by teenage girls are often mocked and diminished and it is refreshing to see something so obviously geared towards tween/teenage girls being advertised and accepted by a fairly large audience. The movie clearly achieved that with nearly 2.3 million tweens (9–14-year-olds) watching the movie on its Sunday premiere date. This was the highest rating for that age demographic at the time of premier.
Criticism?!
This movie isn’t perfect in any regard. I think that James Plath’s Rotten Tomato review puts it best:
“For a teen film, Starstruck has great music, a solid romantic-comedy backbone, and decent performances. Only the illogical moments and shortcuts keep it from being an unqualified success. (3 stars)”
I agree with this review, I think that many parts of the movie are illogical and the more you think of certain aspects the less it makes sense. Like, the whole car sinking in mud/quicksand; or how they keep bumping into each other; or how Christopher and his parents have a fairly decent relationship despite them being crazy and him firing them; or how literal herds of paparazzi are following him around except when he takes Jessica on her tourist trap extravaganza. Very little of this movie makes logical sense and things just seem to happen for the sake of the plot.
This might contradict what I said earlier in this essay, but I think that when watching this movie these moments seem normal and the logical thing to happen. Like, obviously they get lost during the big car chase scene and it would only make sense if something happened to the car. How else are the characters going to bond? Petunia must be sacrificed for the romance to happen, duh! It isn’t until you take a step back do these things seem random and out of nowhere. This is what I mean when I say that this movie feels straight off Wattpad. The serialized nature of Wattpad fiction makes for wild plot twists, plot holes, and illogical moments. The week-to-week or month-to-month (or more) nature of the website makes it, so people are not (at first) reading it all in one sitting and probably don’t remember all of the small details in previous updates. This adds to the stories on Wattpad and in part, separates them from other teen novels.
I think that the “decent performances” part of the review is somewhat of a hot take. Most people think that Jessica’s character is grating, annoying, and often intolerable. Although I do agree with this to some extent, I don’t think it’s solely an acting problem, I just think the character was written this way. Jessica Olsen was written to be annoying, bossy, and kind of bratty, but I think this is also somewhat true of the teenage girl experience. We all know a Jessica Olsen, we’ve all been a Jessica Olsen, and we will continue to momentarily be a Jessica Olsen in the future and there is nothing wrong with that. I think what people find annoying is her constant persistence to “not be like other girls” and constantly tell us about it. At the same time, almost every fanfiction I’ve read has contained some degree of this. I think it’s par for the genre and isn’t going away anytime soon. The movie is 110% teen angst and I think without it the movie would be for the worst.
Despite the movie being over ten years old it has aged incredibly well and feels like something that could come out today. It feels like something that could easily trend on TikTok and the soundtrack shouldn’t be as good as it is. Almost every song on that album is amazing, catchy, and holds up on its own. (except “New Boyfriend” that song isn’t it… it’s quite frankly the opposite of it, and I could go the rest of my life without ever hearing it again.)
That brings us to the album…
I think that the idea that Sterling Knight didn’t sing on the entire album is comical because Drew Ryan Scott’s voice is a near doppelganger to Knight’s. Like, Sterling Knight joined the production late and was only available to sing the title track Starstruck, and other background vocals on the album. If you listen to all of the Christopher Wild songs on the album it’s hard to tell they are different people. It blew my mind when I learned this, and I literally can’t stop thinking about it. In hindsight, Something About the Sunshine does sound a little different than the rest of the songs, but 11-year-old Rebecca could not notice the difference and I think a passive listener would find the differences unnoticeable too.
I think the calibre of the album is another big point in why I like this movie. The soundtrack is solid and adds to the movie. Like, the songs are good. I listen to them more often than I’d like to admit, they are in my everyday listening playlists. “Something About the Sunshine” is an early 2010’s cultural institution and I think that grip it had on the Family Channel was unmatched. Additionally, “Hero,” “What You Mean to Me,” and “Got to Believe” are certifiable bops. The soundtrack also makes the movie seem more grander and more cinematic(?). The movie Starstruck would not be the movie it is without the songs in it, and the movie needs to give a lot of credit to the writers and producers who made the album because it is as much a part of the movie as the actors and characters are.
Conclusion:
Disney is no stranger to fanfiction, they’ve built an empire off making it, but throughout their catalogue, there is one movie that stands out the most. Starstruck isn’t the best movie ever made but it is the most fanfiction movie I’ve ever encountered. Although not really fanfiction, the movie encapsulates the feeling of early Wattpad and that is something very few movies have achieved. I think that despite its many shortcomings this movie has a lot of heart and that is something that can be felt while watching it.
At the end of the day, I think that this movie is fun and something that I keep coming back to for more. Whether it’s the soundtrack, or the movie itself, there is something here that feels akin to watching your favourite movie for the first time. Regarding this movie, I am 1000% blinded by nostalgia but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This movie makes me yearn to go back to a time when Wattpad was good, and you could look into a mirror and see your brown hair in a messy bun and blue eyes staring back only to realize Harry Styles and the rest of One Direction are in your kitchen.
My Favourite scene is when they take a picture at the Hollywood sign and the photo that is developed on screen isn’t the same angle as where the selfie camera was pointing, it’s just the camera angle!
Bonus! Here are some of my favourite reviews of the movie. Enjoy!! 😊😊
“did my girl petunia so dirty (3.5 Stars)”
“me in 3rd grade thinking this would be me with justin bieber (2 Stars)”
“this movie was the reason i was scared of quicksand as a kid! (3 Stars)”
“The best part is when they played Mitchell musso in the background (5 Stars)”
Rebecca's Thoughts 
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