MDC_Catalyst Review of Drake and Josh Go Hollywood

Drake and Josh Go Hollywood (2006 TV Movie)

Don't you just hate it when this happens?

[6 January 2006]

By Manny Castro After almost two years on the air, Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh are such a popular show that it already inspired a movie. However, unlike Kenan & Kel (the popular Nick duo from the '90s), Drake & Josh only get a TV movie and for good reasons I may add. In the TV movie Drake Parker (Drake Bell) is upset because his band manager is booking his band in bad gigs. One of the bad gigs involves the band playing for a retirement home. Whoa! This manager must really hate the band, huh? But, his troubles will soon be solved because his step-brother Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) offers his services as his new band manager. Drake resists at first, but decides to give him a shot since Josh is a loser and FINALLY realizes when he has to write a school paper about his greatest adventure. In the meantime, however, their parents go on a ten-day cruise. Before they leave they instruct Drake and Josh to take their sister, Megan (Miranda Cosgrove), on time to the airport, so she doesn't miss her plane ride to Denver. I know what you're asking, "what parent lets their eleven-year-old child travel alone?" Nonetheless, Drake and Josh obey and take their sister to the airport. Then, when they arrive they are dumb enough to put Megan on the wrong plane. Oops! Now, Drake and Josh have to take a flight to Los Angeles to rescue their sister. At L.A. Josh bumps into a Talent Booker for MTV's TRL in the restroom. The booker had a talent cancel on him the day before an L.A. show. This guy is so desperate that he allows Drake to perform on the show. However, the story doesn't end there because Drake and Josh SOMEHOW get involved with some criminals who've stolen a U.S. currency machine and now must stop them. WOW! That's a lot for a 90-minute TV movie. "Good Burger" didn't have this much sub-plots! While I like the whole aspect of Drake getting his big brake, I think the rest of the movie was really stupid and contributes nothing to the history of the show. Viewers of the Drake & Josh program know that the show is a sitcom about the wacky adventures of two step-brothers. So, why does the film turn into some kind of crime-thriller? Ask Executive Producer Dan Schneider. Yeah, he's the same guy who wrote and produced the Kenan & Kel TV shows and movies. Hence all my references. Anyway, I honestly thought this movie had potential if it would have tried to contribute to the history of the show. On the show Drake's mother marries Josh's father, yet we NEVER learn ANYTHING about Drake's dad and Josh's mother. Wouldn't it had been better if the film tried to answer that big question? Well, maybe Mr. Schneider has that planned for the sequel.