Lemonade Mouth is a 2011
musical drama film[2][3] based on the
book of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes.
[4] The film was directed by
Patricia Riggen and written by
April Blair, and stars
Bridgit Mendler,
Adam Hicks,
Hayley Kiyoko,
Naomi Scott, and Blake Michael. The
Disney Channel Original Movie tells the story of five high school students who meet in detention and form a band to stand up for their beliefs and to overcome their individual and collective struggles. It premiered on April 15, 2011 on the
Disney Channel.
[1] It has been met with generally positive reviews, with some praising it for its many positive themes of honesty, integrity, and self-expression, and for its emphasis on the importance of
the arts and of family and friendship.
[2] Other reviews have described it as a "typically innocuous Disney channel flick."
[5] The
soundtrack was released on April 12, 2011. According to The View on Monday August 15, 2011 Lemonade Mouth is said to have a sequel to be in the making.
Five Mesa High School freshmen: Olivia White (
Bridgit Mendler), Mohini "Mo" Banjaree (
Naomi Scott), Charles "Charlie" Delgado (
Blake Michael), Stella Yamada (
Hayley Kiyoko), and Wendell "Wen" Gifford (
Adam Hicks) all meet in detention. The detention administrator and music teacher Ms. Reznik (
Tisha Campbell-Martin) rants over the school principal Stanley Brenigan (
Christopher McDonald) having moved all extracurricular activities to the basement of the school to make room for a new gymnasium. While she is out of the room, the students start tapping out a beat and pick up instruments, and Olivia sings "Turn Up the Music".
The next day, they all meet at Dante's Pizza Parlor, where Stella informs the others that she signed them to perform at the high school's "Halloween Bash". The band forms with Olivia as lead vocalist, Stella as lead guitarist, Mo as bass guitarist, Wen as keyboardist, and Charlie as drummer.
[6] They are unable to choose a band name. However, at school Olivia gets cornered by Ray Beech (Chris Brochu), lead singer and superstar of rival band Mudslide Crush, Jules (Caitlin Ribbans), and Patty (Elise Eberle), Jules' best friend. Stella spits her lemonade on Ray. Principal Brenigan rides up on his Segway PT and Ray refers to Stella as "Lemonade Mouth". Olivia, narrating, states: "And that is how we got our band name."
Later, they approach the lemonade machine but are shocked to see the sign reading "Scheduled for Removal." They discover that the school is sponsored by another sports drink and the school must get rid of all competing drink machines. Later Mo sees her boyfriend, Scott Picket (
Nick Roux), who also plays with Mudslide Crush, with Jules and is deeply hurt.
At the Halloween Bash, Lemonade Mouth performs a song called "Determinate". The crowd, and even Principal Brenigan, love the song. As they finish the song, Stella makes a speech opposing Brenigan's decisions while Mo and Olivia pass back cans of Mel's Organic Lemonade. Principal Brenigan shuts them down. The following Monday, the band are called to Brenigan's office. He compliments their talent as a band, but forbids them from playing at school again. The next day, the band sees posters and banners everywhere supporting Lemonade Mouth. The principal accuses Stella of hanging the posters, and she is unable to convince him that the banners were not the band's doing. Later the band members discover that "Determinate" is playing on the radio.
Stella calls everyone to the school, where she is protesting the removal of the lemonade machine. As the group approaches, they get into a heated argument with one another and fight with the men who are removing the lemonade machine. Police arrive and the group is brought to a holding cell to wait for their parents. They agree, some reluctantly, to perform at Rising Star (an upcoming "battle of the bands" where the winner wins a record deal, even though they realize that they will not win the competition. When each member gets released from the cell, they meet with their families and reconcile with each other. Stella's mother states that she is so proud of Stella for standing up for what she believes in. Mo's parents agree to let her be more free, even though she was still in trouble.
At Rising Star, Mudslide Crush performs "Don't Ya Wish U Were Us". Lemonade Mouth takes the stage and tries to perform "Determinate," but no one except Stella can play due to their mishaps in the days before. Discouraged, they start to leave. Scott tries to go out and help, but Ray tells him he will be out of the band for good if he does. The audience then begins to sing Determinate together in support of the band. Scott, fed up with Ray, tells him he will find another band, goes out, and plays with Stella while the audience sings. Olivia, narrating, reveals that although they did not win the competition, they won "something bigger that night." Later, Mo and Scott get back together. Charlie accepts this and decides to aim his attention at a girl who has a crush on him, and Wen gives Olivia a new kitten after Nancy, her cat, dies. Wen also accepts his new stepmother as he realizes that while she's not his real mother, she cares about him.
At Wen's father's wedding, the man next to Stella tells her that Wen's dad was his old college buddy, and now he runs an organic lemonade company that has recently become extremely successful. Stella recognizes him as Mel, the name on the lemonade machine, and he agrees to donate a music hall for Ms. Reznik. The scene then cuts to Olivia walking to a mailbox to mail the whole story to her father in prison. The film closes with Lemonade Mouth performing "Breakthrough" at Madison Square Garden, with Scott as their new additional guitarist.
