Free Style (2009)

29% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
52% of users liked it
(659 ratings)

High School Musical's Corbin Bleu trades in his dancing shoes for a helmet in this family film. In Free Style, young Cale (Bleu) gives his all in his effort to be on the Grand National Motocross racing team, while his mother (Penelope Ann Miller), sister (The Game Plan's Madison Pettis), and… More High School Musical's Corbin Bleu trades in his dancing shoes for a helmet in this family film. In Free Style, young Cale (Bleu) gives his all in his effort to be on the Grand National Motocross racing team, while his mother (Penelope Ann Miller), sister (The Game Plan's Madison Pettis), and girlfriend (Sandra Echeverria) cheer him on. ~ Kimber Myers, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: William Dear
Written By: Jeffrey Nicholson, Joshua Leibner
Genres: Drama, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Oct 9, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Feb 9, 2010
Studio: IDP/Samuel goldwyn Films

Critic Reviews

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Bleu remains one to watch, but only real fans will want to watch this.
Mike Hale, New York Times
Free Style is about motocross and stars Corbin Bleu of the Disney Channel repertory company, two facts that might lead you to expect a certain kind of film.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
You don't have to be a swooning teenage girl to be enamored of Free Style and its heartthrob actor Corbin Bleu.
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News
As predictable and cliché as Free Style is, it moves along briskly enough and Bleu is compelling enough that it doesn't wear out its welcome.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Bleu's cute-but-bland act flatlines in every scene of a movie with a script that is a perfect match for his abilities.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
The movie revels in that kind of good-natured, sitcom-style corniness.
Amy Nicholson, Boxoffice Magazine
A film Barack Obama would approve of screening for Sasha and Malia -- there's even a jab at private health insurers.
S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media
Teen motocross fan aims big in well-meaning but so-so drama.
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
If the world truly needs a family-friendly drama built around motocross racing, it might as well be Free Style, a wholly competent film from journeyman director William Dear.
Scott Tobias, AV Club
Establishing some rooting interest in an underdog like Bleu's character is essential for movies like this, but not to the point where needless subplots about his mother's relationship with the local sheriff is more vital than putting rubber to dirt.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
You can always while away the hour and a half playing 'Count the Cliches.' One wishes Bleu all the best, but on the evidence of this picture his career might be a lot shorter than his hair.
Drew Toal, Time Out New York
Anyone over the legal voting age will have to suffer through "valuable" life lessons to get to the sick two-wheel aerials. Nothing ever comes for free.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Soft-peddled father issues, and race relations get coasted over like so much conveyor-belt product in director William Dear's oh-so-safe kids' romantic sports drama.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
For High School Musical fans unwaveringly devoted to Corbin Bleu, Free Style provides ample opportunity to swoon over the former East High basketballer's big floppy hair and Disney Channel-grade emoting.