Another Disney Winner! Go Hilary!

This movie doesn't rely on stereotypes, and yet it does.

Many have criticized the portrayal of military school and the many flaws of protocol represented in the movie. One that most civilians notice immediately is when Kelly polishes the boots of the drill team as punishment. Everyone knows that each cadet polishes his or her own boots, but in this case, the audience is willing to suspend disbelief because the punishment is worked into the storyline convincingly so that Brad can demonstrate the correct procedure.

The fact that a 14-year-old would accept her plight without more resistance is something that breaks the stereotype of a typical rebellous cinema teenager since the days of James Dean. She respects her parents, her mother's remarriage, the rights of the individual and strives to do right. She is socially conscious in her sensitive treatment of Carla in providing a dress for the dance, yet she doesn't realize that dress and rules conformity is the ticket of admission to acceptance in the military.

Only after making the drill team, does she have her epiphany that a person may seemingly lose some of her individuality as she becomes a part of something larger than herself when she catches siight of her uniform in the equipment room. Kelly has exactly the same realization that Henry Fleming had in the "Red Badge of Courage."

Another stereotype that Kelly dispells is that children will use their parents to bail them out. She doesn't rely upon her stepfather's authority, nor does she want to become overly obligated to Gloria who coaches her for the drill team tryouts. She knows that she doesn't know and figures out how to gain that knowledge by paying Gloria with her prized possessions. This is exactly what Frederick Douglas did when he "bribed" his white playmates to learn how to read.

This movie should be in everyone's top 250!