''Bad Hair Day'' is a
Disney Channel Original Movie
Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner nam ...
which premiered on February 13, 2015, starring
Laura Marano
Laura Marie Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role in the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally'' as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the five original classmates in '' Are You Smarter than a ...
and
Leigh-Allyn Baker
Leigh-Allyn Baker (born March 13, 1972) is an American actress. She had recurring roles on ''Charmed'' and as Ellen on ''Will & Grace'', and a starring role as the matriarch Amy Duncan (Good Luck Charlie), Amy Duncan on the Disney Channel sitcom ...
.
The story centers on 16-year-old Monica Reeves, who is running for Prom Queen at her high school. One day, she wakes up with crazy hair after combining loads of different products. But Monica soon has bigger things to worry about when ex-police Lieutenant Elizabeth "Liz" Morgan arrives at Monica’s door in search of a $7 million diamond necklace. The two become unlikely friends as they race to fix Monica’s hair for prom and protect the necklace from falling into the hands of a world-renewed jewel thief, Pierce Peters.
Plot
Monica, a high school tech whiz, is determined to become prom queen and is planning to go to MIT or a state university. She prepares herself the day before prom so she can save time when it comes, and thinks nothing will go wrong. On the big day, however, she wakes up with a bad hair day, and everything that can go wrong does: Her prom dress is destroyed, and her shoes break.
Monica answers the door to a woman claiming to be an
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agent. The woman, Liz, seeks a necklace that Monica purchased at an antique shop, wanting to recover it and get her job back. In verifying Liz's credentials, Monica discovers that Liz is not actually an FBI agent but a private investigator. Monica smartly deduces Liz's claim, and she coaxes Liz into giving her a ride around town to fix her hair, replace her outfit, and take her to get driving lessons in exchange for the necklace.
Prom day goes from bad to worse as the pair is pursued by Pierce Peters, an intelligent British jewel thief who is also pursuing the diamond to give it to a buyer. Meanwhile, Monica finds that she cannot get an appointment to fix her hair or replace her dress and shoes. Furthermore, her supposed boyfriend Kyle has been cheating on her with her school rival, Ashley, who is also running for prom queen.
After Liz tries to retaliate by scaring Monica's boyfriend with an arrest on trumped-up charges, Liz gets arrested and Monica learns that Liz is a suspended police officer who has been scolded by the police chief from her department who is also her mother after her previous failures in catching Pierce. While Liz is being scolded, Monica meets her former partner, Ed.
Afterward, Liz confesses that the necklace had a priceless diamond that was on display at a museum that was stolen by Peters, a crime she felt guilty for allowing to take place, as she believed that she could handle it without calling for backup. The diamond was on the verge of being sold to a shady buyer wearing "the safari look," but was passed along to someone else by mistake with a similar look and subsequently lost in various exchanges.
When the time comes to take her driving lesson, Monica talks the instructor and Liz into letting them use her car, named Brando, when suddenly they encounter Pierce and are taken on a wild ride throughout the city. After Monica fails her driving lesson and Liz gets her car towed away, they argue over their predicament, splitting the two of them up. Pierce makes a phone call to Monica, informing her that he kidnapped her father. Monica and Liz work together to get the car back.
Arriving at Pierce's hideout, Liz states that she can't transfer to another police station to get away from the police chief because the police chief is her mother. Monica and Liz are lured into a trap by Pierce, but they outsmart him. After being tasered by Liz, Pierce is arrested by the police. Liz calls for backup.
In the end, Liz is reinstated on the force by her mother. Liz then sorts out Monica's hair and clothes. Monica and Liz go to the prom (with a full police procession), where Monica is told that she has been voted prom queen after her ex-boyfriend's infidelity went viral. Monica tells the crowd that being perfect is overrated, and all enjoy the night. She also decides to go to MIT.
Cast
*
Laura Marano
Laura Marie Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role in the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally'' as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the five original classmates in '' Are You Smarter than a ...
as Monica Reeves
*
Leigh-Allyn Baker
Leigh-Allyn Baker (born March 13, 1972) is an American actress. She had recurring roles on ''Charmed'' and as Ellen on ''Will & Grace'', and a starring role as the matriarch Amy Duncan (Good Luck Charlie), Amy Duncan on the Disney Channel sitcom ...
as Liz
*
Christian Campbell
Christian Bethune Campbell (born May 12, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Gabriel in the film ''Trick'', Greg Ivey in the television series ''Big Love'' and on stage as Jimmy Harper in the musical '' Reefer Madness''.
E ...
as Pierce
* Alain Goulem as Monica's Dad
* Christian Paul as Ed
* Kiana Madeira
Kiana Madeira is a Canadian actress. She starred as Moe in the Netflix television series '' Trinkets''. Madeira played Deena in the 2021 Netflix horror film trilogy '' Fear Street''.
Early life
Madeira was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew u ...
as Sierra
* Jake Manley
Jake Manley (born August 23, 1991) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Jack Morton in the Netflix series '' The Order'', Brad in the NBC series '' Heroes Reborn'', Fisher Webb in the CW series '' iZombie'', Shane in '' A Dog’s Jou ...
as Kyle Timmons
* Zoé De Grand Maison
Zoé De Grand Maison (born May 3, 1995), often credited as Zoé De Grand'Maison or Zoé De Grand-Maison, is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles of Gracie Johanssen in the television series ''Orphan Black'' and Ashley in the movie ''Bad ...
as Ashley
* Susan Almgren as Chief Edna Morgan
Production
Filming occurred in the city of Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
In an interview with ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', Baker said, "I wanted to executive produce because I wanted to see what it was like to build and fulfill a vision from the ground up, and since this was Disney Channel's first movie with an adult lead, I wanted that role to be protected and I wanted the movie to have my creative stamp on it." She also liked that she got to work on the Disney movie because it taps into her family unit fanbase. Marano also mentioned that it was her first DCOM. Filming took place in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, standing in for an unnamed American city. Marano noted that in contrast to ''Austin & Ally
''Austin & Ally'' is an American comedy television series created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert that aired on Disney Channel from December 2, 2011 to January 10, 2016. The series stars Ross Lynch, Laura Marano, Raini Rodriguez, and Calum W ...
'' which had four cameras and shot about ten scenes a day, the film shot with fewer cameras and fewer scenes, one of which took the entire day.
Marano said that she likes that her character embodies two normally contrasting high school cliches – a prom queen nominee who likes beauty and fashion and is popular, and a computer whiz who has a nerdy tech obsession and codes. She also likes that she relates with her character when deciding whether to go to the state college or MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
.
The film's soundtrack was composed by Michael Corriveau. He mixed over 60 minutes of music with Sylvain Lefebvre of Lamajeure. According to the Lamajeure website, the soundtrack used pop, rhythmic and classical music. Corriveau worked with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague, and the recording was done at the Dvorak Hall at the Rudolfinum
The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. Curr ...
.
The feature song is "For the Ride" by Laura Marano
Laura Marie Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role in the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally'' as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the five original classmates in '' Are You Smarter than a ...
. The song used in the trailer was "Nuthin'" by Lecrae
Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur.
He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the ind ...
. Other songs include: "Rooftop" by Skylar Stecker
Skylar Star Stecker (born April 24, 2002) is an American singer and actress. In 2015, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is Me''. In March 2019, she independently released her second album, ''Redemption''.
Life
Born on April 24, 2002, in ...
, "Colorful World" by Shayna Rose
Shayna Rose (born Shayna Rose Mordue; November 3, 1983) is an American actress and singer.
Early life
Rose moved to Los Angeles in 2002 after declining a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She went between acting, singing, ...
, "All Over The World" by The Fooo Conspiracy
FO&O is a Swedish pop boy band made up of Oscar Enestad, Omar Rudberg and Felix Sandman. Originally established in October 2013 under the name the Fooo, the group changed its name to the Fooo Conspiracy in September 2014. Founding member Oscar " ...
, "Happy Place" feat. Hanna Ashbook by Oh, Hush!, and "Heatroc" feat. Lazarus by Agzilla.
Broadcast
The film was first released on February 6, 2015 on WATCH Disney Channel, and had its premiere broadcast in the US on February 13. It premiered in Canada on the Family Channel on March 20, and in Australia on April 17.
Reception
''Bad Hair Day'' delivered 4.0 million viewers for its television premiere and has had 435,000 views on the WATCH Disney Channel app since it was released on February 6. Amy Amatangelo of The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
found the duo of Baker and Marano "played well off each other", and that Marano's character was "refreshingly age-appropriate". She found the movie to be goofy but not slapsticky, and that it was "like a junior version of ''Thelma and Louise
Thelma is a female given name. It was popularized by Victorian writer Marie Corelli who gave the name to the title character of her 1887 novel ''Thelma''. It may be related to a Greek word meaning "will, volition" see ''thelema''). Note that altho ...
'' albeit with a much, much happier ending."
References
External links
''Bad Hair Day''
at Muse Entertainment
*
{{Disney Channel Original Movies
2010s teen comedy films
2015 television films
2015 films
American teen comedy films
Disney Channel Original Movie films
Films shot in Montreal
Films directed by Érik Canuel
Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation
2010s American films
2010s Canadian films
Canadian teen comedy films
Canadian comedy television films