Minutemen (film)

Plot

On the first day of high school, best friends Virgil Fox (Jason Dolley), Derek Beaugard (Steven R. McQueen) and Stephanie Jameson (Chelsea Kane) decide to begin their paths by trying out for various activities. While Derek tries for the football team and Stephanie begins cheerleading, Virgil's high school career takes a bad turn. Charlie Tuttle (Luke Benward), a genius who skipped many grades, rockets onto the field on a rocket-propelled car, losing control until Derek throws a football at him and knocks him off. Virgil defends Charlie while Derek just sits by. Virgil and Charlie are forced to dress as cheerleaders and are hung on the school mascot's, a ram, horns.

Three years later, senior year, Virgil and Charlie are still outcasts. Charlie informs Virgil that he has brilliantly invented a time machine. Unaware of how to build the time machine, the duo befriends Zeke (Nicholas Braun), a hulking loner who is a fellow outcast. When the time machine is built, Virgil, still regretting the first day of high school, decides that he would like to use the machine to undo embarrassing mistakes made by their classmates. They test the time machine out by buying a winning lottery ticket. Forgetting that they are underage, they ask a local street performer to buy it for them, but are forced to return to the present early. This in turn causes the street performer to win the lottery using the numbers they provided.

Jeanette (Kara Crane) helps the trio save outcasts from social embarrassment by providing them with white snowsuits to wear and handles the machine while the boys are time-traveling. The school's vice-principal (J. P. Manoux) attempts to stop the "Snowsuit Guys", the name everybody knows them by, though they call themselves the "Minutemen".

After the "Snowsuit Guys" are named local heroes, they save Stephanie from falling off her cheerleader's pyramid. Recognizing one of them as Virgil, Stephanie confronts Virgil and he is finally allowed to hang out with the popular kids. After experiencing a humiliating loss at the state championship, Stephanie asks Virgil to help out Derek. Virgil does so and Stephanie informs Derek of the time machine as well, in turn causing the former friends to be reunited. The time machine eventually begins to cause terrible consequences, however. The outcasts, who have now become popular, have let it go to their heads and Virgil begins to abandon Charlie and Zeke in favor of Stephanie. While they begin to hang out again, Stephanie tells him that despite abandoning him, Derek did try to stop the jocks' actions. Meanwhile, Stephanie learns that Derek is cheating on her with a girl named Jocelyn and Derek pleads with Virgil to get him to rectify his mistake with the time machine.

The FBI arrives in the town after monitoring suspicious activity. Virgil and Zeke learn that Charlie had stolen the time machine blueprints from the NASA mainframe. After consulting with the government's top scientists, Charlie learns that their continuous uses with the time machine has damaged the space-time continuum, thus created a black hole. With only hours to live, the trio decide to go into the hole and close it. Just before they enter, Jeanette approaches Charlie and kisses him.

Once they have entered the black hole, they are transported back to their first day of high school; as the key component from the time machine was in Charlie's rocket cart. Virgil realizes that he can undo the events that caused him to lose his popularity. When he arrives at the field to stop the humiliating incident, Charlie bitterly tells him that although Virgil hates this day, it's Charlie's favorite day as it's the day he finally got a real friend. Charlie and Zeke leave Virgil to make a decision about what he wants to do. As Virgil watches the incident unfold, he discovers that Derek never defended him at all. Derek had betrayed him in favor of gaining popularity, by suggesting to the jocks to put lipstick and as the cheerleader uniforms on Virgil and Charlie. Having come to his senses, Virgil then reunites with Charlie and Zeke in the rocket car.

They manage to close the black hole and return to the day when they first tried time-traveling. Everything goes back to normal and Charlie kisses Jeanette, shocking her and causing Zeke to remind Charlie that they didn't kiss before that point. While Charlie tries to explain, it is shown that Jeanette, who has a crush on Charlie, is secretly happy. After that, Virgil confesses his feelings towards Stephanie (and she for him). Virgil confronts Derek, insulting one another: Derek telling Virgil that he will always be a loser and Virgil tells Derek that he will always be an arrogant jerk and to have fun with Jocelyn; as he's still aware of his infidelity. As Virgil and Stephanie embrace, Charlie walks up to them and eagerly suggests a new idea: Teleportation, but Virgil and Zeke drag him off, the three arguing among themselves.

Cast

Production

Disney Channel first released an official press via its press release website DisneyChannelMedianet.com on July 14, 2007 to confirm the production of Minutemen. The lead star, plot, writers, director and executive producers of this movie was also announced in this press. In addition, another 2008 DCOM named Camp Rock, scheduled to begin production in September 2007, was also confirmed in the same press.

Location

Minutemen was filmed at Murray High School. Murray High School was also the set of: Take Down (1978), Read It and Weep (2006), the auditorium scene of High School Musical (2006), and High School Musical: Get in the Picture (2008). Filming also took place at Highland High School located in Sugar House.

Featured music

The first single of the movie, "Run It Back Again" by Corbin Bleu was released January 22, 2008 on Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 10 and its music video premiered on Disney Channel. Another single titled "Like Whoa" from Aly & AJ began airing January 19, 2008 around the world, as a music video on Disney Channel. The song could be purchased on album, Insomniatic.

Reception

Minutemen premiered on the Disney Channel on January 25, 2008 with 6.48 million views.