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Girls Rock! Our rating: Your rating: 1 2 3 4 Your Comments: see all MPAA rating: PG (for thematic elements and language) Genre: Documentary Theater release: February 29, 2008 by Girls Rock Productions Directed by: Arne Johnson, Shane King Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes Cast: Jessica Lange (Arvilla), Kathy Bates (Margene), Joan Allen (Carol), Tom Skerritt (Emmett), Christine Baranski (Francine) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

One important thing to know about the documentary Girls Rock! is that it's far more about girls than it is about rock—or even about its supposed focus, The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon. And that's not entirely a bad thing.

In 2005, the documentary Rock School examined a Philadelphia after-school rock program and the school's enigmatic founder. 2007's The Hip Hop Project showed the power of art to change lives by focusing on the creator of a New York rap initiative, its music, and the industry.

Palace, age 7

But Girls Rock!, like Oregon's Rock Camp itself, uses both the setting and the music only to probe the difficulties of being a girl in a culture that over-sexualizes them, weakens them into conformity and forces them to apologize for being themselves. The movie is not about the week-long summer camp or even rock music at all. It's about four girls who represent the trials most young girls face. And while the objective is noble and largely pays off, it's also frustrating at times.

Really, the movie doesn't tell you much at all about The Rock 'n' Roll Camp. For instance, it's even hard to tell if it's a day camp or a residential camp (the website verifies that it's a day camp.) Plus, we barely get any camp history. An animated and fun—but frustratingly limited—history segment implies that the women behind the camp were inspired by strong '90s indie rock chicks (including PJ Harvey, Riot Grrl, and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon). They want to impart that empowerment and strength to "future heroines" damaged by a post-Britney pop culture that views female performers as mere sex tarts. Any more camp details are left out.

Amelia, age 8

What is clear, however, is the camp's mission—and that's obviously the filmmakers' intent. As one counselor explains, music is just the vehicle to reach girls with what counselors wish they could've had as girls—a place where it's OK to be yourself, to be loud, and to make mistakes. You don't have to be small and timid. You don't need to apologize for feeling a certain way. You are loved here. You are affirmed. It's unacceptable to say you "can't" at Rock Camp—because you can. Here, girls are taught how to treat other girls. They are empowered, not shamed. Girls are given the opportunity to talk about their experiences with self-hatred, stress, insecurity, and expectations of culture. "I'm only 14," one girl says, "I shouldn't have to be told by everyone what I should be or look like."

The film's male directors, Shane King and Arne Johnson, learned of the camp by hearing Carrie Brownstein (of iconic indie band Sleater-Kinney) talk publicly about her rewarding work as a camp counselor. When the directors inquired, the camp didn't want attention. In fact, the directors had to prove they weren't interested in turning the camp into an American Idol-like breeding ground for young musicians. Once they did, they discovered the camp was, as they've said, "about so much more than kids with guitars."

And so, King and Johnson focused their movie on four girls at the 2005 summer camp. Here, along with about 100 other girls, they picked out instruments (usually for the first time), formed bands, wrote songs and performed a weekend show for more than 700 people. All in five days. Through these four girls, the audience sees both the hurt that the camp tries to root out and the transformative power of a week spent rocking. Perhaps the film's greatest treasure is that the two relatively inexperienced filmmakers lucked out with their choice of stars.

Laura, age 15

Palace, 7, seems at first like a together 40-year-old businesswoman trapped in a tiny body. But her sweet and calculated appearance masks rebel hostility. Take for instance the dichotomy between two of her songs. One is about her brother with Down syndrome: "My brother was meant to be, meant to be, meant to be … free." But the other is about the business trips she takes with her mom: "San Francisco sucks sometimes. Go to hell on the Golden Gate Bridge."

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