Let me get this out of the way up front: I have absolutely no problem with Billy Ray Cyrus. Bring on the "Achy Breaky Heart", bring on the Mulholland Drive cameo - this ain't just another country-singin' honkie wearing tight pants: He's a bona fide new country bigwig. So while part of me distinctly resisted the whole Hannah Montana franchise, because of Billy Ray's hand in it (he produces and, well, Miley Cyrus is kind of his daughter), I figured I'd give it a go.

Basically, Hannah Montana: The Movie is Rhinestone for tweens - when Miley Stewart (Hannah Montana's real-life alter ego) becomes too dependent on the glitz and glamour of the rich Hollywood life she has, daddy Billy Ray decides that she needs to get sent out to the country to learn how to actually fend for herself. So - just like Dolly Parton did when she dragged aspiring singer Sylvester Stallone out to Tennessee to learn how things worked there in Rhinestone - Miley gets thrown into a lifestyle she doesn't much care for and has to make the best of it, though on the while, she picks up a couple interesting life lessons, and - of course - there's a boy...

Hannah Montana: The Movie isn't as self-conscious as Mariah Carey's Glitter nor as irresistibly fun as Spice World - it plays far more like an extended Lizzie McGuire fantasy episode than it does an honest-to-goodness film. But maybe that's it's greatest asset: Miley Cyrus doesn't exactly have a whole heck of a lot of dramatic stuff to do here, but her charisma and effortless starpower comes through in spades - even when the film feels like little more than excuses to get her to sing new songs, it's hard to hold a grudge against her.

At the end of the day, though, unless you have Hannah-crazed daughters running around your house, there isn't a lot here to recommend. I love Billy Ray, and his daughter makes a legitimately endearing protagonist, but Hannah Montana: The Movie is aimed at fans of the franchise and only fans of the franchise.

I mean no disrespect to Billy Ray, but I'd take Spice World over this one any day of the week.