Review Revue: Critics React To Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” Video

Robbie Daw | August 10, 2010 4:09 pm

Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” video arrived today on a wave of pop sea foam and nostalgia. Stylistically and musically, the jam is a full 180 from the Teen Choice Awards co-host’s previous offering, “California Gurls.” So were the Internet’s music critics ready to delve back into their own hazy memories of adolescent crushes and show Katy some teenage dreaminess? Head below to see.

:: MTV Buzzworthy got all hot and bothered by Josh Kloss, who plays Katy’s love interest in the vid: “…he’s hot, Katy’s hot, and the rest of the video unfurls into a party in the U.S.A. with Katy’s fictitious and well-rounded group of friends, (one of whom is dressed like Ke$ha, FYI). Everyone takes off their some of their clothes and has the kind of perfectly awesome party that, well, basically usually exists only in dreams.”

:: Entertainment Weekly‘s Music Mix gives a thumbs-up to the stylish video, noting, “Visually, the clip was wonderfully shot with a graying effect that dulls down what otherwise would’ve been the cliche sunny day in L.A. video we see all the time.”

:: New York‘s Vulture was also struck by the attractiveness of the boys and girls presented on the screen: “..Perry and her very well-muscled love interest cavort with friends on the beach and stretch out in convertibles, looking like they just wandered out of an Urban Outfitters catalogue or an Arizona Jeans commercial, or both — excepting one scene, about two-thirds of the way through, when Perry does her very best My So-Called Life homage, staring shyly at her man in stripped-down makeup, half hidden behind a locker.”

:: HitFix felt that “Teenage Dream” was a toned-down affair: “The relatively tame video, which in many ways seems like a better fit for ‘California Gurls,’ features her and her friends frolicking as her boyfriend goes off and boxes…a lot… and makes out with Perry…a little.”

:: X17 Online didn’t really mince words when they wrote, “Not only does Russell Brand’s future wifey look delicious, but her ripped man in the video is yum!”

:: Neon Limelight, however, felt the video got off track at a certain point: “…when we get to the bridge of the song, we see a shot of Katy admiring her beau’s glistening biceps while he’s boxing in a school gym. She’s putting something into a locker. Are they supposed to be teens? Is this how they met? Things get confusing.”

:: That Grape Juice was even less impressed: “This was a surprisingly dull video. Although the song itself is not an exciting extravaganza, Perry’s team could have at least put a bit more effort into the production beyond front seat flirtation and half naked scenes of people on a beach. Then again, the song is already a hit so I sense that nobody would care either way.”

:: In the end, We Are Pop Slags got right to the nitty gritty: “‘Teenage Dream’ is less immediate than ‘California Gurls’, but it soon takes up residence in your head—and with a video featuring hunky actor Josh Kloss in frequent states of undress, what’s not to like?”