Charlie performing on stage as Rags and blowing the entire crowd away. He was nervous, but ended up stealing the night. This scene also includes Lloyd noticing his sneaker signature and discovering Rags' true identity when nobody else was able to, and Charlie boldly planting a kiss on Kadee before fleeing the party. To top it off, he makes it back in his room just before Arthur goes to check on him!
Lloyd gets one when he stands up to Arthur and announces to Charlie that he owns the restaurant, not Arthur. It's super satisfying to see him finally standing up for both himself and Charlie after an entire movie of him fearing his father and brother too much to stop them from picking on either of them, despite his obvious sympathy for Charlie's plight.
Awesome Music: "Masquerade" by Robosoul, which features some cool opening Dubstep beats and lyrics about deception and masquerades. It plays during the Masquerade Ball during an already cool dance scene, and makes the scene all the more memorable.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The first scene at the pawn shop results in Charlie breaking out into a song about the pawn shop. Not only do the people in the shop start dancing and singing with him, but after it ends, the plot moves forward as if that never happened. For a Diegetic Musical grounded in reality, having a spontaneous song like this clashed with the tone of the film and it made no impact on the rest of the plot.
There's one scene where Charlie and Lloyd talk. It comes just after Lloyd gets yelled at on stage during a rehearsal, causing him to turn to Charlie, who'd witnessed the entire thing. Unusual for Charlie, the conversation is an entirely amicable one, with Lloyd promising to keep the Rags secret after gushing about how good of a singer Rags was, and then attempting to get him to talk to Kadee. Sure, Lloyd's method of convincing Charlie was to start smashing glasses on the floor, but it came from a genuinely well-meaning place, and it doesn't detract from just how sweet the moment is.
At the very end, Charlie is finally rewarded- not just by claiming his title as Rags, but also by finally ending up with Kadee and triumphing over Arthur and Andrew. Lloyd, meanwhile, contributes by finally standing up to Arthur and telling Charlie the truth about who really owns his mother's restaurant, and when Arthur threatens him over it, he's protected by Martha and Diego. During the final scene and the performance of "Me And You Against The World", Lloyd has been promoted to one of Charlie's backup dancers, and the restaurant is packed to see Charlie and Kadee sing together.
Tear Dryer: At the end of the film, we're treated to a somber scene of Charlie returning home from the Rags audition, crushed at the fact his evil stepbrother Andrew stole the role from him. This is all made worse when he discovers his family's restaurant is already decorated to celebrate Andrew's new record deal, causing him to pack his bags and walk out for good. Then Kadee announces that she already knew Charlie was the real Rags and invites him on stage, seconds before he walks out the door, turning it into a happy ending.
It's subtle, but Charlie pausing to look at the picture of Kadee and her father makes you want to hug the guy- he goes into the room goofing around and then immediately gets somber when he sees it, obviously thinking about his own family life and longing for what Kadee has.
While the scene between Charlie and Lloyd is sweet, it also brings up some pretty tragic issues up. Lloyd gets yelled at by Arthur and ditched by Andrew, both of them blaming him once again for their routine being messed up; he's clearly nervous when approaching Charlie, and then meekly admits that he just wants some company. Then, Charlie explains why he can't tell Kadee the truth. He sounds as though he's about to cry when discussing it, and then Lloyd, though visibly upset by what he's hearing, can't exactly argue against the reasoning:
No girl like that wants a nobody from a horrible family.
The climatic search for Rags ends up being pretty upsetting. Arthur locks Charlie in a closet so he can't perform, allowing Andrew to take the spotlight- which he gleefully ditches Lloyd to do, something Lloyd doesn't even find surprising anymore. Andrew is announced as Rags just before Charlie can escape, so he arrives just in time to see his stepbrother being cheered, followed by Arthur's immediate mockery. He gets home to a pretty heartbreaking scene: the restaurant decked out for Andrew's celebration, pre-decorated, rubbing more salt in the wound and serving as even more cruel mockery. Charlie decides to just say Screw This, I'm Outta Here after this, too broken to stay around, even as Kadee urges him to stay. It's a painful scene to watch; Max Schneider's performance makes it genuinely heartwrenching, especially when he walks into the Palace and sees the "Congratulations Andrew" banner.
" by Robosoul, which features some cool opening Dubstep beats and lyrics about deception and masquerades. It plays during the Masquerade Ball during an already cool dance scene, and makes the scene all the more memorable.