High School Musical

"High School Musical" was a movie that can pick you up and make you "dance". The songs were great especially "Get your head in the game". With some dance moves, the movie also added great humor,"love",and for those jocks out there BASKETBALL! The actors rocked the stage and just made the movie a teen can watch and who knows maybe one or two can relate to "Troy"(Zac Efron),"Gabriella"(Vannesa Anne Hudgens),or even "Sharpay"(Ashley Tisdale). Disney has proved itself once again as the movie magnet! Like other movies "Right on Track", "Go Figure", "High School Musical" is a great movie which you can sit with family or with friends and enjoy and you never know when you might be singing along!

Troy Bolton is the captain of the high school basketball team but, at a New Year's Eve party he discovers a love for music while doing karaoke with a girl he just met – Gabriella. Going back to school after the break, Troy discovers that Gabriella is a new pupil there and that she is smart enough to not be part of his social circle and is a big player in the science club. As the high school musical approaches Gabriella and Troy have become closer and are tempted to go for the two lead roles. However, not only will this mean breaking up the musical domination of Sharpay and Ryan Evans but more significantly challenging the social moulds they are put in by themselves and their peers.

With a title that is pretty much a description of contents rather than a title, I pretty much knew what this film was going to be when I sat to watch it. I expected a typical high school movie plot (ie pick one from the five or six main generic ones in films) but delivered as a musical and for the whole thing to be as glossy and as cheerful as one would expect from the Disney film. The way that it is laid out means that it delivers just that – a cheerful musical that goes where you expect it to and does it with the spirit of a light Broadway musical. To those that pick up this film as one would a packet of potatoes in a supermarket (ie knowing that they want potatoes and that they are buying potatoes) then this will provide just what you want and should cover up the weaknesses inherent in it.

Even to the fan, these weaknesses will be as obvious as they are to the viewers that dislike the film. The plot is of course generic and will surprise not even the child audience it is aimed at. The message is writ large across every scene and is clunky almost the whole time. The cheerful pushing of this message of acceptance and being true to yourself is a bit like propaganda and lacks any reality – something many peer-pressured teenagers will tell you. The songs themselves are cheerful big numbers that are as clean and as wholesome as American pie (the ideal rather than the movie!); none of them are good and many will grate on those not used to musicals (although this is not really the film's fault).

The cast are probably the most annoying aspect for the casual viewer because almost to a performer they scream "stage school" and they do the exaggerated and facial-movement-heavy acting that one would expect from a school musical production. Of course this just about works within the context of the genre but I found it annoying because they didn't seem to have an off switch – so even in the smaller moments they are doing the same stuff as in the midst of a massive dance number. Hudgrens is cute and makes for a sweet lead. Efron is bland but probably offers the safe and sexless looks that a female tweenie audience appreciate. Coleman's performance is poor but I was amazed by how a woman in her late twenties can manage to look fifteen! Bleu is equally poor and together they fail to provide any teeth to the peer pressure that is key to the plot. Everyone sings and dances well enough and again, within the genre, they work even if they will get on the rag of the casual viewer.

Overall then this is a film that does just what it says on the tin. It is a high school plot delivered as a musical. Those buying this product knowing the contents will probably like it because it does just what you expect and delivers a solid and slick musical to the extent that the weaknesses of the genre can be forgiven. However the casual viewer will find the so-so songs, soullessly slick delivery, stage-school performances and simplistic, cloying morals to be pretty big hurdles to get over.

While the film only came out 15 years ago, I felt a high amount of nostalgia watching High School Musical again. It was exciting to see the start of something new (pun absolutely intended) and the Disney Channel juggernaut that came from it.

The story was straightforward and predictable, the acting was mediocre, and the script was incredibly cringey at times, but I can forgive all of that because of the music. Every song in this film is a karaoke classic that I blasted in my mom's car to and from middle school. While it is not a cinematic masterpiece, this film brings back sentimental feelings and memories that make it a family favorite.

The other night, having nothing else to do, I popped in the DVD of High School Musical just to see what the "fuss" is all about (My younger sister owns the HSM dolls, clothes, towels, movies, CDs, video games, sheet music, etc). Though not usually drawn to the musical genre or Disney Channel dramatic fare, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this film held my interest and entertained me for its duration.

Plot-wise, HSM doesn't deviate too far from standard Disney programming. When new girl to school Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) begins to form a relationship with school beau Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), it draws the ire of popular girl Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) and facilitates an overhaul of East High's social cliques.

What sets the storyline apart from, say, a typical episode of Hannah Montana, though, is the way the school stereotypes are portrayed. Instead of getting too preachy, Disney instead wildly accentuates those stereotypes and lets the simple messages of diversity and acceptance speak for themselves. Troy is the All-American boy every girl has a crush on, Gabriella is the stunningly beautiful girl next door, and Sharpay is the over-the-top princess who rules the school with her status.

Of course, HSM needs to (as a musical) ultimately be judged on the quality of its musical numbers...the category in which it succeeds fantastically. From the very beginning, when a karaoke DJ hands microphones to Troy and Gabriella and tells them "you might thank me for this someday", viewers will realize the quality of the musical numbers about to come. Though Efron does not provide his own vocals, he IS able to adroitly portray the conflicted Troy (basketball vs. singing) through acting and dance. Hudgens' tunes are usually softer, but very poignant ("When There Was Me And You", in which Hudgens flies solo, is my favorite piece in the film), while Tisdale is probably the most talented actor/singer/dancer of the bunch in her fantastically choreographed and special effects-laden numbers.

So, if you are a parent/older sibling who wants to know what make your child/younger sibling go crazy over HSM, I would encourage you to sit down and watch this film (preferably with them). Even the most jaded critics will be humming (or outright belting) the catchy melodies long after the end credits roll.

10 years ago this first High School Musical film launched with very little fanfare, and no real big names in it. Little did Disney know that it would capture the imagination and hearts of so many young people, spawn two (at present) sequels and become a lasting phenomenon!

Is it surprising when you watch the actual film? No, not really. It's an hour and a bit of fun, the young cast (and they do look young) all give good performances, and it's enjoyable for all ages.

The make it or break it quality with any musical are the songs, and of the three 'High School' films this is the one with the most iconic songs.

No, it's not Shakespeare. But it is an almost modern version of Grease. I'm not a huge musicals fan, but I enjoyed it.