flippyshark
06-16-2006, 06:37 PM
This Disney Channel Original Movie was mentioned a couple of times in passing on the Museum of Tolerance thread, but it seems to me high time that it receive an official review, so:
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
Reviewed by a grumpy middle aged straight guy
Okay, so I'm not the target audience for this little trifle, but I couldn't help noticing that HSM has done gangbuster business, making unbelievable millions in soundtrack and DVD sales. Friends of mine, full grown adults, have raved to me about it. Co-wokers have bought the sheet music so they can use it for auditions. Well, I've been involved in musical theater pretty much my whole life, so, I was curious to see what all the fuss is about.
First, allow me to give you a quick plot synopsis. This won't take long. Troy (Zac Effron) is a high school basketball star, perhaps not coincidentally because his dad is the basketball coach. On New Year's Eve, Zac ends up singing a karaoke duet with pretty Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgins) and discovers that, by golly, he can sing. He and Gabriella exchange phone numbers, and next thing you know, she shows up as the new girl at school. It's audition time for the "winter musicale." Troy and Gabriella know they sound great singing together, but can Troy be a star athlete AND a theater guy? (Seems the entire student body is against any such radical notions.) Should Gabriella dream of her moment in the spotlight, or should she just stick with being smartest nerd in the science club? And can the two of them succeed against the entrenched brother/sister act who star in every show? Can they make it all happen on the day of the big game AND the science geek competition? I won't reveal the shocking conclusion here.
This dandelion-fluffy concoction is often compared to GREASE. It takes place at a high school and involves a couple of kids who meet on vacation and then end up at school together. The similarities pretty much end there. GREASE is primarily about how horny and shamelessly raunchy its characters are. HSM is constrained by its Disney Channel status to remain cheerfully wholesome.
That wholesomeness bears strange fruit. There is a moment in the opening sequence when Zac and Gabriella might be thinking about kissing each other. The New Year countdown has just ended and fireworks are going off in the sky behind them. Those are the ONLY sparks happening anywhere near these two! They just stand there looking at each other, with no apparent longing. Back at school, their relationship seems to be about nothing except the singing. Neither of them behave like they have a crush on the other one at all. They're just pals who both want to be in the show. (Their friendship hits some turbulence thanks to a conspiracy among their peers, but the result isn't heartbreak so much as "well, gosh, I thought Zac wanted to sing with me, but I guess not.")
This absence of romantic tension (not even at the puppy love level) gives Zac an unwritten, and probably unintended, backstory. You see, he has to level with his coach Dad about his secret ambition to be a theater guy, but I couldn't help but think this just the tip of the iceberg. Zac is clearly gay, and Gabriella is fated to be his bestest girlfriend but nothing more. There's more spark between Zac and his basketball pal Chad (Corbin Bleu, who sounds like he should be spread on a cracker) than there is with his purported lady love. Once I started watching the movie with this in mind, it actually played better and made more sense. It also made Zac seem a little insensitive. He shows up at Gabriella's bedroom window and serenades her back into his good graces, but his motive seems to be one hundred percent "I want to be in the show," with her feelings a long distant second.
There is another couple in this movie who also display more sparks than the leads. I'm talking about the brother/sister team of Sharpay and Ryan. (Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel) They are always together, always conspiring, and they are hellbent on always being co-stars. In one scene, they reminisce about how they once played Romeo and Juliet together. EEEWWWWW! Yes, this relationship seems unhealthy to the core. (And let me take a moment to react to the name of the diva in this team. Sharpay? Yes, it's pronounced just like the dog, Shar Pei. In fact, until I checked the credits online, I thought that was how she was spelling it. But by spelling the name Sharpay, it looks like a bad punchline to a joke about what a Frenchman's favorite permanent marker might be.)
Musicals need not reflect the real world, but the best ones manage to create their own persuasive reality. This show can't pull that off either. The school seems to exist in a squeaky-clean Twilite Zone. And this school sure as heck is not located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in spite of what the movie tells us. I was born in Albuquerque. I've been to school in Albuquerque. And folks, this is not Albuquerque. First of all, there is only one student in the whole place who looks like she might, maybe, be hispanic. That's Gabriella, our leading lady. And guess what. She's from out of state! There is no school in Albuquerque this white bread! Also, any buildings we see look suspiciously red brick. In the real New Mexico, most buildings are made of fake adobe. It's the most themed state in the country.
The students here are all neatly grouped in stereotypical cliques. You know on sight where they belong and what they do. And here is where HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL pulls one really good trick out of the bag. There is a truly intersting number about the social pressure to stick with your prescribed niche, and don't you dare step out of those narrow confines. But we learn that a jock might also like making baked goods, a brainy white girl can like hip hop, and so on. It's a well done scene, and I only wish that the rest of the movie had pushed its point further. This outbreak of sudden confessions should have resulted in more conflict, more chaos, and more character. But things stay disappointingly bland after this little lift.
As much as the whole movie is at pains not to overreach, it's not a bad show. The young cast are energetic and appealing. (and unlike the "kids" in GREASE, they really are young!) The songs, though not immediately memorable, are pleasant and well suited to the performers' limited vocal ranges. When there is choreography, it is well presented and fun. (The finale in the gymnasium is admittedly infectious.) This made-for-cable offering is probably better than it had to be, which may have something to do with its surprising success. It may spur an interest in better musicals for its young audience. It's sure to be a slumber party pick for years to come, and, who knows, maybe it will be the movie that gives a young basketball jock the courage to have that very difficult talk with his Dad.
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
Reviewed by a grumpy middle aged straight guy
Okay, so I'm not the target audience for this little trifle, but I couldn't help noticing that HSM has done gangbuster business, making unbelievable millions in soundtrack and DVD sales. Friends of mine, full grown adults, have raved to me about it. Co-wokers have bought the sheet music so they can use it for auditions. Well, I've been involved in musical theater pretty much my whole life, so, I was curious to see what all the fuss is about.
First, allow me to give you a quick plot synopsis. This won't take long. Troy (Zac Effron) is a high school basketball star, perhaps not coincidentally because his dad is the basketball coach. On New Year's Eve, Zac ends up singing a karaoke duet with pretty Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgins) and discovers that, by golly, he can sing. He and Gabriella exchange phone numbers, and next thing you know, she shows up as the new girl at school. It's audition time for the "winter musicale." Troy and Gabriella know they sound great singing together, but can Troy be a star athlete AND a theater guy? (Seems the entire student body is against any such radical notions.) Should Gabriella dream of her moment in the spotlight, or should she just stick with being smartest nerd in the science club? And can the two of them succeed against the entrenched brother/sister act who star in every show? Can they make it all happen on the day of the big game AND the science geek competition? I won't reveal the shocking conclusion here.
This dandelion-fluffy concoction is often compared to GREASE. It takes place at a high school and involves a couple of kids who meet on vacation and then end up at school together. The similarities pretty much end there. GREASE is primarily about how horny and shamelessly raunchy its characters are. HSM is constrained by its Disney Channel status to remain cheerfully wholesome.
That wholesomeness bears strange fruit. There is a moment in the opening sequence when Zac and Gabriella might be thinking about kissing each other. The New Year countdown has just ended and fireworks are going off in the sky behind them. Those are the ONLY sparks happening anywhere near these two! They just stand there looking at each other, with no apparent longing. Back at school, their relationship seems to be about nothing except the singing. Neither of them behave like they have a crush on the other one at all. They're just pals who both want to be in the show. (Their friendship hits some turbulence thanks to a conspiracy among their peers, but the result isn't heartbreak so much as "well, gosh, I thought Zac wanted to sing with me, but I guess not.")
This absence of romantic tension (not even at the puppy love level) gives Zac an unwritten, and probably unintended, backstory. You see, he has to level with his coach Dad about his secret ambition to be a theater guy, but I couldn't help but think this just the tip of the iceberg. Zac is clearly gay, and Gabriella is fated to be his bestest girlfriend but nothing more. There's more spark between Zac and his basketball pal Chad (Corbin Bleu, who sounds like he should be spread on a cracker) than there is with his purported lady love. Once I started watching the movie with this in mind, it actually played better and made more sense. It also made Zac seem a little insensitive. He shows up at Gabriella's bedroom window and serenades her back into his good graces, but his motive seems to be one hundred percent "I want to be in the show," with her feelings a long distant second.
There is another couple in this movie who also display more sparks than the leads. I'm talking about the brother/sister team of Sharpay and Ryan. (Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel) They are always together, always conspiring, and they are hellbent on always being co-stars. In one scene, they reminisce about how they once played Romeo and Juliet together. EEEWWWWW! Yes, this relationship seems unhealthy to the core. (And let me take a moment to react to the name of the diva in this team. Sharpay? Yes, it's pronounced just like the dog, Shar Pei. In fact, until I checked the credits online, I thought that was how she was spelling it. But by spelling the name Sharpay, it looks like a bad punchline to a joke about what a Frenchman's favorite permanent marker might be.)
Musicals need not reflect the real world, but the best ones manage to create their own persuasive reality. This show can't pull that off either. The school seems to exist in a squeaky-clean Twilite Zone. And this school sure as heck is not located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in spite of what the movie tells us. I was born in Albuquerque. I've been to school in Albuquerque. And folks, this is not Albuquerque. First of all, there is only one student in the whole place who looks like she might, maybe, be hispanic. That's Gabriella, our leading lady. And guess what. She's from out of state! There is no school in Albuquerque this white bread! Also, any buildings we see look suspiciously red brick. In the real New Mexico, most buildings are made of fake adobe. It's the most themed state in the country.
The students here are all neatly grouped in stereotypical cliques. You know on sight where they belong and what they do. And here is where HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL pulls one really good trick out of the bag. There is a truly intersting number about the social pressure to stick with your prescribed niche, and don't you dare step out of those narrow confines. But we learn that a jock might also like making baked goods, a brainy white girl can like hip hop, and so on. It's a well done scene, and I only wish that the rest of the movie had pushed its point further. This outbreak of sudden confessions should have resulted in more conflict, more chaos, and more character. But things stay disappointingly bland after this little lift.
As much as the whole movie is at pains not to overreach, it's not a bad show. The young cast are energetic and appealing. (and unlike the "kids" in GREASE, they really are young!) The songs, though not immediately memorable, are pleasant and well suited to the performers' limited vocal ranges. When there is choreography, it is well presented and fun. (The finale in the gymnasium is admittedly infectious.) This made-for-cable offering is probably better than it had to be, which may have something to do with its surprising success. It may spur an interest in better musicals for its young audience. It's sure to be a slumber party pick for years to come, and, who knows, maybe it will be the movie that gives a young basketball jock the courage to have that very difficult talk with his Dad.