High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Yes, the last High School Musical movie ended up getting a theatrical release after 3 years of tons of kids/pre teen girls getting all the merchandise, singing all the songs & quoting & acting out every single scene (trust me, I was the target demographic when it first came out & everyone in my school did exactly the same!). And it ended up being a big success at the box office making over $250 million worldwide against a budget of $11 million & set a record for a musical film in it's opening weekend by making $50 million in the US alone with an addition $40 million in the foreign box office. Yep, it already made over eight times it's budget in just one weekend! Now that Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad & Taylor are taking their final bow on the big screen ( completely ignoring the spin-off Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure), should we give them a standing ovation for all their efforts in the past movies, or will it feel as insufferable & nail biting as having to revise for finals? Let's find out!

 

Story: Unlike the last 2 movies which were relentlessly cliched & superficially cheesy, this one is just a bit cliched & cheesy. This one actually has the group make a musical about their senior year as they'll be going off to university, which is pretty fitting way to end the franchise if you ask me. Also, although the romance still doesn't avoid being really irritatingly cute, this time round they actually discuss their futures & what's more important as Gabriella is given the opportunity to go to a programme in Stanford which would mean she'd miss prom & the musical they've been working on. Also, I do like some of the twists like that Kelsi & Ryan are the ones to get the Julliard scholarship rather than Troy just because he's the hero & Troy found a way to do both basketball & music at university. Also, I like that they go into the characters more with the conflict that any kid leaving high school would go through like what they want out of life, if they're gonna go to uni, (yeah, I can relate to them now since I've finished my senior year & still waiting to see if I get into uni) & if they're gonna remain friends. If I had issues, it would be the subplot involving Sharpay (whose back to being a bitch AGAIN) & the new character Tiara Gold (yes, that's her real name) ripping off All About Eve. It was just pointless to me other than Sharpay to have something else to do other than worry about the Julliard scholarship & try to ruin Troy & Gabriella's romance. Yeah, there's no denying that it's unbeliveably cheesy, but at least this time they put more effort in! And honestly, I just can't hate it cos it brought so much nostalgia for me!

Characters:  Although the characters are still their same cliched selves, they actually get development this time round (I know, big shocker!)! Troy this time round is struggling with what he wants after high school, with the internal conflict actually being really relateable as all kids who are leaving high school can feel empathy for him. Gabriella is still the sweet yet smart love interest, but is the one. Sharpay is back to being the blonde bitch AGAIN, but she does get to vindicate herself by the end for good thanks to her All About Eve plot with Tiara. Ryan gets more development this time round as he gets to show off what he can do in the field of choreography and Lucas Grabeel gets to show off his vocals much more compared to the other films. Chad & Taylor are still the best friends for Troy & Gabriella, but they're much more supportive compared to the other films & Chad in particular is more developed as he's worried about the future & if he'll remain friends with Troy when they head off to university. Kelsi is really there to compose the songs again & is the one who signed everyone up to do the musical as it'll be the last ever thing they'll do together in high school. Zeke & Jason (two other Wildcats I neglected to mention in my other reviews as they contributed pretty much nothing) can be pretty funny & it's kinda nice to see Zeke's little crush on Sharpay be resolved in the last movie. Ms Darbus this time round, while she can be over the top, actually manages to the subtle (*GASP*) in one scene with Troy & is the one who submitted an application for him for Julliard & actually made me gain more respect for her. But then...there are the new characters. Tiara Gold (who'd name their child Tiara?!) is there to be a stereotypical British version of Sharpay whose revealed to have been manipulating her during the musical. She really annoyed her & she doesn't even have a good singing voice! But at least she's not as bad as Jimmy 'The Rocket' & Donny, who are Troy & Chad fanboys/expys who really annoyed me just shouting all the time & going crazy over them. Well, Jimmy was pretty funny during the musical & actually has a good singing voice. The recurring characters, while still stereotypical, are actually given development this time round, while the new ones are just annoying & unecessary!

 

OK, I'll admit! I was dancing along to some of the songs this time round! OK, some are still pretty pointless or cheesy, but it's an improvement from the others. Now Or Never is catchy, but when they stop the game for Troy & Gabriella to sing is just so laughably cheesy. Right Here Right Now is just a pointless duet between the main couple & did nothing to contribute the plot. I Want it All is Sharpay & Ryan's big musical number which is actually pretty good as it's a song more about ambition rather than just showing off their wealth & I actually like the fantasy sequence with the set designs & the actors playing their groupies. Can I Have This Dance is just there for Troy & Gabriella to have another duet, but it's still pretty sweet & innocent. A Night To Remember is actually really well done as it's actually during a rehearsal for the musical with the sets & dancing being pretty big & the lyrics can be pretty funny. I Just Wanna Be With You, while being for a rehearsal, is probably the most cheesy song in the movie & is, again, another duet for Troy & Gabriella. The Boys Are Back is entirely pointless as it's just about Troy & Chad playing make believe as kids in the junk yard, but it's still pretty well done with the sets & choreography. Walk Away is a pretty bland sad solo song for Gabriella with the visuals being much more pretentious with the symbolism behind it. Scream, while reminiscent of the angry dance from Footloose is actually really well done & creative as Troy is struggling with what he wants for his future and university, with the visuals representing his internal conflict like basketballs surrounding him and the room spinning around (no, seriously, he spins around with it upside down!) & it actually shows how he's feeling & contributes to the plot.  There is a remix of We're All in this Together at the end which is just pushing it with the cheesy atmosphere! And then there's the final song High School Musical, which is just a cheesy pop song which is there to be the movie's (and trilogy's) grand finale. There are way too many songs in this & are still cheesy & fluffy, but to their credit, the visuals are very creative & tie in well to the plot & are pretty catchy.

 

Overall...this isn't actually that bad! The production design & musical numbers are a huge upgrade due to the bigger budget& the story, while still on the cliched & thin, is surprisingly relateable for teens during their final year of high school, the characters are actually well developed & the songs, while cheesy, are still catchy! I know their portrayal of high school is really Disney-fied & artificial, but it's a huge improvement over the last 2 films! If you want a cheesy fun movie full of early 2000s music, then this one is for you!
Story: 7/10
Characters: 6/10
Songs: 7/10
Overall: 7/10