High School Musical

This is going to be a special review as I'll be reviewing every High School Musical movie over the next few days, as well as maybe the spin-off Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure. Anyway, released in 2006, this movie would become a huge phenomenon for kids & pre-teens everywhere as we hadn't seen before for Disney or for today's audience (well, if you can ignore Fame and Grease which are still considered classics today) This movie would also be a star vehicle for actors like teen heartthrob Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens & singer/actor Lucas Grabeel, as well as starring then The Suite Life of Zack & Cody star Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay. Directed by Kenny Ortega, the same guy behind the Material Girl music video & choreographer of the classic Dirty Dancing, can this movie be as good as Grease, or does this movie deserve a bad report card? Let's find out!

Story: I don't think I'm going to surprise people when I say that this movie's depiction of high school is completely devoid of realism! Then again, it is Disney! Anyway, this mostly focuses on the romance between geeky yet cute new girl Gabriella and popular jock Troy Bolton as they get a big callback for their school's musical despite the people around them telling them to 'stick to the status quo', especially the big bitch of the school Sharpay along with her brother Ryan. There's no denying that it's predictable, cliched &, worst of all, very very cheesy! It does nothing to make it feel original or fresh whatsoever, with no attempts at  adding in twists or turns at all. However, I will give it credit that it seems to be aware that it's going for a more silly &, ahem, 'perky' tone. But the issue with that is the story itself ends up becoming a huge mess, with the romance being boring, the subplot involving Troy & his dad feeling really forced & Sharpay's villainous plan has no sense of threat or anything that climatic other than just so the movie can have some sort of artificial conflict. The message about friendship & being yourself is just so hand fisted & so in your face, it's probably just as bad as the Barbie movies! Seriously, this movie is so cliched that if the writers had just thought up of every cliche in a high school movie & shoved it all into a blender, I'd believe them!

 

 

Characters: Since the story is very cliched, it's evident that so will the characters! And the worst part is that most of the time, they do nothing to express why we should feel for them! These are possibly the most generic & dull characters I've ever had to sit through in a Disney movie! Troy Bolton is just the cliched popular guy that has a secret love for something & is at a crossroads in his life, but realizes what's important. It doesn't really help most of the time he can come across as a douchebag! Gabriella is the cliched girl next door that's also smart who annoyed me so much! And not just because of Vanessa Hudgens' acting as you could easily hire any other actress or even a plank of wood & it would still be the same! Chad, Troy's best friend is the obligatory black best friend cliche that is the straw man telling Troy to keep high school in a conformist matter. Same goes to Taylor, Gabriella's best friend who can also come across as a jerk in one particular scene when convincing her to stop singing! Sharpay is just the stereotypical blonde bitch that wants to be the centre of attention whose development from being mean to nice comes right out of nowhere! Ryan, her brother, is probably the best character even if he's Sharpay's henchman as he can actually be funny thanks to Lucas Grabeel's performance. By the way, am I the only one who finds it creepy they audition for the romantic leads despite being brother & sister? Kelsi is the really cliched shy girl that does music who learns to be more confident in herself. Honestly, there's nothing else to her. Coach Bolton, who happens to be Troy's father, is the cliched closed minded dad that wants his son to do basketball rather than follow his dreams & realizes how much it means to him by the end! And probably the most over the top character is Mrs Darbus, the school's drama teacher that has a hatred for cell phones & basketball. Besides that, there's nothing else to her & she really annoying! I know, it's a movie & does not need to reflect on reality, but a movie about high school needs to have some degree of realism with the characters! This one however, just shows the flaws of relying on cliches!

 

 

Songs: Oh God, what can I say about the songs?! They are cheesy! They are corny! They're pure 2000s cheese with corn on the side! However, they oddly work with the tone with the movie! Yes, I may hate them, but I'll give them credit that they're aware of the silly tone & therefore, the songs should fit it! Anyway, I'll do the laundry list. Start of Something New is just a pretentious song as it clearly reflects on the situation Troy & Gabriella are in & for them to start falling in love despite only just meeting. Getcha Head in the Game is actually confusing getting down to it as it's about Troy choosing basketball over singing, while blatantly singing to the camera & with his teammates. What I've Been Looking For is way too campy & over the top. Stick to the Status Quo is the obligatory crowd song which goes into the same category as Getcha Head in the Game, but also the lyrics are stupid & the overall tone is beyond ridiculous! Miracles Could Happen is one of the worst solos I've heard with the choreography & Gabriella herself just amping up the cheese factor the movie has to offer. Bop To The Top might be the best one as it is admittedly catchy & thankfully, has nothing to do with the characters or how they feel or whatever's going on in the movie. No, that goes to Breaking Free, a very corny duet which is way more pretentious than the first song due to the blatantly obvious parallels between the lyrics & the story despite being written for the school's musical! And probably the worst one of the bunch, We're All In This Together which comes out of nowhere with the message of everyone being friends & just being hand fisted so hard! Sure, the songs are very VERY cheesy & bad as well as insufferable 98% of the time, but at least the movie seems to be aware of it.

 

High School Musical is an example of how not to do a movie about high school, which is shocking cos it's Disney. Although it's harmless, the story is relentlessly cliched with absolutely nothing new, the characters are stereotypes of stereotypes & the songs are beyond cheesy & stupid! Although kids may like it, this is not for people expecting a serious movie that treats high school seriously. Just stick with Grease, Fame & even movies like Mean Girls or Juno which depict high school much better! Well, at least it's not as bad as Glee!
Story: 2/10

Characters: 3/10
Songs: 2/10

Overall: 2/10