The Cast
Zac Efron - Troy Bolton
Vanessa Anne Hudgens - Gabriella Montez
Ashley Tisdale - Sharpay Evans
Lucas Grabeel - Ryan Evans
Corbin Bleu - Chad
Monique Coleman - Taylor McKessie
Olesya Rulin - Kelsi Neilsen
Alyson Reed - Ms.Darbus
Chris Warren Jr. - Zeke
Bart Johnson - Coach Jack Bolton
Ryne Sanborn - Jason
Kaycee Stroh - Martha Cox
Socorro Herrera - Mrs. Montez
Leslie Wing - Mrs. Bolton
The Plot
During winter break, Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton meet while singing karaoke at a ski resort. After their performance they become fast friends and exchange cell phone numbers before going their separate ways. After winter break, Troy finds a surprise when he returns to school -- Gabriella is a new student there. Gabriella's mother was transferred to Albuquerque, New Mexico and Gabriella desperately wants to get rid of her genius girl image. Troy decides to give Gabriella a tour of the school and shows her the school's current events, which includes a winter musical.
Gabriella's academic accomplishments have been published online and at her previous school she was known as the "freaky genius girl." At this school she wants to blend in with everyone else. So she decides not to try out for the winter musical and Troy agrees. However, they soon find each other watching the auditions even though they are still reluctant to try out. Troy and Gabriella become even more intimidated after watching the performance of Sharpay and Ryan Evans, famed siblings and musical veterans. At the last minute, Gabriella suddenly changes her mind about auditioning and Troy offers to sing with her. But music teacher Ms. Darbus tells them that tryouts are now over.
It is quite obvious that Sharpay and Ryan have let their popularity get to their heads. After they have tried out, they tell the other contenders that they don't stand a chance against them. Sharpay especially bullies Kelsi, who composed the song that Sharpay and Ryan just sang. While comforting Kelsi, Troy and Gabriella sing Kelsi's original song that Sharpay and Ryan edited. As Ms. Darbus is exiting the theater she hears Troy and Gabriella singing and tells them that she will consider their "audition." Call backs for the audition have been announced and Sharpay is angered when she sees Troy and Gabriella's name on the list.
After learning that Gabriella is an "Einstienette," Sharpay and Ryan inform Taylor McKessie, captain of the school's scholastic decathlon. Troy and Gabriella begin rehearsing their parts for the audition and become inseparable. This angers Troy's friend Chad who is shocked that his athletic friend trying out for a silly musical. Troy's father and coach of his basketball team ridicules him. Gabriella's new friend Taylor is also upset. So Chad and Taylor team up to separate Troy and Gabriella. They film Troy saying that the musical is meaningless to him. When Gabriella sees this, she becomes upset and ignores Troy. Troy realizes the mistake he has made but Gabriella refuses to talk to him. Even though they are not together, they can only think about each other. Chad and Taylor notice that Gabriella cannot focus on the scholastic decathlon and Troy seems to be off his game.
Chad and Taylor feel guilty and tell Troy and Gabriella what they have done. Just as things seem to be getting back on track, Troy and Gabriella's worlds collide once again. Troy and Gabriella discover that Troy's championship basketball game and Gabriella's decathlon are on the same night and at the same time! Not only this but both events are also on the same day and night as the musical auditions. Kelsi tells the duo that this is Sharpay and Ryan's doing.
The Criticism
First of all this movie is also known as "Grease 3" because the plot for this movie and Grease (1978) are very similar. In Grease, Danny Zuko meets and falls in love with Sandy Olsson. When Danny returns to school he discovers that Sandy is a new student. The problem is that Danny is popular whereas Sandy isn't. I commend High School Musical for admitting to copying the story. At least the producers had the guts and good sense say that this film is a modernized version of Grease. However, the plot is still unoriginal and predictable. It is a Disney movie so the audience knows that in the end, the two lead characters will end up together.
Secondly, the writing was done very well. Also, it was funny! The characters' dialogue and reactions were believable and I could relate to what they were saying. The dialogue did not have cliches and unfunny punch lines. It was simple and that is what made it shine. Take the scene in which Ms. Darbus is fed up with her students' cell phones and confiscates them, telling them that their vacation is over and it is time to focus on school. Ms. Darbus' dialogue is very true because teachers are always angered by students' use of devices. Many of the things they say were said by Ms. Darbus.
Thirdly, the acting was not bad. Ashley Tisdale was great as the mean drama queen Sharpay Evans. She knew how and when to convey Sharpay's emotions. Ashley Tisdale brought this role to life and made her seem so real, she conveyed your average school Queen Bee. Her "brother" Lucas Grabeel was excellent as Ryan Evans. What I liked about Lucas' portrayal was that he did not overdo the unintelligent character as so many Disney stars do today. Lucas did not make quirky faces or put on a fake, idiotic voice. Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens were a little rocky and only seemed to be in element when they portrayed their characters' hobbies. For example Zac Efron looked great on the basketball court and played his part as a popular athlete well, considering that in real life he is more of an unathletic dork. Vanessa Hudgens also did well at conveying Gabriella's intelligence. Sometimes the two lead actors were outshined by the terrific cast: Alyson Reed, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman. However, Olesya Rulin's performance as Kelsi was sometimes cringeworthy because it was unbelieveable: she was too shy yet she had the courage to talk to popular people?
Fourthly the "musical" aspect of the film is very existent as characters suddenly break into song and dance numbers. But the song and dance numbers were excellent! The songs were original and very true to the plot. For example while playing basketball, Troy sings "Getcha Head in the Game" because his constant thinking about Gabriella is distracting him and his teammates tell him to focus. An amazing thing about this film is that all of the songs are catchy and memorable. Nonetheless, a minor complaint I have is that the songs were all from the pop genre. The famed choreographer Kenny Ortega lent his talents to this film. The choreography was so popular that a High School Musical: Dance Along movie was created to teach fans basic choreography.
Another complaint I have about the film is about the characters. Though the characters were relatable and are found in every school, the connection between them was unrealistic. In real life the art lovers, popular athletes and academic students do not become friends. This film told it's viewers to ignore cliques and hangout with whoever you wanted. But rarely does this ever happen in real life. In addition, there was mediocre character development. Troy was always a nice person so when he accepted Gabriella, he did not develop because he always had an accepting personality. The only development occurred with Chad and Taylor who learn to embrace the different students at their school.
All in all, High School Musical is an enjoyable film that will have you singing it's songs for days. A lot of people say that this movie is terrible, but only because they want to fit in. When this movie gained immense success and Disney began branding the movie, many viewers were outraged. They felt that Disney was over advertising a movie that was pretty good. They grew even angrier when fans (mostly children) were falling into Disney's trap. These days the opinions you hear about this movie are false. Most people will argue and say that this was a terrible review because the movie is horrible -- but what's horrible is that people did not take the lesson of this movie to heart. The so-called critics want to be like everyone else so they say they hate High School Musical. So few are the opinions of honest people who truly dislike this film for two reasons: they get lost in the crowd with the posers, and because most viewers of this movie are secretly fans.
holiday50
Author's Note: Movie Reel:
-High School Musical movie cover
-Troy and Gabriella singing karaoke
-Chad and Troy discussing whether an athlete can try out for a musical
-Sharpay and Ryan are shocked that Taylor and Chad are acceptant of each other
-Finale performance of "We're All in This Together"
