High School Musical (Trilogy)
Premise - A basketball star and a math geek have a secret desire to break free from their cliques and join musical theater. However, their transgression against the status quo causes a rift through the entire ecosystem of a standard American high school. The pressure is on them to decide whether to follow their passions and show others how it's possible for them to do the same.
Review - Unironically, these are classics. I know they are children's movies, but especially in the second and third film, the production quality is so high that you cannot deny the sophistication of these films.
The first film is the most well known, the most classic, and honestly the worst production. The songs are incredibly classic, but not necessarily objectively good. And the storyline is by far the cheesiest, most surface-level, and least sophisticated. The choreography in the first one is also quite simplistic, as it was likely made so that the children watching could replicate the moves and dance along. And Zac Efron barely even sings himself because the songs were already written prior to his casting, and were out of his vocal range.
I don't think the creators quite knew how much of lightning was being struck in a bottle across all ages when they made the first one. After its unprecedented success, the quality of songwriting, choreography, and storytelling became much more sophisticated and, for me personally, less cringy. The "conflict" of crossing cliques and joining musical theater seems so overexaggerated and inconsequential compared to the very real universal struggles of deciding on future colleges, whether or not to leave your high school friends and relationship, how to earn money and pay for school, and reconciling with your monetary or social privilege or lack thereof (all themes of High School Musical 2 & 3). The second film is my personal favorite because I love the songs so much. The third one has some bangers in their too. All this said, I know the first film is the classic that really struck early audiences, and I of course have an attachment to it as well.
The main characters are uncontested classics - each representing an archetype of high schooler. You've got the jock, the brainiac, the blonde popular girl, and the "gay best friend" (in this case brother). Yes they are simplistic stereotypes, but again, they become more sophisticated as the films progress. Gabriella was (is) a personal inspiration for me for having it all - she was smart, beautiful, and most of all contagiously kind and sweet. Her romance with Troy was dreamlike, endearing, and classical. The singing talent is incredible. The choreographic production on the big numbers is eye candy. The songs are so catchy. It's just got all the ingredients of a great musical show. (93/100)
Quote - I love allllll the songs and have the lyrics ingrained into my brain... how about:
"Ice tea imported from England
Lifeguards imported from Spain
Towels imported from Turkey
And Turkey imported from Maaaaaaine"
Or for an actual movie quote, there's the ever-endearing:
"Do you remember in kindergarten
how you'd meet a kid and know nothing about them, then 10 seconds later
you're playing like you're best friends, because you didn't have to be
anything but yourself? Singing with you felt like that."
What to watch for - I love all the musical numbers - Sometimes when I'm in the mood I'll just go back and watch only the musical numbers. Like Zac Efron in "Scream"? Oh my gosh.
If you liked this film series, I'd recommend Glee!
Directed by Kenny Ortega
Distributed by Disney
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