Review of “High School Musical 3″
Those of you with no children or teenagers in the house, or the houses of anyone you have ever met, may have missed the phenomenon that is High School Musical, the 2006 made-for-TV movie from Disney that broke all sorts of sales and viewing records, and spawned a fairly average though equally lucrative sequel in 2007. This time around, we join the regular cast in their final year at East Side High (and you know this is Disney when you see how immaculate and well-equipped this school is). Teen angst abounds as lovers Troy (Zac Ephron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) realise their differing college plans probably spell the end of their relationship, and as Troy considers disappointing parental expectations that he play scholarship basketball. Tying the plot together is the titular musical, a project that involves the entire senior class, including regulars Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Chad (Corbin Bleu), performing numbers based on their own lives.
What’s different this time around is that the film was made for the big screen, and it shows. Where the first sequel felt rushed, High School Musical 3 is considered. Peter Baroscchini screenplay very nicely deals with issues important to its target audience with a sentimentality that is right on the mark. The contrivance of the school play allows a believability to the musical numbers, and while the film has its stilted moments, especially the too-drawn-out romantic angst of the later second act with one too many slow ballads, it is fun from start to finish.
Technically, there is much to look for. Director Kenny Ortega’s background was in choreography (including the film Dirty Dancing) before he made the transition to directing, and here he is in his element. There are visual references to French musicals of the 1960s, to Astaire’s great ceiling dance from Royal Wedding, to Bob Fosse, Bubsy Berkeley, and contemporary dance like Stomp. Ryan and Sharpay’s number ‘I want it all’ is the standout of the piece, where you see the difference a big budget can make. Camp as a row of tents, it ends with a row of fan-kicking pussycats hoofing it up before a replica Statue of Liberty with fireworks exploding out of its head, and must be seen to be believed.
The support cast are everything you might expect from a Disney musical, lots of ‘rhubarb rhubarb’, lots of spirit fingers, wide eyes, over-annunciation and Vaseline on the teeth, but the lead cast have cut their teeth on two of these films already and they are fine performers each and every one of them. Parents forced to bring their kids to screenings will be most pleasantly surprised. Be sure to stay for the gag reel over the final credits.
CK
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