Does it Live Up to the Hype?
High School Musical: He Said/She Said Edition
By Phillip Barnhard and Sadie McCrary
For the last three years, Disney has been riding on the coattails of its High School Musical phenomenon – a made-for-TV juggernaut that has little girls swooning and adolescent boys confused about whether it’s OK to sing and play basketball at the same time. Most adults refrain from all that nonsense, but as innocent bystanders of the massive HSM-hype wave taking over pop culture, we must ask ourselves, “Is High School Musical really worth it?” The original movie’s success has spawned sequels (High School Musical 3 hits theaters in October), TV shows (High School Musical: Get in the Picture on ABC) and brand exploits that include apparel, amusement park performances and board games. In this month’s edition of Brand Flakes, M/C/C reviewers Phillip Barnhard and Sadie McCrary hunkered down with a bowl of popcorn to watch the 2006 original for the first time. Here’s what each thought:
He Said …
I’ve always wondered what fascinated tweens and adults about the High School Musical series. The first two HSMs premiered on the Disney Channel and destroyed cable viewing records. As a result, the main actors – Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale (who play Troy Bolton, Gabriella Montez and Sharpay Evans, respectively) – found overnight superstardom. From the outside looking in, the thought of watching a bunch of kids running around and singing songs about basketball and Disney-approved teen problems didn’t seem like any way to spend a Saturday evening, but two hours later, I was still awake.
Somewhere during the second Troy and Gabriela duet, I got it. It’s another group of star-crossed, hormone-filled lovers struggling to make it between pop quizzes and pep rallies. The cool guy has an internal battle about doing the unpopular thing. The new girl remembers the cool guy’s softer side, the side he doesn’t want to share with his clique. Together, they change the school and conclude the movie with a gigantic dance ensemble. I remember the days when High School Musical was called Grease.
If I’m summing up the first movie, I wasn’t blown away by the acting and singing. As a fan of musicals, I’ve seen far better and walked out of far worse. For HSM, I set my expectations low going in and didn’t come out disappointed. I never got around to watching the second version. I likened my first encounter with HSM to taking a two-hour long elevator ride with a perfect stranger. You greet each other, smile, make some awkward small talk and at the end of the ride, you head in separate directions, never to cross paths again. That “never crossing paths again” part will have to suffice as my happy ending.
She Said …
Let me preface my review of Disney’s High School Musical series by presenting a few vital points about myself: I am a woman, I like to sing, I LOVE Disney and I like musicals. You would think that, with a background like that, I would love both High School Musical movies. But, unfortunately, both proved to be utter disappointments. My hope for a cross between Grease and Hairspray was dashed by a couple of movies that were too saccharine-sweet, even for Disney. I am glad I am not a diabetic because I would have died.
I didn’t expect an accurate representation of the high school experience, but I was thinking there would be at least one storyline today’s teens could identify with – as was the case with both Grease and Hairspray. But, alas, nothing. The first High School Musical came close, with the main character of Troy Bolton having to juggle school and family pressures. The second, not so much. How many high school students can afford to have their entire school hired on to staff an exclusive country club? My guess? Not many.
Then there were the performances. The only characters I liked were Sharpay (Tisdale) and Troy (Efron). As a huge fan of Hairspray, I was already familiar with Efron, who was in the 2007 remake, but Tisdale was new to me and a great find by Disney. Both actors have a lot of talent and the potential to do really great things once they shake the stigma of High School Musical.
That’s a bit more than I can say for the others. The combined talents of Efron and Tisdale can’t rescue the movies from the supporting cast. In particular, Gabriella’s (Hudgens) high-pitched voice and stupid squeal of a laugh grated on my nerves whenever she appeared on screen. So, I was never really able to pay much attention to her character’s contribution to the plot. The rest of the cast was largely forgettable. You will most likely not see any of the cast in anything after the High School Musical franchise is over. That is, unless Disney wants to throw them a bone. I hear there is an opening for “Goofy” at Walt Disney World if anyone’s interested.
As I write this I can’t help but think that one of the main reasons I didn’t like High School Musical was that it’s too young for me. At 29, I passed the target audience quite a few years ago. So I turned to 9-year-old Briley to see how the movies resonate with the younger crowd. Briley said he loves both High School Musical movies because they are fun to watch and they have his favorite actors. Though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was that drew him to the films, he and his friends all enjoy the movies and can’t wait to see the third one. Does it live up to the hype? For Briley, his answer was a definite “yes.”
But for others slightly older than Briley, I got a variety of different answers. Most of them echoed what 13-year-old Hannah had to say: “It’s alright for Disney… it’s not puke bad.” I disagree. There were several instances when I tasted yesterday’s lunch while watching Hudgens fluff her way through a love song with Efron.
E-mail the authors: Phillip Barnhard / Sadie McCrary
