Wow!
Wow! Three words to describe this feelgood movie. Its summer vacation but its not all fun and games for Troy, Gabriella and fellow wildcats as they begin work at Lava Springs country club which Sharpay's parents own. Sharpay tries to snatch Troy away from Gabriella and in the meantime there is the Lava Springs talent show to worry about.
Filled with catchy songs, a talented cast and a good storyline this movie is clean and heartwarming...siutable for the whole family.

Great!
The sequel to the hyped up musical event of 2006:High School Musical.

When this first came out I did have doubts about it as many had said the first one was annoying and this and that. I had never seen the first one before i saw number 2. I admit to first seeing it as a dare from my immature friends and i actually enjoyed it. It has an ok story line, fun jump about and dance songs and some great lyrics. All of the cast have done a brilliant job on this film. And seriously, if ur one of those people who refuses to watch it cos its uncool or whatever, I did and i think its great. and a great follow up to HSM.

Awesome film, don't miss out.

"Let's rock and roll and just let go!"
It's summer vacation and the gang from East High is headed out to the local country club, either as members or as employees. Sweethearts Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are hard at work, but still have plenty of time for near-smooches. Bratty Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) has her eye on Troy, however, and is wooing him with a possible college scholarship.

This is one fun musical. All the high school stereotypes are here - the jocks, the brainiacs, the snobs - and they all sing and dance their way into our hearts. There's a big musical number about every five minutes and the productions are energetic and fun . Clearly aimed at the pre-teen audience, this movie is full of young, good-looking actors who make being seventeen look like the Most. Fun. Ever. Efron and Hudgens are an adorable and wholesome couple while Tisdale is the teen witch you love to hate.

The desert setting is beautiful and the movie oozes happiness while stressing the value of friendship. Disney brings the old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney-type teenage musical to the current generation in fine style.

High School Musical 2 Rocks
This is a Disney Muscial with good wholesome values/morals and messages but the surprising thing is that the majority of the songs are good and the performances entertaining. As Grease was for the previous generation so High School Musical will be for this growing generation.

There are some good scenes especially when Sharpey sings Fabulous and the disasterous song she sings to Troy which she wants them to perform in the talent contest.

Good Fun and enjoyable.

Excellent, but not excellence...so how come 5 stars?
[Firstly, sorry, again I couldn't stop typing.]

So much has been said and written about this movie I wasn't going to even bother writing a review... but then I couldn't help myself.

I could describe the plot to you, but that has been done. I'm mainly I'm going to explain why I selected 5 stars, when in comparison to truly great movies it...well it would hardly share the same category. I'm a believer in judging a movie or TV show by its intentions and the success of carrying them through to the end result, not neccessarily by its place in the Cannon of film. HSM2, as with HSM intended to entertain with great acting, great dancing, a good plot and of course, the Disney morals. With this in mind, it succeeded.

Clearly, the brains behind the franchise realised that the target audience of the tweenies were not the only demographic drawn [almost unwillingly] to the first movie. The sequel certainly shows this realisation and also the growth of the actors and the gentle change in styles.

Loving musicals, but only expecting to get a little fix, I bought the first and was hooked, (though it kind of stands out next to Rent, Moulin Rouge, Chorus Line, Cabaret, etc.). When the sequel arrived, I bought it without a second thought. Surprise, surprise, I loved it. It certainly has a slightly more mature and complex style in the characters' behaviour/interactions with each other, (even their tone of voice) and dialogue. It has a much more complex structure within the music and even more so in the dance, without moving to far away from the established style.

The talents of the actors are shown more clearly with greater respect. Lucas Grabeel, (Ryan) is allowed to shine through his voice and amazing dancing abilties, stepping out from Ashley Tisdale's, (Sharpay) shadow. Particularly in 'I Don't Dance' with Corbin Bleu (Chad) who also gets the same chance. This movie isn't purely the 'Troy and Gabrielle Show', which being amazed by Lucas's talents especially, was refreshing.

It's a musical, [obviously] and that genre can provide a realistic look at life. Although I don't honestly think HSM2 does this, I again go back to intent. This movie gives an impression of realism of American teenagers, close enough for the target audience to relate, but far enough away to escape and dream. As for anyone older watching this movie, I'm not so sure realism actually matters and perhaps its lack of total authenticity is what appeals to us; perhaps we only want the sunny, rosy escapism.

This movie is cheesy, yes. It doesn't stretch the imagination in it's plot or film making, (cinematography, set design, costuming, etc.) though Kenny Ortega's choreography is renowned outside his involvement in this movie and he never lets you down. It is not a work of excellence, in cinematic terms, but there is just something about this movie that has the world in a craze. Perhaps it is simply because the talent is so blatently thrown in front of you on screen. That is something I don't know how anyone can doubt. Dislike the film, fine. Hate the film, ok. But why doubt the talent or the intentions; or the successful executions of them?

This is one of those movies that 'is what it is'. Once you get that, the reason for its seemingly surprising broad appeal is not so hard to understand. It does what it does and it does it with flare.

(Though I'm still kinda embarrassed that I like it so much...or at all.)

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