HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR
RYAN: “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” is the big screen sequel to HSMs 1 and 2, which were made-for-TV movies on the Disney Channel.
CAROLINE: I’m happy to say I’ve seen neither the first nor the second, and I couldn’t be bothered to see the third. How was it?
RYAN: It was great. Really. I had seen the first two because I’m a good uncle to my niece and nephew, and I was very curious to see what all the hype was about with these kids Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. They’re big stars who are supposedly dating in real life, but they have zero chemistry in the movie.
CAROLINE: Well, I think we all know what’s going on there; and I’ll just leave it at that.
RYAN: But their performances are fair. Vanessa’s a cute girl with a pretty voice who is just a very bland actor; no oomph. Zac is OK but overly manicured and I don’t take him that seriously.
CAROLINE: Is it his eyebrows that give him away?
RYAN: They’re way too plucked. The star here, if you will, is Ashley Tisdale. She plays the diva and she’s got that spark.
CAROLINE : Is there any plot or do they just randomly burst into song?
RYAN: It’s their senior year. The story is reminiscent of “Grease” – good girl moves in and influences the boy. But instead of T-Birds, Zac is on the school basketball team and he’s torn between sports and the school musical.
CAROLINE: I remember you told me you didn’t love 1 and 2, which was surprising.
RYAN: I didn’t. They were OK but they were definitely low-carb. The music was lame.
CAROLINE: But you usually like children’s/teen programming.
RYAN: It’s true. I’m young at heart that way. But I just never jived with these. But the younger generation turned them into such a sensation that this theatrical version was just a matter of time.
CAROLINE: How is this film better than its television predecessors?
RYAN: The best way to think of it is like “Sex and the City: The Movie.” As that film did for its TV series, “HSM 3” is all around bigger and better. The music is better, the production numbers are larger-scale, the costumes are better.
CAROLINE: Did you cry?
RYAN: No, but I did get a little misty. It’s a good spectacle. The music – I actually remember some of the songs. I’m not going to get the soundtrack but it’s def better than the others. There’s even a boys’ shower scene that shocked me for a Disney movie.
CAROLINE: Hello! 14-year-old girls will go gaga.
RYAN: There’s also some smooching going on but it’s all very tame.
CAROLINE: Hey, if Harry Potter can get his make out on, so can these kids.
RYAN: Yeah. And the finale is fantastic. It makes you wanna get up and dance and applaud.
CAROLINE: So will we be looking forward to “HSM 4: The College Years”?
RYAN: I wonder. They could do that with this cast. Or they might do another HSM with some of the younger characters that were introduced in this one.
CAROLINE: Bottom line?
RYAN: It’s really well done. I think it will do well. There were so many kids screaming as the lights went down at the screening I was at. It was almost like being at a rock concert, like Miley Cyrus.
CAROLINE: LBH, she’s not rock.
RYAN: I know. It’s a good movie. I was into it and it’s much more engaging than a lot of the crap out there right now. And who doesn’t love a little movie musical?