This movie is to high school what Tomorrowland is to the future.
By Bob Brown
THIS third installment of the popular High School Musical franchise from Walt Disney Studios is the first created for the big screen. It’s the same director, Kenny Ortega, working with the same cast in the same school (East High, with Salt Lake City standing in for Albuquerque). But the production values are kicked up a notch to suit the medium. And boy, do they. Busby Berkeley would be proud.
Now, about that title: Why wasn’t it called High School: The Musical? Sure, there’s a musical produced by a high school, but the whole film is the musical. Hardly anyone gets through a sentence or two before something wells up inside them and a song must spew forth — preferably with dancing. One would be curmudgeonly to object to this — it is, after all, a song-and-dance movie. However, more on that later.
Let’s turn to the concept. There are many movies being made about teen angst and high school angst (which are the same thing). Some are based on the real (American Teen), some on the imagined (Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist). But this one is based on the surreal, as John Waters films are (Cry-Baby, Hairspray), but in a Disney way. In short: This movie is to high school what Tomorrowland is to the future.
Whereas most of the films in this genre center on one oddball whose oddness oddly marks him for success (Napoleon Dynamite comes to mind), at East High, everyone is gorgeous, no one has zits or smokes in the school lavatory, and talent of all kinds seems to ooze out of kids’ pores (although anyone with an intellect dares not show it). The local U. of A. (Albuquerque) is the normal post-high school route. How some are accepted at Stanford or Yale when all they do on study dates is eat pizza and chocolate-covered strawberries is curious.
The plot centers on hunky basketball star Troy (Zac Efron of Summerland) and his preternaturally cute girlfriend Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens). They cling to each other, and sing to each other, day and night. Their gaze of mutual love (not lust — this is Disney) is quite convincing. As it should be, since they are actually a couple in the real world. But there are potential disruptions: the prima donna Sharpay (pop singer Ashley Tisdale) has designs on Troy and plots a way to replace Gabriella opposite Troy in the senior musical, which is all about teen love, and basketball stardom, and graduation, and performance talent. In fact, it’s hard to tell the boundary between the stage and life. Which is the point, if one believes the musical’s director, Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed).
At her encouragement, every senior joins the cast, and Darbus is nominating a few select ones for a competitive scholarship to Juilliard. Ones who might deserve it are student choreographer Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and student composer Kelsi (Olesya Rulin). The performance is going to be a sort of pre-audition. Troy’s bud and fellow teammate Chad (Corbin Bleu) is a reluctant cast member who works out his frustrations by shooting hoops. He is one of two sources of conflict for Troy. Chad assumes Troy will go on to U. of A. with him and play ball. And Gabriella plans to leave school before graduation to attend an honors program at Stanford. Troy is pulled two ways, balancing the expectations of others against his own desires. Not surprisingly, he’s confused and unsure. The only certainty is, he loves Gabriella.
So there are enough high school frustrations, petty jealousies, minor triumphs and male bonding moments to fill a musical with songs of yearning, love, hope and celebration. And despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that most of these moments are either pure treacle or downright clichés, the performances and the productions are energized and buoyant. The two talented stars, Efron and Hudgens, really do have a bright future ahead of them — if not a lasting romance (this being Hollywood, one cannot hope for miracles). All of the cast, in fact, are on top of their game and quite winning.
Music by David Lawrence, who has composed all the series scores, is pumped and affecting (if not altogether memorable), and the costumes by Caroline Marx are truly inspired, as is the choreography by Charles Klapow.
The film gushes with chirpy cheer and its good vibes wear down your resistance until you can hardly stand it. It’s like too many strawberry sundaes forced down your throat all at once. And yet for all its excesses, I daresay you’ll forgive every triteness and surrender to the moment.
This film is rated G.

