by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
The East High Wildcats are back! High School Musical 2 picks up a few months after the winter musical that was the basis of the first film. Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) are still going strong and looking forward to some summer lovin’ (or heavy handholding in Disney’s reality). They, along with all their friends, are also looking for summer jobs to help save for college (a parent’s dream!). The well-off Evans twins, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) obviously have no finical worries so they’re planning on chilling at their parents’ country club. In order to break up the Troy/Gabriella love fest, Sharpay bribes the head of the country club, Mr. Fulton (Mark L. Taylor), into hiring Troy so she can seduce him. Fulton hires Troy, but he also hires the rest of the East High crew (Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Chris Warren Jr., Ryne Sanborn, Olesya Rulin and Kaycee Stroh), much to Sharpay’s chagrin. Unable to keep a good villain down, the sassy blonde hatches yet another plan, this time luring Troy away from the group with her father’s college scholarship connections. Thinking of his future, Troy accepts Papa Evans’ attention and even agrees to sing with Sharpay during the country club’s big talent show. This, of course, puts a rift between the rest of the Wildcats and Troy.
With High School Musical 2 Disney has proven lightning can indeed strike twice. The film managed to break basically every cable TV record ever last Friday when it premiered on the Disney Channel. 17.24 million viewers tuned in to see the East High Wildcats run amok again, making it the most watched telecast in history, the most-watched made-for-cable movie ever and the largest audience for any program broadcast on cable in the 2007 summer TV season.
Having seen High School Musical more times than a grown woman probably should, I was incredibly skeptical about the sequel. When I first heard the new songs from the film on the Disney Channel, I was even less impressed. You see, in anticipation of the world premiere of HSM2, Radio Disney and the Disney Channel began airing music videos for some of the big numbers in the film as early as May. The Mouse House also aired weekly mini-shows called “Road to High School Musical 2,” giving fans peeks behind-the-scenes along with even more new songs. What I didn’t notice until I actually sat down to watch HSM2 was that Disney, in all their brilliant marketing wisdom, had successfully programmed me into tolerating these songs over the last few months. Having heard them so many times, I knew the words without even knowing I knew the words. Because so much of enjoying a movie like this relies on the ability to get toes tapping, this sly campaign helped viewers get past how great the songs from the first film were and allowed them to appreciate the new stuff. I still can’t say that I liked the second set of songs more than the first, but they are just as catchy and the quality of the performances were right on target.
Music aside, it was nice to see the main characters again and even nicer to see some of the popular minor characters get more screen time. When I attended the High School Musical DVD premiere in Los Angeles last year, it was clear that characters like Zeke the undercover baker (played by Chris Warren Jr.) and Martha the secret hip-hop dancer (Kaycee Stroh) were fan favorites in a huge way. Stroh garnered massive cheers each time she graced the screen and Warren was as popular with fans as Efron and Grabeel during the after-party. Thanks to that kind of fan love, both of these characters had a lot more lines this time around.
A country club talent show is a decent enough concept to center a musical around (and is certainly reminiscent of the Kenny Ortega choreographed Dirty Dancing), but it didn’t work for me like the winter musical preparation did in the first film. Still, I enjoyed the storyline, especially the fact that the Evans family has center stage. Meeting Sharpay and Ryan’s well-to-do parents is a treat and seeing another, more independent side of the male half of this fabulous drama club duo is even better. The rest of the story is pretty similar to the original: Troy strays from the group, the kids hate him for it, Sharpay gloats, he sees the error of his ways, the team forgives him, a lesson is learned. It’s a formula that works and the writers were right to stick with it. Fans will enjoy seeing their favorite Wildcats up to their usual antics, only this time around amped up to the next level thanks to triple the production budget. That means bigger musical numbers, better locations and even a couple of big-name cameos (try to spot Miley “Hannah Montana” Cyrus in the final musical number).
If you enjoyed High School Musical, you’ll certainly enjoy the sequel. With plenty of catchy tunes, amusing antics from likeable characters and a message a mother could love, this one is sure to be a family favorite for years to come… Or until HSM3 comes out!
|
EU Critic’s Choice Awards
