High School Musical (2006)

High School Musical is a fun, dippy, sweet, charmer of a movie about, well, a high school musical. First of all, you must realize that High School Musical is no Gone With the Wind or Phantom of the Opera, OK? Second of all, you can see all the scene and vocal setups coming a mile away. (The star insists he's "basketball guy" and has no idea how to sing, then finds himself on the stage as if it were an accident -- and launches into executing intricate pop harmonies, moon walks, and so on. Ri-i-ight.) Third and best of all, most of the roles are caricatures of the Jock, the Nerd, the Drama Teacher, the Drama Queen, and so on. I grinned over Mrs. Darbus (Alyson Reed) -- her every Drama Teacher mannerism is a hoot! Troy (Zac Efron) is the talented Wildcats basketball team captain with a dad and coach who is a former team champ. The school goes all out with team spirit (and choreography) and everyone counts on Zac to "keep his head in the game." Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) is a math/science whiz who ends up transferring to his school (from San Diego to Albuquerque) shortly after they were thrown together and shared a magical karaoke duet during a resort's New Year's Eve party. Sharpay (Ashley Tinsdale) does great as the control-freak drama queen who has to fight for the first time in 16 years (or just ratchet up the manipulation, actually) to command and star in the school's musical production with her schmaltzy stage partner and brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel). I sincerely appreciate the anti-peer-pressure, just-be-yourself message of the movie and you've gotta love the vocal arrangements and performances in nearly every song. See this one if you're 17 or under or just love musicals -- it'll stick with you and hold up under repeat viewing! 4 stars. (2-6-10 posted 4-7-10)