Freaks And Drama Geeks | Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens bid farewell to the tuneful corridors of East High School in High School Musical 3: Senior Year.
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR
Directed by Kenny Ortega. Starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel. Now playing.
***1/2
All filmmakers set their own parameters. They decide for themselves what they want to accomplish — what story they want to tell, what feelings they want to evoke in their audience, even what moral they want people leaving the theatres with. In essence, a film decides for itself what it wants to be: a horror, an action flick, a romantic comedy, or what have you. Reviewers don’t get to choose the parameters, but they do get to decide if a film achieves what it sets out to do.
In the case of High School Musical 3: Senior Year, I feel it’s only fair to say: Ohmigod! That was, like, so totally epic!
Trois is bigger, better and shinier than its predecessors, with more songs, more dancing, and way higher production values. There are even some Michael Jackson-esque hip-shimmies and a couple moves the would even make Kevin Bacon jealous. And can you say “Zac Efron’s aquamarine eyes on the big screen!” It’s all sequel-worthy.
With the kids at East High facing down their future as the end of high school nears, the pressures of trying to decide what they want to be when they grow up mount, forcing them to break into songs of self-discovery. Add to that the prospect of the Wildcats breaking up as they follow their paths to different universities across the country and the sparkling white halls of East High are looking like a comfortable alternative to adulthood. Everybody has been there. I personally just didn’t sing about it.
Pushing the crew forward is the excitement of prom and, of course, the high school’s winter musical — a meta-story about their senior year. Initially Troy (Zac Efron) and the rest of the team aren’t quite ready to spare the time between studying for finals, but a simple speech about togetherness from doe-eyed Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) means the stage gets set once again.
Yes, the movie is cavity-inducingly sweet and for some reason or another, Efron’s skin is always glistening with sweat. But think about what tweens could be entertaining themselves with instead. Pussycat Doll drones or Bratz wannabes? I’d much rather see them emulate brainy Gabriella or take-charge Troy. And it turned out that watching High School Musical 3 in a theatre full of them wasn’t as painful as you’d think. This movie spreads the Cheez Whiz so thick it had laughter leaping out of my mouth — until I figured giggling at the “unfunny” parts is rude and I should hold it together. But I dare you to get through the opening sequence in which the Wildcats basketball team seems down for the count in the last quarter of the season only to rally with a musical number on the court. Seven-year-olds will be shushing you.
It’s energetic, enthusiastic, and infectious. And to be honest, I think the jokes are getting better. You may hate the genre, the you may hate the premise, or you might simply be jealous of Zac Efron’s excruciatingly cute cheekbones, but a colourful, silly extravaganza packed with beyond-big dance numbers is what Disney was going for. Mission accomplished.
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