Review - High School Musical (2006)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, it's hard to imagine a Disney Channel movie that inspired millennials and Gen Z'ers alike would be turning twenty years old this year, but here we are. High School Musical, directed by Hocus Pocus director Kenny Ortega, aired on Disney Channel back in 2006, and stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Ashley Tisdale, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, Olesya Rulin, Bart Johnson, and Alyson Reed. 

       The movie opens at a ski lodge in Utah on New Year's Eve, where high school juniors Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez are picked to sing a karaoke duet together, and prove to be pretty damn phenomenal. After New Year's, Troy, who is the basketball star of East High in New Mexico, is getting his teammates ready for the championship game against the East High Wildcats' rivals, the West High Knights. It's at this time that we see that Gabriella has transferred to East High, and is invited by Academic Decathlon team captain Taylor McKessie to join them, and help take on West High's own Academic Decathlon team. 

        But, while all of this is going on, drama teacher Ms. Darbus is getting ready for the upcoming winter musical, as prepared by Kelsi Nielsen. And, while most of the auditions stink, twin siblings Ryan and Sharpay Evans, the latter of whom is Drama Club president, put on a showstopping audition for the leads. But, even though it's too late, Troy and Gabriella sing the same song in the tempo Kelsi intended, And thus Ms. Darbus grants the pair a callback, which infuriates Sharpay, and confuses the likes of Taylor and Chad, the latter of whom is Troy's best friend. 

      But, Troy and Gabriella's choice to audition leads many students, including basketball teammate Zeke and brainiac Martha Cox, reveal their own secret passions. For instance, Zeke is an incredible baker, and Martha is an avid hip hop dancer. Things get complicated when Troy's father, basketball coach Jack Bolton, finds out about Troy's audition for the musical. On top of that, Chad and Taylor team up to coerce Troy and Gabriella to both give up.9n the callback, which leaves both to be depressed and unenthusiastic about either the Championship Game or the Academic Decathlon. Out of guilt, the teams apologize to Troy and Gabriella, encouraging both to follow their hearts and go ahead with the callback. 

        Realizing what's happened, Sharpay suggests that Ms. Darbus reschedules the callback for the winter musical to take place at the EXACT SAME TIME as the Championship Game AND the Academic Decathlon. So,.what to do? Well, the basketball team and the Academic Decathlon team make a plan to have Troy and Gabriella be able to make it to the callback while also participating in both of their respective teams' events. 

        The day finally arrives, and the East High Wildcats score big against the West High Knights, while Gabriella helps lead the East High Academic Decathlon team against the West High Academic Decathlon team. And, thanks to Gabriella and Taylor's efforts, the lighting in the gym goes on the fritz, and a chemical in the Academic Decathlon room creates a foul smell, forcing both areas to be cleared out, and allowing Troy and Gabriella to arrive to the auditorium for their callback, which the ENTIRETY of East High shows up for, and Troy and Gabriella's performance wins out over that of Ryan and Sharpay. East High wins both the basketball championship and the Academic Decathlon, Troy and Gabriella are officially a couple, and the entire student body of East High celebrates. Oh, and there's a fun after-credits scene where Sharpay enjoys Zeke's homemade cookies and asks for more, and he offers to make her his signature creme brulee. 

        High School Musical, while simply retelling that classic star-crossed story of two people from different high school cliques, is still a ton of fun, and has iconic musical numbers like "Start of Something New," "Get'cha Head in the Game," "Bop to the Top," and "Breaking Free," the latter of which is on my Disney playlist on Spotify. The performances are memorable, with Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay being delightfully over the top. Now, while his singing in the movie was dubbed over by vocalist Drew Seeley, Zac Efron was still a fantastic Troy, and the same goes for Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella. While I wish we got a bit more from Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, and Lucas Grabeel, they were still fantastic, and got a lot more to do in the sequels. All in all, High School Musical is a fun, generational movie that can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages. Adults might find it a bit cheesy, but it's still tons of fun. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you in the next review.