Movie Chitchat: High School Musical 3

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"

That can be very true, especially if you live in a High School Musical world. The whole world, i.e. East High School, is a huge world where you can say anything, dream anything, or simply be an annoying narcissist, all in a song or two. Hey, where else can you find a basketball game with more choreography than the average dangdut singer? "And all the men and women are merely players". Well, they're mere players who rocketed into worldwide fame in a snap and has certainly earned big bucks, really really big bucks, for all three HSM movies plus their tie-ins.

Yesterday, my inner-child's curiosity got the best of me, and also to cherish my now-rare free time, I went to see the latest installment of High School Musical. For those of you who somehow haven't heard about it, I pray that God have mercy on you it's a world-famous Disney phenomenon about a group of your typical TV-beautiful high schoolers, living a high-school (love) life, that sings and dances throughout the movie. That's why it's called musical, duh! Perhaps, it's the current generation's answer to their parents', or grandparents', Mamma Mia!. The world went crazy over High School Musical, buzzed for High School Musical 2, and now it has to face High School Musical 3: Senior Year on the theatre screen.

Before we begin, I realize that I don't have an adequate level of Artistic Quotient -if it exists- which constantly makes me wonder why do I keep on reviewing stuffs and posting them on my blog. But men, assisted with a dose of boldness, can do unpredictable works. So, here goes nothing.

Basically, HSM3 is, well, very very HSM-ish in a good way. The Wildcats (that's the stars) are so close to the end of high school and must face the reality that they'll go separate ways in the future. Before that happens, however, they decided to stage another musical about none other but their own high school experience. I don't want to spoil the movie for you; thus, let's go straight to what I think about this record-breaking musical. Compared to the previous HSMs, this one is bigger, better, more cheerful, and more colorful; like Speed Racer but without the cars, the hallucinations, and the tacky outfits. Honestly, after seeing the step from HSM to HSM2, I lowered my expectations to this movie. Oh boy, I was totally wrong. Everything was wonderful and very fitting for a theatrical release. The storyline is a lot more acceptable than HSM2, which was more like a dreamland. The songs and choreography brilliantly follow the path of the previous movies. Maybe Disney has found the exact formula to lure every potential audience and to commercial success.

Now about the spoiled star of East High, Sharpay Evans played by Ashley Tisdale. I seriously have questions about her mental health. She was evil at the beginning of the first movie, and turned good at the end after losing the lead role in the school's musical. In the second, she started out as evil again, with a suitable blond hairdo, ditzy outfits and wicked ambition, only to turn good -again- after failing to get the boy of her dreams. *who else?* Well, (un)surprisingly, she became evil again in this third movie, although with a much better wardrobe and brain...and as (un)surprisingly, she decided to be nice and respectable at the end. I guess that's what you get for being the sole antagonist in the series.

Another thing, the drama teacher Ms. Darbus grew more likeable in this movie. In a dramatic turn from the first movie, she became some kind of a guardian angel, especially to the basketball/drama star Troy. HSM3 certainly showed the better side of her, similar to those wise old people who has gone through so much that they seem to know everything, like Yoda perhaps. (OMGosh, did I just do a Star Wars analogy? Curse you, Dark Side!!)

Well, I don't think it will do any good to recommend this movie to any of you because either you're a big fan of HSM and have seen it or you're the kind of person who lets your pride dictate your actions ;p Anyway, do take my word for it: it's a good option when you're looking for something to kill time and to simply have sheer good fun -that won't throw you in jail under the ridiculous Porn Law.