So… it’s been a while.
I haven’t written here since my big alopecia post, because I felt a bit of pressure to follow it up with something of quality. I really didn’t want my next post to be yet another mental health update, as even though there may be a lot to say about that topic, it's not overly interesting. I had written about that kind of stuff a lot, and that’s not why I started my blog. I started this blog so the world can read my opinions on issues that truly matter, not minuscule stuff like paralyzing mental health problems. So, without further adieu, here are my thoughts on the High School Musical (HSM) franchise.
As some of my readers may know, I have a friend named Maeve. This Maeve is a lovely person. She’s smart, and sweet, and funny, but Maeve had one major flaw: she had never seen any of the High School Musical movies. I tried to look past this, to love her anyway, yet it was really difficult because there was always this massive elephant in the room, or I guess car (we hang out in cars a lot). So, finally I told Maeve enough was enough, and we scheduled a sleepover with the goal of giving her a complete education.
Maeve arrived at my house at around 4:00 pm and we got straight to work. HSM1 was put into the DVD player (and by that I mean opened on Disney+) and our butts were on the couch.
I was actually a bit nervous about rewatching the series. It meant so much to me as a child, and I was worried it wouldn’t hold up. Luckily, the first HSM was good. It wasn’t amazing, there was still a lot to make fun of, but it was a pretty solid movie. I really don’t have much to say about it. I give it an 8/10.
We took a quick five hour break to go see Les Miserables (which was really good despite my notes for the playwright: 8.5/10), and then we returned home to watch HSM2. As mentioned above, I was nervous to rewatch the first HSM, but I was REALLY nervous for this one. The second High School Musical was my favourite movie of all time as a child, and I have been talking about how much I love it since first seeing it when I was about 4-years-old. I hadn’t watched it in a while, and had cautiously high hopes.
It was genuinely FANTASTIC! Even Maeve, who had no childhood nostalgia attached to it, absolutely loved it! The character development in that movie is truly well done. I honestly don’t feel like explaining why, partially out of laziness, but mostly not wanting to spoil it for my readers (who I understand are mostly 50+). The songs are amazing, the tension is unbelievable, and Sharpay is at her absolute best. I give the movie a 9.7/10.
By the third movie, I was no longer nervous. I had rewatched it right before graduating high school, and remembered crying (mostly because it was about all the fun senior year activities I missed out on thanks to COVID). The trilogy established a solid first two films, so I knew the third one was going to be alright too, and I was right. I’m rating it an 8/10.
Then there’s a fourth movie I’ve neglected to mention: Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. It’s a low-budget, low-effort sequel to HSM3, which takes place in a version of New York City that has TTC buses in the background. I can’t in good conscience recommend this movie, but it does have some good elements. Firstly, it stars Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay, one of the greatest characters of all time. Secondly, I actually found the love story pretty cute, and Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler kind of slayed it. Finally, while ignoring the half-baked plot (half-baked ice cream gets a 9.7/10) and lackluster supporting characters, it’s fun to figure out where all the filming locations are, which is extremely easy if you’ve been to any Mirvish shows.
In conclusion, this blog post is unnecessary and definitely not my best, but at least I’m back, so yeah.