We have become fans of High School Musical 1 and 2. We have watched the movies several times and the van has been playing the CDs non-stop. So when a friend brought up going to the theater to see HSM3, we jumped at it. We went today for the matinee and loved it. What a song-and-dance extravaganza! Disney has pulled out all the stops, and the singing and dancing are fabulous. My feet were tapping all the way from start to finish. It was also Aseem's first ever movie in the theater which he sat through and enjoyed. I was in the theater after a long long time as well. We paid $8 for the matinee and even that feels too much. But I have to say I really enjoyed the experience of the big screen for the big song and dance numbers.
What about the plot, you ask? Well, does it matter?! It was a made-up plot for the senior year for the cast. And I was mentally comparing HSM3 with that other great musical about high school kids, Grease. HSM3 did not have the grittiness of Grease - no sex or teenage pregnancy, no foul language. It was all squeaky clean. All the seniors are talking about is getting into college. It's a sign of the times I suppose. Manisha points out that Grease was probably not targeted at the same age group HSM3 is, but I am still struck by the difference in the vibes.
Oh and by the way, I thought the theater was going to be a mob scene and I had Manisha go and buy tickets last night. When we got to the theater in the morning it was deserted! Apparently it was at the top of the box office for the weekend, but that probably means that the other movies had even smaller audience. Possibly the effect of the recession on discretionary spending?
