Hello & welcome back to Wildcats Wednesdays and today, we return to East High for one last visit. And I'll be honest and I've only ever been able to bring myself to watch this movie once before.That was back when the movie came out on DVD. And that mostly had to do with the ending. So yeah, this is the first time that I've watched the movie since it came out on DVD. Now as I made mention in my last review with the third and final film in the trilogy, High School Musical made the leap from Disney Channel to the big screen. Now, this wasn't the first film based on a Disney Channel property to be released in theaters. As there was The Lizzie McGurie Movie, which was released in 2003 and one year after this, Hannah Montana: The Movie would hit theaters. And interestingly, both Hannah Montana: The Movie and The Lizzie McGurie Movie were supposed to be send offs for those respective shows but they kept going on afterwards, dragging them down. Whereas High School Musical 3 was pretty much the end of the journey with the Wildcats.
That's a spin-off movie and Sharpay is the only returning character besides Ryan in a cameo to appear in that movie. It's not even directed by Kenny Ortega. Our journey wit the characters that we cared about ends here in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Now, at one point, there were rumors abound of a 4th movie, where East High and their rival school, West High (yeah, the names aren't that original) would merge into one school and most of the original cast wouldn't return. Which makes sense as they did introduce new characters that did seem to be replacement characters for the original cast and they're probably my least favorite aspect of the third film as they take away from the time that I want to spend with the Wildcats that have been there since the beginning. Now, there is one last thing that I want to touch on before I get to the meat of the actual review. With this film being released in theaters, everything felt bigger. The school looked bigger, the shots looked bigger, I even think the budget was bigger. That is the word that best sums up, this film. Bigger. To quote, one of Sharpay's songs.
Sharpay: Think bigger!
Ryan: Become superstars
Sharpay: That's better
Don't you see that bigger is better
And better is bigger
That is how the film decides to go out. And does it work, well let's find out.
Trailer
This trailer does a pretty good job of getting the fans emotional and reminding people how big High School Musical had become.
The Plot
The movie opens on a basketball game between The East High Wildcats and West High Knights with the Wildcats tailing the Knights. And at the last minute, Troy brings new student, Jimmie "The Rocket" Zara and thanks to Rocket, the Wildcats win the game.
Later that night, at Troy's house, we see all of the Wildcats celebrating and our cute couple, Troy and Gabriella do not want the night to end. Later on, we see Sharpay meet new British exchange student, Tiara Gold, who will become Sharpay's assistant and during homeroom, Darbus takes notice of the fact that so few people have signed up for the spring musical. Kelsi is very alarmed by this news and quickly writes down everyone's name. None of the Wildcats are too happy about this but they decide to go along with it as Gabriella volunteers to do it and that gets everyone to go along with it and this is when Darbus informs the Wildcats that the musical titled Senior Year will be about their final days at East High. Darbus also announces that Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsi, along with Troy are being for a scholarship for Julliard. This sets Sharpay's plot for this film in motion as she knows that Kelsi gives the best songs to Troy and Gabriella, she wants Ryan to persuade the songstress to give her and Ryan, a song as she envisions her future.
The next day, Troy and Gabriella share a dance on the rooftop, Troy's quiet place from the first movie a la Pooh's Thinking Spot.
Later, we see Troy and Chad humiliate new guys, Jimmie and Donnie as they take their clothes and chase them through the school and they end up in the theater, where Darbus recruits them as understudies along with Tiara. Chad then asks Taylor to the prom (oh right, they're a couple) but she refuses as Chad barely puts any effort into asking her but then in the cafeteria and put actual effort into asking her and she says yes. We then see the Wildcats perform a number about prom. And this is one thing that I gotta give the movie credit on. The transition between musical numbers while not seamless is pretty good as it starts out looking like it's actually them getting ready for prom, only to later reveal that it's just rehearsal for the musical. Later on, we see Ryan move in on Kelsi. That doesn't sound right. He starts his plan to persuade her to give them the best song but we see that sparks start to fly between Kelsi and Ryan. This probably upset Zeke and Kelsi shippers. Yeah, after the second movie, some HSM fans shipped these two. I have no idea as to why because they barely shared any scenes together. This leads Ryan to ask Kelsi to the prom. Meanwhile in a junkyard, where Troy and Chad look for spare parts to fix up Troy's fixer-upper of a truck, they reminisce of the old days, when they would come there and play as kids and the film even gives us a visual of young Troy and Chad.
On the hand, I get what this number was going for but I think this may be too on the nose. Yes, the rule of show, don't tell is good but did we really need to see younger versions of Troy and Chad as they think back to their childhood days. I guess it works but it kinda seems outta place. And on the whole, this number comes across as nothing more than padding. But that's at best minor as this number is pretty good on a whole. Later on, after some information fromTiara, Sharpay learns that Gabriella has a chance to get into her college of choice, Stanford early and Sharpay convinces Troy that he's the only thing holding back his girlfriend. Ooh.... Ooh... Ooh..... You....
But she'll get a taste of her own medicine served on a silver spoon but that won't happen until the third act. Troy lets Gabriella go and see the couple left in a broken state.
This is a good number but in terms of Gabriella feeling broken songs, I think Gotta Go My Own Way is a bit better. Later on, Coach Bolton wants to talk to Troy about his future and going to the University of Albuquerque. Yeah, this is something that is a constant in the film as everyone of Troy's friends and his dad want him to go to UOA but Troy doesn't know what school, he wants to go to. And he feels like he's being pushed in one direction but he doesn't know if it's the direction that he wants to go. This leads to easily one of the best numbers in all 3 High School Musical films as Troy heads back to the school and just lets out all of his anger.
The visuals are pretty neat such as basketballs falling from the sky in the basketball stadium as it's raining basketballs on Troy. Which I think that it shows how basketball is being pushed on Troy and then there is a sequence in the hallway spins.
This represents the confusion in Troy's head as he doesn't know what direction to take his life in. Darbus has secretly been watching this go on as Troy ends up on the stage and reveals that she was the one that nominated him for the Julliard scholarship. Later on, Troy gets a phone call from Gabriella saying that while she loves him, she won't be coming back to East High for Prom or graduation. Even though, she wants to. She doesn't say it outright but it is implied and Troy knows this as he heads to Stanford on the day of the prom, Troy goes to Stanford to visit Gabriella and after sharing another dance, Gabriella comes back to East High and Troy sends a text to Jimmie telling him that he'll have to cover for him onstage as he's driving back from Stanford with Gabriella. Kelsi and Ryan open the show followed by a couple other numbers leading to Sharpay playing Gabriella and Jimmie playing Troy in a number that is made annoying and obnoxious by Jimmie's uhm... acting. I feel like I'm being generous, when saying that. Thankfully, Troy and Gabriella show up and save the number. It's then revealed in Sharpay's dressing room that Tiara plans to take over as the new Sharpay and had just been manipulating the diva all this time.
Yeah, after three movies of Sharpay being the most deplorable character in all of these movies and for the longest time, the worst Disney Channel character until he came along, this was so satisfying. But Sharpay isn't going to go down like that. so she dusts herself off and goes on to perform her big number as she and Tiara fight for dominance on the stage. Then Darbus announces that Ryan and Kelsi had been accepted to Julliard and we learn that Troy has decided to go to Berkeley, so that he can be close to Gabriella and also have both basketball and theater be a part of his life. Then we get a graduation remix of We're All In This Together. And we end at the graduation being the big event ending celebration in this film and the film pans out to reveal that this was all onstage.
When I first saw this ending, I HATED it. I despised it. I loathed it because I took it to mean that everything that had happened in the past 3 movies never happened and was just all part of a story within a story. Making all of the events meaningless. This one moment ruined the third movie for me for the longest time. Looking back on it now, it makes sense in terms of what the third film was doing in it's narrative but I'm still not the biggest fan of this ending. I don't hate it as much as I did, when I first watched this movie but I'm still not a fan of how the film ends.
The ending aside, I feel that High School Musical 3: Senior Year is a good sendoff for these characters and the fans. At this point, you were either with the franchise or you weren't. This is a movie for the fans to celebrate the love that they have for High School Musical and the love that we have for these characters. There are fan service moments in the film such as Troy going back to the rooftop, an instrumental of Fabulous being used as Sharpay's introduction and that the film includes a new version of We're All In This Together. By this point, if you weren't a fan and hated the High School Musical films, this wasn't going to convert you.
Characters
Main Characters
Troy played by Zac Efron
This film really did a good job of exploring the struggle that Troy was going through as he was facing an internal struggle between choosing what to do with his life. And you could see that he was scared of facing the future and that was very evident in when he thought he lost Gabriella. Now, the thought of high school sweethearts staying together may seem far-fetched to some but it has happened and the film just wanted to give the audience a happy ending. I mean, sure it may seem cheesy such as how Gabriella stood out of the crowd in Now or Never to inspire Troy to keep going. But in many ways, Gabriella is Troy's motivator and that is shown in that sequence and when she leaves, Troy has lost everything.
Gabriella played by Vanessa Hudgens
Unlike HSM2, this was more of a Troy and Gabriella story and with Gabriella, you also sense the torn feelings in her as Stanford is something that she had been working towards all her life and it's finally presented itself and she has a chance of achieving her dream early. I can totally understand why she would want to take hold of that dream but at the same time, she doesn't want to well... walk away from the things and more importantly, the person that she loves. She is faced with a difficult situation
Supporting Characters
Chad played by Corbin Bleu
Chad didn't get as much to do and that's fine but we do get a sense of how far he has come since the first movie and since then, he really has grown since then into a likable character and while the screen time, he has is minimal, you truly get a sense of who he is. And at the end, you finally get to sense the fear in him as he instead of being onstage for graduation is in the gym as that is security blanket and now he has to let it go and leave it behind him as he also has to leave behind the friends that he's cared about for so long now.
Taylor played by Monique Coleman
Just like HSM2, there isn't much Taylor but like with Chad, she is really likable in the film and this is the first time in any of the three movies that I was finally able to buy into the relationship between Chad and Taylor.
Ryan played by Lucas Garbeel
High School Musical 3 continues where 2 left off and developed Ryan even more to where he is no longer looked at as just Sharpay's brother. This film shows him as his own person and even gives him a romantic subplot as he develops feelings for Kelsi. And I actually like that relationship.
Kelsi played by Olyesa Rulin
Kelsi sadly didn't have much to do in this film and was relegated to just being Ryan's love interest. Kinda bummed that her role has diminished so much since the first film but stuff like that is bound to happen, when you have ensemble and also, when you introduce new characters.
Jimmie "The Rocket" Zara played by Matthew Prokop
There really wasn't much to Jimmie other than being the new Troy. To the point that he was a Troy fan boy and followed Troy around like a little lost puppy dog. Take that away from him and you don't have much of a character.
Donnie played by Justin Martin
Well, this character sure did exist. Honestly, there isn't much to this character than being the best friend to Jimmie and supposedly being the new Chad.
Music
Now or Never
This is a good way to start off the film as it gets you really pumped and excited for what you are about to see. You really feel the adrenaline that is put into this number. And I already went over on why I think the scene with Gabriella works. Yeah, it may seem a bit cheesy but keep in mind that you are watching a movie that has High School Musical in the title. So, it works and I find it highly enjoyable and engaging.
Right Here, Right Now
This is a good song to show how much these two truly care about one another and that they'll always love each other. And that while they know that the end is nigh, they are going to embrace this one moment that they are sharing with one another. It's as if time stood still to allow them to take in this moment.
I Want It All
This song is shallow and vapid but that's who Sharpay is. She is a shallow and vapid person that only ever thinks of herself. Well okay, she did find room for Ryan in her fantasy but it's still all about her. And man, the Oprah reference dates this song but it does make sense as Oprah was on top of the world, when this movie came out and that's where Sharpay wanted to be.
Can I Have This Dance?
This number is just so sweet and I find myself easily wrapped up in the love of Troy and Gabriella here as she teaches him how to waltz as they share their first dance and oh apparently, this video includes the reprise. Which is fine. And even beyond the dancing here, this song takes a look at how the strong, bond that these two have truly is. They'll always be there for one another, even if they are miles apart. They know that they'll face hardships and that they'll be rocky but they can face them together.
Just Wanna Be With You
This is the song that Kelsi wrote for Troy and Gabriella but here, we get to hear Kelsi and Ryan sing it. Well at least start out singing it as the other Wildcats do join in. It's a sweet song that really is nothing more than fluff. Good fluff mind you but that's all it really is.
The Boys Are Back
This song is okay but as I said up in the plot section, it's really nothing more than padding. It's fine padding but in the grand scheme of things, it really does nothing to advance the narrative. Sure, it gives us insight into what Troy and Chad are thinking about. It's not something that we needed to know about.
Walk Away
Like I said, this is a really good song but it's probably the weakest in terms of Gabriella feeling heartbroken songs. Surprised that became a thing. I think one of the problems here is that say compare it to When There Was Me and You or the vastly superior Gotta Go My Own Way, this song does have a message of Gabriella feeling heartbroken but the music is too upbeat for the lyrics. The music really hinders the song here. Again, I really like this song but it could've been handled so much better.
Scream
Now, this is how you tap into what someone is feeling and what is going on in their mind as they feel conflicted. This song does a fantastic job of capturing the confusion that Troy is going through as he is being pulled in two different directions. And not being allowed to make his own choice. You can hear the frustration rising in him, he's not angry at anyone but he hates the situation that life has put him in and he doesn't know how to handle it.
Senior Year Musical
Yeah, I don't have much to say on this as it's just a montage and medley of songs. So, I'm not sure why it was included on the soundtrack. Sure, it's fun but most of these songs are ones that we've already heard in the movie.
We're All In This Together (Graduation Mix)
This song was a moment for the fans. And I won't lie that I got a bit teary eyed, when listening to this song again and getting to hear a new take on the franchise's theme song was a nice touch as it gave the fans, the feelings that they wanted in watching this film.
High School Musical
I'm surprised it took them three movies to have song named High School Musical. And well, this song is a lot of fun and it's a great celebration of how far, these characters have come since the first movie. It's just a fun, cheery upbeat number to send everyone that loved these movies out on a high note. Now yeah, this film does include that ending I mentioned but ignoring my issues with that ending, I really enjoy this number.
Villains
Sharpay played by Ashley Tisdale
Sharpay was once again deliciously evil in her schemes here to get Troy and Gabriella torn apart and it was a lot of fun to watch but the most satisfying moment was when it was revealed that Tiara Gold had been playing her the entire time to take over her life.
Tiara Gold played by Jemma McKenzie-Brown
I really love the big reveal that she had been playing Sharpay the entire time and the film at first presents Tiara as someone that aspires to be like Sharpay but with the reveal, we learn that she doesn't just want to be like Sharpay, she wants to be Sharpay. And her true motive, this entire time has been to take over Sharpay's life. Though in the end, Sharpay gets the upper hand as we learn that she'll be returning to East High while attending college to serve as an assistant to Darbus in supervising the drama club. And she did this in part to keep an eye on Tiara. Out of the three new characters, Tiara Gold is best because she isn't just a straight carbon copy of her predecessor. The film instead subverts the audience's expectations of her being a complete Sharpay clone by revealing that she had been playing Sharpay. And that actually makes her more sinister than Sharpay and in a sense, it's weird that they subvert her being a Sharpay clone by making her end goal to take over Sharpay's life.
My Final Thoughts
As I said earlier in the review, this was a good sendoff for the franchise and it was a love letter for the fans that had been there since the first movie. And if you weren't a fan before this movie, the third film wasn't going to convert you as there is no wiggle room to jump on the bandwagon here. This is a movie for the fans, pure and simple. It was a way for the cast to show love to the fans that have supported them and at the same time, it was a great way to see the love the cast had for this franchise. So yeah, this film is for a very select audience and I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a part of that audience as I do enjoy this movie. And I do think on the whole that this film ended High School Musical on a high note. I've enjoyed my time going back and looking back at these films and I hope that you've enjoyed these reviews. While my time here at East High is done, I may return with another installment of Wildcats Wednesdays in the distant future to look at the Chinese remake of High School Musical but that'll be a long way down the road. Peace!
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