HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2...

I have always admired the Disney company for its huge... nay, GIGANTIC outreach when it comes to playing up the hype machinery. But even I must confess that what the Disney company did to pull all the stops to promote High School Musical 2, the sequel to itsphenomenally successful High School Musical (2006), amazed me.
Anyone who has spent any time watching TV for the past few weekends could not haved possibly escaped the relentless promotions that were done for HSM2.
I won’t be surprised to hear that High School Musical 2 was the highest rated show on satellite/cable television in not only Malaysia but also the region this past weekend!
The flawless casting of actors who not only have the looks, but also the talent to sing and dance, is a very signature touch that Disney has always maintained for all its youth-directed productions, especially for its television programming.
Director Kenny Ortega has done a great job -- maintaining the youthful zest of the young cast and tapping their high energy for the demanding and very fast-paced musical numbers.
The show is based on the kids of a high school preparfing for their summer holidays. They break out into a song and dance routine at every opportunity.
Since Disney is synonymous with the good life, all the kids in the school manage to get work in a private club and this is where their friendships are tested and their dancing and singing skills are also put to the test.
The leads are two wholesome high school sweethearts Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens). Throwing a mild (faux) fur-coated spanner into their romance are the brother and sister Sharpay (Ashley Tisdaale) and Ryan Evans (Lucas Grabeel).
In the show, the Evans’ are filthy rich kids who weigh-in on the wrong end of the scale towards being spoilt-brats. Sharpay has a crush on Troy and schemingly wrecks the trust between Troy and Gabriella.
In the process, Sharpay also manages to strain Troy’s friendship with the rest of his highschool friends working at the private club where Sharpay’s parents are big shots.
But this is not Bollywood, so the melodrama can be easily stomached by audiences and the depressingly tiresome-plot twists of Bollywood’s low-end melodramas are expertly avoided.
The saddest that High School Musical 2 gets is when Gabriella belts out some poignant lyrics and makes a classy departure in a big car at night after work, leaving Troy to come to his senses and choose his friends over being blindsided by the glitz and glamour that Sharpay throws in his path.
Trus to the spirit of Disney productions, Troy of course comes to his senses by the time the last musical number pops up on the screen and the kids become friends. Sharpay reforms and all is well in God’s just world.