Movie Review: High School Musical 3

Look, I realize I am way too old to be watching this movie, but I don't care because you know what? This movie was super cute and I totally recommend it to any musical fan.

My cousin had introduced me to High School Musical which I caught on DVD on a babysitting gig (yes, people trust me to care for their children. suckers!!!) It was cute but I didn't think much of it.

Then High School Musical 2 debuted on the Disney channel and I made sure to catch that. Again - cute silly musical. Oh, that Sharpay!

So of course I had to make sure to catch the third one when it opened on the BIG SCREEN. Woohoo! I went with my cousin and our 12 year old niece - she was our cover, but we totally would have seen it on our own. Well worth the $10.50.

The plot is predictable but the musical numbers were awesome! The dancing is amazing and the songs are kind of catchy, too. Several of them are already on the Top 100 list on iTunes. I am very impressed with Zac Efron, who plays the male lead. He is truly committed to this role - as in, he goes all out in the super cheesy musical numbers. You have to see it. And he totally rocked in Hairspray (another fave!).

I will warn you - there is a super cheesy, borderline-cringy moment in the opening musical number where Troy is at a critical moment in a basketball game and looks to his GF to give him strength. Do NOT leave the theater! The rest of the movie is not that bad.

Two funny awkward moments:

1. There was ONE kiss scene between lovebirds Troy and Gabriella (Efron and Vanessa Hudgens) - and right when I was about to think FINALLY! - I was interrupted by pockets of giggles from all the little girls in the theater. Geesh - way to ruin a sweet moment.

2. I liked how the closing credits tried to emulate a live stage performance by having the lead actors bow from a stage. However, they then did a close up on each actor smiling as if they were receiving applause from the audience - except in my theater, no one applauded - so it looked kind of silly. I'm not sure why I didn't clap - I'm pretty sure I applauded when I saw Chicago and Dreamgirls in the theater.

So anyway, if you like musicals - I highly recommend seeing this one. I could even be convinced to see it again.