Thursday, August 30, 2007

High School Musical

There have been so many great things to write about over the past few days that I can barely crank them out.

I have been resorting to late-night blogging for the past few days because we aren't putting any of our fun plans on hold while I sit at the computer attempting to be interesting or pithy.

I started this post last week, but was overcome by events, what with the Attorney General finally being sent away in disgrace, the guilty plea and subsequent "apology" of Michael Vick, and the reports of the extracurricular activities of a certain perverted U.S. Senator.

Guess what? I don't want to talk about any of those freaks today. No, today, I want to talk about something more important: The incredible star-power of Disney's recently released "High School Musical 2"

Sure, some of you will tell me that you haven't seen it. Some of you will tell me you don't understand why it is so popular, but unless you live in a very far corner of the world, it isn't likely that you haven't heard of this second of two films that have turned the entertainment world on it's ear.

I didn't pay any attention to the first movie... not until I began hearing the music all of the time. You see, Soccer girl is right there in the middle of the target demographic. She loved the movie and the music. Mrs GF was already familiar with the whole swirling mass of movie, books, concert DVD, singalong CD, and soundtrack, but I was a latecomer.

I finally got to see the movie in one of the two trillion and twelve repeats on the Disney Channel, and to tell you the truth, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a great deal. I could see why it was so popular with so many people. The producers/directors were VERY smart about this film... They used the tried-and-true musical movie formula of a light plot, good visuals, hyper enthusiasm and catchy tunes that, while not being world-changing, were happy, upbeat, and eminently singable. Couple these things with an attractive cast, and you have a winner.

This past April, clan Gunfighter went to our local high-school to see a stage production of the first movie, while the buzz was building for the second movie. We loved it and I was gratified to see that I wasn't the only dad who knew the words to some of the songs.

Fast forward to last week, when we took a pause in our vacation to ensure that we would be settled in and fed and comfortable when it was time to watch "High School Musical 2" I suppose it won't surprise you to hear me say that the Gunfighter household is full of fans of this teen movie sensation! It was really great. It was nicely filmed, not too heavy on teen angst, well directed, scored, and choreographed. It's a winner.

Disney has had such a success a with these movies that there is now a "High School Musical Pep Rally" held several times a day at MGM studios.



The really cool thing about the "Pep Rally" is watching the other parents while the kids are watching it. While I took these pictures...


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...you could see a lot of the parents singing along with their tweens!


The second time we saw the rally, I stood well back of the crowd to get some crowd photos and saw this grandmother/granddaughter duo dancing along. It was really great.

So, to summarize, see this movie... if you miss it's run on the Disney Channel, go to your local DVD source and get the first one on DVD, and wait for the second movie to arrive on DVD in November.

Remember, Wildcats, we're all in this together!

9 comments:

Lady M said...

I really enjoyed the first movie too. Just waiting for a chance to catch the second!

I linked to one of your old posts today, when talking about why dads shouldn't be called "the babysitter" when they're watching their OWN kids.

cathouse teri said...

I was SO excited to see the first movie. I was taking care of a couple of little girls and we set aside a special afternoon showing of it. Popcorn and everything.

And I hated it. Hated every second of it.

I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing #2 since the first one reminded me of ... #2! :)

I normally love musicals though. Anything musical, in fact. Especially performing young kids.

If you've not seen it, I HIGHLY recommend seeing "Newsies," with a very young, singing Christian Bale.

soccer mom in denial said...

As you know I find the whole phenomenom even funnier if you imagine all the characters as drag queens.

And then this week's theater camp play has one son saying "And Ashley Tinsdale. How do you feel about the success of your latest movie - High School Musical, The Retirement Years?"

Heather said...

I wanted my daughter to really like it, but she's only just turned 5 and, while she didn't hate it, she would rather watch other movies. She'll like it more when she's a bit older I bet.

It reminded me a bit of watching musicals as a kid. Me? A geek? No way! I just liked things like Annie and The Music Man. That's cool, right?

Fourier Analyst said...

We just borrowed the DVD of the first one and will be watching this weekend. The buzz is not so great over here (cheereleaders are an unknown quantity in the Dutch school system). But I hope that my girls will be able to relate a little bit to the film. DD2 will certainly love the songs!

I think it is great that you are participating in SoccerGirl's life and loves so much. Great DAD!!

Gunfighter said...

FA,

Don't worry about the cheerleaders... they have virtually nothing to do with the movie.

Anonymous said...

My 4 boys LOVE both HSM 1 and 2. I think its good family entertainment.

Jen said...

I still have to check out this phenomena... haven't caught the fever, yet.

Anonymous said...

I have so far managed to avoid it and plan to continue to do so. It's one of the privileges of being the cool, curmudgeonly aunt.