Review of High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) by Vyen C — 17 Aug 2010

This reviewer has not been living under a rock. It is just that this childless, terminally cynical man has never laid eyes on Disney Channel programming let alone the phenomenally successful High School Musical series that has Mickey Mouse making love to a Brink?s truck. And now, he has drunken the poisoned Kool Aid?and, because of this, has decided to stay childless to spare any more poor innocent souls from such torture?and has an excuse to hate high school all over again. It is not that the movie lacks talent. In fact, the impossibly good-looking cast warbles and dances their cooties off. The paper doll-thin substance, however, leaves much to be desired.

In this PG-rated go-round, the first installment released theatrically, a group of high school seniors (Efron, Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu) find themselves staging an elaborate Spring musical and faced with going in different directions as college closes in.

When listening to the younger set spout such highfalutin dialogue as ?Maybe my heart doesn?t know it?s in high school? and ?I want my future to be my future,? it is doubtless that this upcoming generation stands a chance at spelling global warming let alone effectively addressing the issue. And this is only the chatter?forget the connect-the-dots story and criminally nonsensical song lyrics! Chalking it all up to being tailor-made for a juvenile audience just does not cut the mustard gas. Disney has certainly churned out sterling examples of intelligent family entertainment before (The Little Mermaid, The Lion King)?and with music to boot!

Bottom line: Short bus musical.