They’re back: Those wonderful teen heart-throbs of Disney’s High School Musical are back and as dreamy as ever in High School Musical 2! Once again The talented Kenny Ortega reclaims his place as director for the second installment of this ever-popular Disney teen favorite and has earned many nominations for the role in the process including that of “Outstanding director of a made for t.v. movie”.
Written by Peter Barsocchini, High School Musical 2 continues the tale of the teen romance of East Side High School’s basketball star Troy and not so new girl anymore studious Gabriella as they tackle the trials and tribulations of being teenagers and in love. Of course, Gabriella’s arch nemesis Sharpay again returns to put a wrench in the workings of the couple’s still budding relationship doing anything in her power to prevent the couple from remaining together and in the process dragging her brother Ryan, poor kid, into the mix. If you thought Sharpay was a spoiled brat in the first movie, High School Musical 2 promises to shed a brighter spotlight on exactly why she feels the sun should rise and set on her as she has daddy wrapped around her finger and speaks rudely to her mother. Also present in the sequel are Troy’s fellow team members The Wildcats, his best friends Chad, Jason, and Zeke, along with Gabriella’s best gal friends Taylor, Kelsi, and Martha.
Unlike the first High School Musical where the storyline mainly took place inside the walls of Eastside High School, the drama moves outside of the school in High School Musical 2. The movie begins with the friends sitting in class as their favorite teacher is rambling on with her lesson and they in turn are staring at the clock chanting summer…summer….summer. The bell rings and it’s good bye EastSide High, and hello summer vacation. They break out into song and each friend has their solo in the spotlight–reminding us all of why we loved the first one: the music! High School Musical 2 was so well-received partly due to its soundtrack, but it also won the hearts of million of teens because of its characters. Teens can relate to these characters because they are such a diversified group of kids that hang out together. You have the jocks and the brains, the musicians, the artists, and even the kid who loves to cook in the kitchen here. There is someone for everyone to look up to. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they are all quite good-looking and have their fans’ hearts a-flutter.
The plotline is as follows: In an attempt to keep an eye on Troy (and hopefully her arms around him), Sharpay gets “daddy” to hire Troy to work at the family’s country club. Troy agrees to take the job but he wants to bring all of his East Side friends along too (a fact unkown to Sharpay). Sahrpay is overjoyed when Troy shows up for work at the club, but her joy is quickly squashed when Gabriella comes jumping into the pool announcing that she is “the new life guard”. Foiled again, Sharpay begins a whole new line of plotting and sabotage. While the others are stuck in the kitchen, Troy is quickly advanced into a better position and gets to go to the golf green with Sharpay’s family. In the process, Sharpay’s dad takes a liking to Troy and lets him know that there are scholarships available for him and Troy feels himself being pulled between Sharpay’s inviting world and Gabriella’s love. While scholarship opportunities are opening up for Troy, the opportunity to spend time with the gang are falling to the side and his friends begin to question Troy’s loyalty and his heart. In the end, he must decide if and how he will balance his friends and his future as Sharpay continues to manipulate everyone’s strings.
Like High School Musical, High School Musical 2 involves another big show; this time it is the country club’s annual talent show. Sharpay decides Troy should be singing with her rather than the gang and dumps her brother Ryan driving him closer to the Wildcats and out of the overbearing shadow of his sister. Troy wanting to secure his scholarship is torn as to whom he should perform with: Sharpay or his friends? Ryan, in return for his sister’s dumping joins forces with the Wildcats and sets himself up to perform with them. Viewers, receive the needed satisfaction of seeing spoiled Sharpay get a taste of reality when she ends up having no one to sing with and crying.
High School Musical 2 ends, of course, with Sharpay humbled, Ryan strengthened, Wildcats and East Side High students friendship still strong, and Gabriella and Troy doing what they do best: Singing together as a couple.
Millions of teens helped make the first High School Musical a hit, so it is of no surprise that when High School Musical 2 aired on Disney Channel it broke television premiere records. Teens love the drama, the music, and the stars. Parents appreciate the fact that although the story is a romance, it doesn’t show teens engaged in any heavy romantic scenes, or teen angst. It is refreshing to see a nice movie where sex, drugs, drinking and breaking the rules isn’t glorified. Hopefully the rest of the industry will learn something from both High School Musical and High School Musical 2. We need more teen-friendly movies. By, Cheryl Nelson