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High School Musical 2 Movie Review

High School Musical 2 is a 2007 teen musical television film directed by Peter Barsocchini and starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. It’s the best movie in this trilogy.

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“I’m sure you did, at the time.

But I also meant what I said:

that I want to remember this summer,

but not like this, Troy“

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Troy gets a job at the country club and convinces the manager to hire Gabriella and their friends as well. However, things turn complicated when Sharpay tries to stir tensions between them. This is it. The pinnacle of the franchise and the most nostalgic one for me personally. I was watching this movie like crazy back in my teens, so I know most of the dialogue by heart. Watching it now as an adult, I still find it to be immensely enjoyable.

Thematically, this is a slighter story, but it still worked better as it developed its characters more and they genuinely felt like real friends. The Romeo and Juliet-inspired narrative of the first film was discarded in favor of a message about the importance of putting your friends first and your professional pursuits last. It’s an earnest message, but one that was quite naïve obviously. But because it focused heavily on that theme, the movie ended up focusing on characterization more, which was a great choice.

Yes, the plot is thin. But I had no qualms about it as what we were left with is a film that could now focus more on musical numbers, humor and just fun. And that is what happened in this highly kinetic, extremely entertaining movie that flies by how fun it is and is consistently charming, endearing and also surprisingly witty.

They obviously knew that they had a winner in Sharpay, so they blew up her screen time significantly, which resulted in a much funnier movie than the last one. Ashley Tisdale is so charismatic and wonderful in the role. Sharpay got so many hilarious lines of dialogue here. They really boosted her campy and over-the-top villainy, which was all fine with me as I love these types of characters. She stole the show and whenever she was on screen she was radiant and oh so funny.

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Another standout is clearly Ryan. Her brother was before too timid and just a submissive henchman to her schemes, but here he changed for the better as he became more tuned in with his own passions and goals. His newfound relationship with the other classmates was so well established.

Troy and Gabriella shared a typical teen movie relationship that was at first perfect, but then became complicated. I continue to find Gabriella to be too much of a goody two shoes, but Troy is here much more interesting than he was before. His arc is more complex and his teenage angst was very memorable. Zac Efron stole the show with the best choreography and singing. Chad and Taylor got their moments and were fine as the friend characters, Kelsi was as annoying as always and the manager of the country club was a typical, but essential character for this type of family flick.

Let’s talk about that killer soundtrack. This was clearly the best soundtrack of the entire trilogy as so many of these songs are instantly memorable and oh so catchy and fun. The first couple of songs were just fine, but then we got Work It Out, which is a classic Disney song where they use other items as instruments, in this instance the cookware. The result is a wildly entertaining and upbeat number that functioned pretty much as this movie’s version of Whistle While You Work from ‘Snow White’.

You Are the Music in Me is just solid, but Bet on It is quite a memorable one-man show that served its narrative purpose highly effectively. I Don’t Dance is the most modern number of the bunch, one that was so catchy and cool. Gotta Go My Own Way is by far my favorite song of the entire franchise. This is the breakup song that functions as a sad duet between Gabriella and Troy, one that was gorgeously sung, well written and wonderfully performed with memorable imagery of the two saying goodbye to each other on that bridge. And of course the movie closed off with two giant numbers – Everyday and All for One. The former is beautifully sung and such a tender, strong ballad while the latter is this fun summer song that captured the summer vacation feel of this movie effortlessly.

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High School Musical 2 features superb choreography with some amazing dance moves and highly memorable imagery in numerous musical numbers. The movie is very well shot, solidly directed and wonderfully performed by its talented, likable cast of actors. The movie dragged a bit in the mid section as the beginning and ending are more energetic, but for the most part the movie managed to transcend its slim story with the huge fun factor and irresistible energy.