Customer Reviews

High School Musical: Remix [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(352)
4 star:		(68)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(55)

 

 

Let me begin with this caveat; I have no teenage daughter at home. I find this the most fun and refreshing thing I've seen in a long time, and probably for the very reasons "serious" critics find it silly or pedestrian: the movie embraces its cliches and campiness wholeheartedly and makes me laugh aloud each time I watch it (and I've watched it more times than I care to admit) and the songs are hummable and singable and delightful. I've listened to the soundtrack at least once a day since I got it from amazon, usually on my way to work because the songs put me in a good mood. I mean, who doesn't want to do one of those cool dance moves in the car when "Stick to the Status Quo" or "We're All in This Together" comes on? I do refrain. I love theatre, I love show music, and I love "High School Musical"!

The movie was so awesome! I watched it 50 times!!!!!!!!!!! I thought Vanessa was hot too! I give it 2 thumbs up.

It's New Year's Eve when Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) meet. They're picked at random from the crowd attending a teen party at a ski lodge to sign a karaoke song. To their surprise, they actually sound great together and the sparks begin to fly.

Returning from vacation, Gabriella is starting at a new school. She's hoping to shed her geeky girl image. On her first day, she runs into Troy, who is the captain of the basketball team at her new school. He's busy getting ready for the upcoming playoffs against their rival school.

In the back of their minds is the magic that happened when they sang together. The sign ups for the school's winter musicale have been posted, and both of them are tempted to sign up. Of course, that means Troy would have to face his friends, who think he should be focusing all of his time on basketball. And Gabriella would have to deal with Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) who, along with her brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), is always the star of the school programs. Is it worth the potential social upheaval to audition?

This Disney Channel Original Movie has been getting lots of buzz, and for a very good reason. It had been on for about five minutes before I got a smile on my face, and the smile didn't leave until the movie was over. The story is fairly predictable, but the movie is lots of fun and the songs are great.

Instead of doing traditional Broadway type songs, the music here is pop. Of course, this works well with the intended audience of pre-teens and early teens. They even work in a hip-hop song and a salsa song to spice things up a little. About half the songs in this movie are auditions for the winter musicale, and they are very appropriate to the storyline. This actually starts with the karaoke song that Troy and Gabriella sing at the beginning "Start of Something New." For the climax, Sharpay and Ryan sing "Bop to the Top" which talks about getting to the top no matter what while our heroes sing "Breaking Free," a song about their desire to break out of the molds they are in.

The actors do a great job with their roles. Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens are especially great as the leads. There is a real chemistry between them that makes all their scenes so believable. I was a little annoyed by the over the top acting of Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay and Alyson Reed as the drama teacher. I know it was done on purpose, but I could have done with out it. Over all, it was a minor complaint.

The DVD features two versions of the movie. One is the regular film, but the other is the sing along edition that features the words to the songs at the bottom of the screen. The other features are ok. There are two music videos, a very brief behind the scenes featurette, and a "Learn the Moves" featurette that sort of teaches you a part of the dancing from "Bop to the Top."

While most of the bonus features aren't worth getting excited about, the movie itself is great fun. I'm just sorry I rented it since now I'll have to spend more money to buy it.

I'm a 40 year old adult and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie. And I'm not afraid to admit it that I"ve seen this over 6 times with and without my kids. I've taped the show and have had Korokee parties with my kids along with my friends kids. I'm still going to buy the DVD when it comes out, I'm so crazy about this movie. It brings back memories when we all went crazy over a similar movie, GREASE, when we were young.

when I first saw the commercials, I knew that this movie was going to be an "extreme" hit and could not believe our luck that we didn't have to go to the theaters to see it. I was counting the days until premiere day. The dancing, the singing, the music, the storylines, the total package was such a joy to watch. I've also bought the sound track and as another customer has written, it brings a smile and a wonderful feeling when I hear the music.

I teach fourth grade (ages 8-11) and when my students told me about this movie I watched it and immediately fell in love with it. The story line is sweet and songs are very catchy. My kids, especially the boys, LOVE LOVE LOVE to sing along with the CD in class. A definite buy for the young and old alike!

I've heard alot of things about this movie, fortunately all of them after I saw it. I went in with no bias whatsoever, I'm not a musical person, there are very few I like. It feels like people will judge a movie too quickly, especially if it's marketed a certain way, or if the plot isn't a hard hitting sundance film festival winner. Just because this is a tv movie doesn't mean you can't like it, tv movie isn't a stigma for 'this movie will suck so badly it hurts'. On the contrary, this movie is one of the shinning stars of tv movies and Disney should be proud for finally succeding.

One plus with this movie is that it's clean, I didn't have to wince, I know swearing and sex happens all the time, but isn't it overused to the extent of 'ahhhh!!! make it stop!!!', I've gotten to the point where I either tune it out or turn it off. For me this movie, is like sugar, it's crack, it's bouncy, it's clean fun, all those add up to enjoyable for me. The characters are strongly put together, while slightly cliched they charm you, the plot while thin tugs at your heart. I can relate to Troy and Gabriella, I may be 17 and this is targeted at me, but isn't that okay? They deal with the things I deal with, pressure, seperation, pain, and all because of friends who they trust. Both characters, Gabriella; strong but not rock hard nor the perfect girl, Troy; Confused, unsure, but confident. This isn't just a fairy tale romance either, but ups and downs, no storybook kisses, just closeness and honesty.

The music itself is extremely catchy and well worth watching just to listen to it, the sounds and songs amuse me and they are enjoyable not painful (like most musicals I've seen lately, famous or otherwise). You can be forty or sixty, thirteen or five and you'll still enjoy this, it's made for nearly everyone, it's guilty pleasure if you don't want to admit you like it. :) Seriously, watch this movie

This movie was a favorite of my daughter. I would have ordered it here but its twice the price here that it is everywhere else.

I have seen this movie many many times and I would reccomend it to anyone who likes a good story and music. It truly is the very best Disney has come out with. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

This movie is the best movie Disney Channel made I can't wait to get it. When I first watched it I got in to it a little by the end of the movie I was dancing around like a monkey.I love the songs.I love that they picked Ashley Tisdale off of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody to be Sharpay Evans.If u don't like this movie something is wrong.But that is my opinion.

This film should have been a major theatrical release. The music is that good, and the performances by the young but highly talented cast are uniformly superb, led by the amazing Ashley Tisdale. From Les Miserables to High School Musical by age 20, she is a Broadway prodigy in a class by herself.

As a composer/librettist of Broadway musicals myself ("Marva!", a musical play about famed inner-city educator Marva Collins), I can appreciate the extraordinary combination of effort it required to make High School Musical into the splendid production it is. All of the songs are first-rate, but "We're All In This Together," "Stick to the Status Quo," and "Get 'Cha Head In The Game" are particular standouts. You'll find yourself singing them endlessly.

There are good reasons why the musical recording of this film is the first television soundtrack album to top the Albums Chart in twenty years. Those reasons are the songs. They are uniformly melodic, intelligent, and professional--rare qualities in today's music scene. I cannot recall any other album that actually made me wish that many of the tunes had been of longer duration! Several of the excellent numbers on High School Musical are only 2 minutes long or less, yet pack an enormous amount of heart and quality into every one of those few seconds. What a contrast to most recordings, where a bare minimum of musical and lyrical ideas are stretched, prolonged with preludes, repeated, and repeated again to make up for the almost total absence of substance!

The "Stick to the Status Quo" song warrants special mention because it brilliantly captures the reality of high school peer pressure within the context of an engaging large-cast production dance number. Who has experienced high school without feeling the stifling impetus to remain within rigidly defined boundaries of behavior, dress, and attitude? This song illustrates the foolishness of such self-imposed censorship without preaching, and is all the more a triumph because of that subtlety. If an athlete can bake, and a scholar can be into hip-hop, maybe there's hope for all of us.

It would be inaccurate to pigeon-hole this as a "message movie," notwithstanding the worthy subtext of tolerance, individuality, and inclusion. This film does not overemphasize or exaggerate its theme. Rather, it is seamlessly woven into the overall fabric of the entertainment. In the same way, racial and gender equality and diversity are not spotlighted as obvious morals, like they might have been in a lesser work. Instead, these principles are taken for granted as givens in the lives of these young people, who never would think to question whether it is appropriate for people of different races to date, or whether females can be the most accomplished scientists and mathematicians around. The film is much more effective in conveying these noble messages because of the subtlety with which it handles them as part of the unquestioned structure of modern life.

The musical-within-a-musical approach works well, too, because it makes room for a wide range of song styles, including a parody of the old Donnie & Marie Osmond song and dance shtick and a hot salsa number, "Bop to the Top," which is catchier than virtually any hit single within recent memory. These infectious yet funny numbers are nicely interspersed with the songs that are part of the main story as sung extemporaneously by the characters. And the wonderful high-energy choreography by the great Kenny Ortega is breathtaking, particularly in group-dance songs such as "Get 'Cha Head in the Game" and "Stick to the Status Quo."

My daughter and I watched this movie without fail, every time it was broadcast on the Disney Channel. As a result, I can testify from personal experience that it holds up well under repeated viewing, and I do mean repeated. Because of the wonderful combination of song, dance, romance, humor, and inspiration this motion picture always seems fresh, even after many viewings. I believe "High School Musical" will transform popular culture in a highly positive direction, moving a new generation of young people toward a much broader appetite for music, dance, and drama. It will preserve the genre of melodic book musical for many years, at a point when its future appeared precarious at best. No one could have predicted this impact in advance, but now it seems clear. What a contribution!

Bravo!