HSM 2!- Page 2

[supportivemom]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 12:34pm

All I am saying is that it's okay to be cute and campy and even cheesy. However, why do you have to sacrifice quality for all of this? Why all the electronic singing? Why some of the over-the-top "acting", and why the poor stereotypes? It was my daughter who was grimacing the most and lol about how stupid some of the characters and songs were! I'll give the show credit for getting kids interested in musicals and spending time with their family. I just wish they wouldn't dumb it down so much. Like someone said- kids aren't stupid! So why not give them something a little more sophisticated?! I'm not snobby about theatre but our kids deserve better. Sometimes it's just fun to make fun of poor material. OMG- I can't wait til Sunday night so my daughter and I can sing along! There, I said it! Now this is what I call a discussion thread. Hope no one takes any offense to what I write as it's all in good fun!

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 12:37pm

I loved when everyone died at the end.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 12:40pm

I could hardly recognize the Zac Efron from Hairspray from the guy I saw last night.

No wonder everyone freaked out so much when he was cast as Link.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 12:45pm

There is a HUGE difference between having "energy" and displaying a coked-up, agitated, jerky, buggy-eyed, breathless freakiness.

This was the latter.

And it was surreal and very bizarre.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:03pm

My kids only liked the dancing scenes, but they couldn't even make it to the end. I walked in about halfway through and they were both engaged in other activities with the TV in the background.

Of course, they've been seeing live Broadway shows since they were 3.

Me? I thought it was AWFUL. AWFUL. Did I mention AWFUL?

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:05pm

My guess is that you thought it was AWFUL, Miss Penny.

Just a hunch here.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:07pm

"All I am saying is that it's okay to be cute and campy and even cheesy. However, why do you have to sacrifice quality for all of this? Why all the electronic singing? Why some of the over-the-top "acting", and why the poor stereotypes?"

Thank you! I'm all for cute, clean fun, but why does it have to be badly written? Fun isn't an excuse for poor quality.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:22pm

Besty, all that bedrest has made you even smarter than before!

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:32pm

Apparently so! I can read between the lines now.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:35pm

REALLY????

What does this one say?

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:39pm

It says, "Shut the hell up and go back to bed... and feel better... and quit thread-jacking."

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 1:44pm

No blank line of MINE would ever tell YOU to "shut up," Besty. Believe me.

(But I do want you to feel better.)

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 2:13pm

I think the last Disney anything I saw was OLD YELLER, but this thread has gotten me curious. Maybe I'll channel my inner tween and give it a go.

[ProducerJeff]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 9:36pm

I watched the show with my kids and I thought it was okay....I liked the music in this one better. My daughter loved it....

As a side note, I actually produced HSM earlier in the summer and the audiences were huge every night. If Disney Theatrical makes this one available as well, they will make another mint.....

Overnight ratings show that HSM2 was the most watched TV show in basic cable history.....over 17 miilion households tuned in to watch.....WOW.

Like it or not HSM is with us to stay....it truly is a phenomenon.

[balletandbroadway]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 9:41pm

I thought it was dreadful. Then again, I thought the first one was pretty bad as well...

I think the final nail in the coffin was when I saw a review for it on Yahoo movies that was titled:

"BETTER THAN BROADWAY!!!!!!!!!!"

That made me wanna cry a little...

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 10:17pm

I loved it. I watched it with my little brother and now he says that he wants to take dance lessons "'cause Corbin took dance lessons".
That's what I like about the whole HSM-ness, it gets kids involved in the arts.
I personally thought the plot was much better in this one.

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 10:27pm

I watched it with my little brother and now he says that he wants to take dance lessons "'cause Corbin took dance lessons".

That's kind of really cute.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 10:43pm

I was trying to watch tonight but there were people in my kitchen talking so I couldn't hear most of it. I don't get why Corbin (Chad?) was so hesitant to dance in the talent show if they had been dancing the whole movie... and the whole movie before that... and on the softball field.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 11:31pm

Obviously to set up a homoerotic sex song between Corbin Bleu and Lucas Gabreel.

You guys are being really hard on this movie! I thought it was a lot better than the first. It lost steam halfway through though. There was a long chunk where there wasn't any music at all and the montage of music video style songs was a bit much (are you really that nervous about the album not selling well Disney?) but the movie was fun and it left me smiling. This is speaking as someone who can be pretty critical.

I don't think the acting as as coked out as you found it to be Best12... it's a little smile at the camera, but really the worst offender (besides Zac Efron) is the girl you liked best, Vanessa Hudgens (I believe her name is). She's so annoying.

[defygravity2]

Posted: 8/18/07 at 11:45pm

Cheesy? Yep...but that's fine by me.

My 15 year old was furious with me because I wouldn't let her go see "Superbad" with a friend yesterday. Instead, she sat and watched HSM2 TWICE (and once again this morning)! She is a closet fan, and she would die if her friends knew how much she liked the show.

I am sure "Superbad" is a more realistic (God help us!) picture of the current high school life, but as a mom, I am thankful for the Disney version on tv.

[25th Annual Speller]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 1:42am

that movie was HORRIBLE.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 1:56am

*sigh* Corbin.

Ok. Anyway.

Just speaking in my experience with children and theatre (since I assistant direct children theatre as volunteer work at several theatres), watching HSM has not taught them to love musical theatre. It has taught them to sing through their nose,and REFUSE to sing otherwise when we try to help. It has taught them to overact completely and refuse help because they say "Well Ashely did it this way!" I'm not saying that's how it is for EVERYONE but it isn't even a realistic portrayal of a musical. I know that sounds like a dumb comment. But really think about it. Granted,the dancing is impressive. But, love children as I do, it is impossible to try to teach them when all they have on their mind is "Oh! So if I'm in this show..can I have a dress like Vanessa's?" Cute on some kids. Obnixious coming from others.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 3:49am

My best friend TiVo-ed it and today we got a gallon of wine and saw it. To watch this "film" any other way but drunk is just stupid.
It was incredibly dreadful. I didn't see the first one but whoa was this a horrible movie.
There was just something about it that screamed DREADFUL.
I thought the acting was terrible (I loved the over-the-top-Paris-Hilton-impersonating blond girl though), Zac Efron's big solo was beyond disastrous (a combination of Britney Spears' videos, a few Liza movements thrown in, and Justin Timberlake wanna-be choreography), the main girl was terrible IMO, and the whole cast felt worse than Keeanu Reeves doing Shakespeare.
I don't mind camp, I don't mind harmless fun. I love the GREASE movie. But this was one of the worst movies I've seen in my life.

[Musicals101]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 5:38pm

I read somewhere that they lowered the bitrate of the songs so that they would sound crappy and on purpose and more people would buy the DVD to hear the better versions. Something like that.

I liked it. It was cheezy, and corny, but it's good for fun. I really liked Lucas Grabeel and found myself rooting for Ryan/Gabriella. Go figure. Some of the choreography was really bad though. But I did like the story, even if it did rip off Saved by the Bell.

[BroadwayBaby91]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 6:19pm

Personally, I thought it was better than the first. I felt like it moved more toward the teenage aspect of High School. The last one was more happy...personally. This one had more tear jerking moments. Like, when Gabby breaks out into her song "Gotta Go My Own Way" and Zac[Troy] just looks like he is about to die. And I love how Ryan [Lucas] broke from Sharpay's chain that he was hooked on. I am going to watch and sing along tonight.