High School Musical 2 (TV 2007)

During the summer vacations a talent show is organized in a local country club and Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad and Taylor take part in it.

Director:

Kenny Ortega

Writer:

Peter Barsocchini

Stars:

Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zac Efron	...	Troy Bolton
Vanessa Hudgens	...	Gabriella Montez
Ashley Tisdale	...	Sharpay Evans
Lucas Grabeel	...	Ryan Evans
Corbin Bleu	...	Chad Danforth
Monique Coleman	...	Taylor McKessie
Bart Johnson	...	Jack Bolton
Alyson Reed	...	Ms. Darbus
Chris Warren Jr.	...	Zeke Baylor
Jessica Tuck	...	Mrs. Evans
Robert Curtis Brown	...	Vance Evans
Mark L. Taylor	...	Mr. Fulton
Ryne Sanborn	...	Jason Cross
Olesya Rulin	...	Kelsi Nielsen
KayCee Stroh	...	Martha Cox

Storyline

The Wildcats are back. They start off getting out of school, where Sharpay makes sure Troy has job at her country club. Troy then in returns gets everyone else a job at the country club too. Gabriella is the new lifeguard, while Troy, Chad, and the others work in the kitchen. At the country club there is a talent show, which Sharpay and Ryan win every year. Kelsi had written a song for Troy and Gabriella to sing at the talent show, which later on Sharpay takes (at a faster tempo) for her and Troy to sing at the talent show. Sharpay plots to take Troy away from Gabriella, by getting him a better job than the rest of the Wildcats. Troy starts changing, all for a "scholarship", starting to act like a jerk, which results in Gabriella breaking up with Troy, saying she doesn't belong there. After Troy loses all his friends, because he began acting like a jerk and had found out that Sharpay had made it where no Junior Staffers can perform in the talent show, he decides to do something about ...

---

Plot Keywords:

talent show | country club | lifeguard | basketball | golf | 

---

Taglines:

On August 17th, are you ready for the start of something new?

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

High School Musical 2: Extended Edition

Filming Locations:

East High School - 840 S 1300 E, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, First Street Films, Salty Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 111 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the cast members had to change three times so that everyone's colors complemented each other during the "All For One" musical sequence.

---

Goofs

When Troy invites Sharpay up on stage during 'Everyday', she joins him on his left at the right side of the circle, with Gabriella and Ryan at the top. The camera them pans out and zooms in but Sharpay is on Troy's right and they are to the right of Gabriella, not the left.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Ms. Darbus: You must remember, young thespians, learning is never seasonal, so do allow the shimmering lights of Summer to refresh and illuminate your fertile young minds.
Chad Danforth: What is she talking about?

---

Crazy Credits

Outtakes are shown.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: 17 Again/State of Play/Crank High Voltage (2009)

---

Soundtracks

"Gotta Go My Own Way"
Performed by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens
Written and Produced by Andy Dodd amd Adam Watts
Seven Peaks Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

What Time Is It? Time To Cash In! (and why HSM does exactly that)

I've finally found out the reason why the High School Musical phenomenon is such a success. Why the first movie's soundtrack was the top-selling CD of last year. Why there are ice shows, stage productions (amateur and pro), karaoke CDs, and karaoke DVDs to boot. It all traces back to the 90s.

You see, the 1990s gave birth to NSync, Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls, Britney, Christina, Jessica, what have you. But their time wasn't meant for the 90s. They had come too early. Music honestly wasn't ready to cycle back to the confectionery, syrupy, Velveeta meets cotton candy of the late 50s/ early 60s. But now is the time.

The reason that High School Musical, and now Part 2, are such a success is because 1990'S POP MUSIC IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!!! High School Musical was the Reset Button, if you will, setting kidz-bop-pop back in its rightful place. Adults have their music, their innuendos, their profane-angry-paranoid-hurtfully honest songs. Why not give the kids a break? A place to be a kid?

The sequel does a great job of avoiding the urge to fix what's unbroken, but instead to polish it. This film isn't darker, but it is spunkier. More attitude, and even more confidence (if that's hard to imagine). This film is strictly for A) kids, and B) people who not only remember but enjoyed being kids. High School Musical 2 is a burst of joyful exuberance. Winks towards adult audiences have their place, but so do productions where a kid isn't talked down to or expected to grow up too fast.

The straight-up theater pop of the first has been replaced with more of a Hip-Hop/ Arena Pop edge. Less Broadway, more Billboard. Plus, the mythological task of defeating high school cliques has been replaced with simply earning a check for the summer. The movie wants to feel bigger than the last, but it's actually more intimate. That's an unintended plus.

The cast goes through some drama this time around, and some changes are made, character-wise. This was the biggest surprise. Disney Channel could have simply done a rehash of the first film, but everyone involved truly did a great job. I forgot that, as corny as the premise

• the whole franchise - is, these guys can really act. And sing. And

dance. No wonder Disney gonna's make a fortune.

And no wonder musical theater is so rough. Every single participant has to be a Triple Threat. But that's part of the fantasy of the first film: making the audition, giving it your all, and gaining the applause and support of your peers. What's great about this second movie is, really it's about the reverse of that. LOSING the support of your peers. Losing yourself in search of something you don't really need, not yet anyway. It's a good message: The future will come soon enough. Enjoy being a kid and being with the ones who love you while you still can.

Still, if this second movie doesn't match up to the first, it's because of moving it away from the dream of Triple Talent Status. No longer a musical about a musical, it instead becomes a musical about a country club. Instead of risking social status to be yourself, to find yourself, it is now about the dangers of losing yourself, by giving into social status. More dramatic, sure. A stroke of genius, I would say, except for the fact that it's still a freakin' High School Musical movie, not a Country Club Musical movie.

By moving into more complex territory, it grows up. But by default, it is less fun, just a smidgen less, than the original. To its credit, it isn't stale (the new setting keeps it fresh), but Disney Channel, Ortega, and all company involved will be hard pressed to create a three-quel that's just as fun, lively and CHOCK FULL OF 90'S POP as the original. A return to the theater would be welcome.

As for the songs themselves, let's just say I've been fair enough to comment that I enjoyed the MOVIE for what it was. Disney's been great at soundtracks but they'll have to do a lot better for part 3. Aside from the opener and a baseball game/swing number, there's not much to enjoy this time around, once again due in part to the removal of the high school locale.

The kids will LOVE IT, the parents will Tolerate it, Disney Channel will collect money hand over fist, and everyone else will have no idea what is going on because they've failed to realize (A) what it meant to be a kid, (B) that 90's Pop Music is back with a vengeance, and (C) everybody wants to sing and dance, even if they don't want to admit it.