My So-Called High School Rank

2 high school drama teachers write and direct a musical for their Cupertino, CA school about the pressures of being a high school student striving to do everything to set themselves up to get into a good college. The musical is called "Ranked" and deals with how schools rank their students' achievements and create a stressful, competitional environment (yes, this is a real musical that was working its way towards off-Broadway when the pandemic hit). The doc also shows the audition and rehearsal steps for two other schools, one in central California and in West Virginia. You see the dichotomy of 3 different schools and musical/drama departments in very different class areas of the country. But then COVID hits and the film switches to being about how the theater arts seniors need to finish up high school and apply to colleges.

I liked this film a lot. It reminded me of the terrific documentary, also from 2021, called Try Harder!, about high school kids competing for the best colleges, a film I absolutely loved. You can't help but wish the best for these kids and want to see where they are in a few years.