Reel Rating: 4 out of 5 Reels
MPAA Rating: G
Released in Theaters: Oct. 24, 2008
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical, Romance
Runtime: 112 minutes
Directed by: Kenny Ortega
Cast: Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman
Sex/ Nudity: Mild flirting, one kiss, lots of scenes with shirtless boys, including two boys running around the school in towels, trying to retrieve their clothes from two other boys.
Violence/Gore: One argument between a father and son.
Profanity: None.
Which Kids Will Like It? Kids who love the other HSM movies and/or innocent teen movies with lots of singing and dancing.
Will Parents Like It? Yes, there’s nothing objectionable here, and the positive resolutions with kids going off to college might actually help both kids and parents in that situation.
Review: There are so many violent, sex-laden movies about teens right now, and High School Musical 3: Senior Year is the complete opposite of that. Parents can breathe a huge sigh of gratefulness that, yes, there really ARE some clean, innocent movies about teens, and all of the HSM films fall into that category.
This third movie follows the familiar characters during their senior year of high school. Troy (Zac Efron) is deciding whether he wants to pursue basketball or theater in college, but his dad is set on him attending the college HE went to. Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) is heading off to Stanford; and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) are up for positions at Julliard, as are Troy and Kelsi (Olesya Rulin).
As with the other HSM movies, this one features lots of singing and dancing, to the point where I wonder if even die-hard fans might get bored (I did!). The storyline also includes some younger characters who could step into the main roles – lookalikes of Troy, Chad and Sharpay, to name a few. I really hope they don’t go there, though.
I appreciate being a part of the journey of these characters, and I’m glad kids have the option of seeing reel-life teens who aren’t entrenched in sex, drugs, violence, or terror. It’s sad that there are so many movies in that vein.
Sure, HSM3 is cheesy, schmaltzy, and in some cases, dramatic, but it’s also good, clean fun for all ages.
Jane Boursaw is a family entertainment writer specializing in movies and TV. Visit her at Reel Life With Jane; follow her on Twitter; become a friend on Facebook; email jboursaw@charter.net.
