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"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2" (2007) (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens) (TV-G) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons None None Moderate None None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None None None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor None Mild Moderate None QUICK TAKE: Musical: The talented kids of East High are back in a music-filled summer where they learn important lessons about following their dreams and being true to themselves. PLOT: In the time that passed between the East High School winter musical (shown in High School Musical 1) and the end of the school year, the romance between Gabriella Montez (VANESSA HUDGENS) and Troy Bolton (ZAC EFRON) has blossomed. Their respective "groups" have merged as well, resulting in a lasting friendship with composing genius Kelsi Nielsen (OLESYA RULIN) and even a budding romance between Troy's basketball teammate Chad (CORBIN BLEU) and brainy feminist Taylor (MONIQUE COLEMAN). This, along with the anticipation of a quickly-approaching summer vacation, makes even the last class of the year with drama teacher Ms. Darbus (ALYSON REED) easier to bear. The school's obnoxious debutante-drama queen, Sharpay Evans (ASHLEY TISDALE), is resentful of all the newfound friendships and vows to break up Gabriella and Troy and restore order to the clique universe, dragging her brother Ryan (LUCAS GRABEEL) along for the ride. Knowing the gang is looking for summer jobs, Sharpay convinces her family to hire Troy at the country club they own, run by the hapless Mr. Fulton (MARK L. TAYLOR). When Fulton hires all of Troy's friends as well, Sharpay demands that he promote Troy while doing his best to make the rest of the group miserable enough to quit. The resulting actions drive Troy further from his friends and Gabriella, even as they open doors for his future he didn't imagine were possible. Seduced by talk of college scouts, opportunities to impress Sharpay's influential father Vance (ROBERT CURTIS BROWN), and offers to practice with the local university's basketball team, Troy soon finds himself isolated and in danger of losing his best friend and his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the East High group vows to unseat Sharpay as the reigning queen of the club's annual end-of-summer talent show. As the rift between Troy and his friends deepens, he must make hard choices about what's most important to him before it's too late, factoring in what his basketball coach dad Jack (BART JOHNSON) thinks. And with the talent show looming and the East High gang in need of a director, Ryan Evans must decide where his loyalties lie. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Between the press surrounding this made-for-TV film and its sequel and the popularity of its stars in the "tween" circuit, younger kids will definitely want to see this movie. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: TV-G Presumably for not containing anything to warrant a higher rating. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ZAC EFRON is Troy Bolton, sports star, dreamboat, and overall squeaky-clean good guy. Despite the outward perception that Troy is perfect, he is all too human. Grappling with the pressure of having a senior sports season good enough to get a scholarship to pay for college, Troy proves an easy victim of Sharpay's scheme to drive him away from Gabriella and his friends. As time passes, he looks less and less like the leader he's supposed to be in comparison to his friends, and they tell him so. Though stubborn and defensive at first, Troy finally sees his friends' point of view and works to make things right. VANESSA HUDGENS is Gabriella Montez, a soft-spoken, kind-hearted girl who is willing to be everyone's friend. Though she can come across as smitten to the point of being dopey when she's around Troy, she proves that she's a strong, independent person when she expresses her disapproval of Troy's behavior. As his actions isolate him further from his friends, Gabriella isn't afraid to break things off in order to stay true to herself. ASHLEY TISDALE plays Sharpay Evans, the reigning drama queen of East High, both on and off the stage. Icy and blonde, Sharpay appears willing to steamroll anyone who gets in the way of her sole ambition - making herself look good. She treats her "friends" like hired help and drags her brother around like a pet. Like many of her genre, Sharpay has managed to convince her parents and adults around her that she is a model citizen. She would stop at nothing to break Troy and Gabriella up so she could have him for herself, but it's not even clear that she likes him as much as she likes the idea of the status the relationship would bring. BART JOHNSON plays Jack Bolton, Troy's dad and East High's basketball coach. He is very supportive of his son and likes to hang around with his son's friends like "one of the guys." This is probably because, as their coach, he feels close to all of them and it keeps him feeling young. CORBIN BLEU plays Chad Danforth, Troy's best friend and basketball teammate. He is excited about starting his summer job because he wants to buy a car so he can take Taylor (MONIQUE COLEMAN) on a real date. He is kind, outgoing and loyal, so he takes it the hardest when Troy starts drifting away from their group in favor of hanging out with college basketball stars. MONIQUE COLEMAN plays Taylor McKessie, a strong-willed girl who is one of Gabriella's best friends. She is very sensitive toward her friends' feelings, so she is tuned in to Sharpay's schemes from the beginning and tries to warn everyone about what she's up to. ALYSON REED plays Ms. Darbus, the school's eccentric drama teacher. Her role is much smaller than in the original High School Musical, but she still represents an exaggerated stereotype of kids' feelings about teachers - she drones on and on. LUCAS GRABEEL plays Ryan Evans, Sharpay's brother. Unlike in the previous movie, where he is portrayed as spineless and obsequious, Ryan makes more of an effort here to fit in and step out of his sister's shadow. At a critical moment, he decides to help his new-found friends instead of granting Sharpay the limelight. OLESYA RULIN plays Kelsi Nielsen, a talented pianist and composer who is hired by the country club to play lounge music during meals. She still finds time to write all the music for the talent show and stands up to Sharpay by refusing to relinquish a song she wrote especially for Troy and Gabriella. ROBERT CURTIS BROWN plays Vance Evans, Sharpay and Ryan's dad. Seemingly oblivious to his daughter's antics, he takes a liking to Troy and offers to set him up with meetings to get college scholarships and play basketball with the local college team. Though he seems to be a pretty good guy, he's hard to like because he thinks his daughter is so wonderful. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG. Two characters who are dating share a few chaste kisses. Sharpay's character has a perpetually bad attitude throughout most of the movie, and she plots to break up a romance so she can have the boy herself, while all of the dancing and singing might also be enticing for some kids to imitate. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE None. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Sharpay is generally portrayed as rude, spoiled and stuck up. She is demanding and disrespectful to peers and adults alike throughout the film. Sharpay implies she hopes Gabriella is moving to another town, then makes fun of her. Sharpay vows to break up Troy and Gabriella because she wants Troy for herself. Sharpay yells at her mom, calling her a "backstabbing yogi," when she barges into her yoga class and demands to know why Fulton hired all of Troy's friends. Sharpay screams at Fulton to fire Troy's friends or make them want to quit. Sharpay calls maintenance to turn the sprinklers on the golf course when she sees Troy and Gabriella walking there. Sharpay makes Troy miss his date with Gabriella by forcing him to sit through a musical number she performs. Sharpay steals the duet Kelsi wrote for Troy and Gabriella. Sharpay yells at Ryan. Troy and Chad fight. Chad yells that Troy is acting like a different person, while Troy yells back that Chad is just jealous. FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Dude!" "Darbus has snapped her cap!" "I'm gonna take that little hottie on a proper date" and "Backstabbing yogi." Kids will likely imitate the singing and dancing shown in the movie. Girls may imitate Sharpay's bad attitude. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY Two characters who are dating share a few chaste kisses. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Troy is repeatedly thrown into situations where he is with Sharpay's family, being treated like a country club member instead of an employee, even having his friends have to wait on him. It's awkward for him, hurtful to his friends and delightful for Sharpay. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Earning your own money. Pressures associated with getting older (graduation, success, college, scholarships, etc.) Staying true to who you are and not falling for peer pressure. Friendship and loyalty. VIOLENCE None. Reviewed off DVD / Posted March 10, 2008