High School Musical 2 – (U)
The original High School Musical, released in 2006, introduced us to the pupils of East High School, who go through all the rites of adolescence – first love, divided loyalties, triumph and disaster – while occasionally breaking into song and some amazingly well-choreographed dance routines.
It was a huge hit, helped by great tunes and the directorial skills of the legendary Kenny Ortega (who started out working with Singin’ In The Rain star Gene Kelly and went on to provide choreography for the iconic films Dirty Dancing and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, among a multitude of others.)
Ortega returned for the sequel, which sees the group of friends land summer jobs at the somewhat ominously named Lava Springs Country Club. Here they go through pretty much the same trials and tribulations, with Troy (played by Zac Efron) being tempted away from the love of his life Gabriella (played by Vanessa Hudgens) with promises of a musical scholarship.
It’s fair to say that the plot of HSM2 is not what you would call taxing but this film franchise has never been about deep drama. Instead, they’re about the music and dance, and in High School Musical 2, it’s all high energy, packed with sweet moments, and, as always, absolutely everyone is guaranteed a happy ending.