"*GASP!!!* You haven't watched High School Musical?! Sarah, WATCH IT!!!"

I've been told this more than a thousand times—no exaggeration—in the past two years. I always reply with, "Okay, okay, I will..." but I never did.

Until today that, is.

So I watched the movie, and as the credits rolled, I sat there, blinking. And my thought was...

That's what all the fuss was about?

Now, before you leap up from your chair yelling violent objections at me, let me make something clear: I did not NOT enjoy the movie.Read full post...

I thought that the movie was okay.

But then that's my problem, I think. Forgive me, but that's what I thought. The movie was just okay. No fireworks, no standing ovations for me. No wide, giddy smile after the movie, but no disappointed frown either.

The story is nice, and the message—for us not to act one way just because everybody expects us to, but instead to break free and do what you were created to do—speaks to everyone, teenagers and adults alike.

The acting was good: I didn't feel as if I was just watching teenagers trying to act; I felt as if I was watching high schoolers dealing with status quo, peer and parent pressure, and all that. Just so happens that they suddenly burst out singing and dancing, which wasn't really a bad thing.

The script was entertaining. I particularly liked more than a few lines. Some of them made me laugh out loud. I think my favorite would be the one in Sharpnay and Zeke's conversation when Sharpnay goes, "Go away... tall person."

About the soundtrack: the lyrics are well-thought, and the melodies are catchy. Yup, for the moment, I've put it on repeat play. The songs didn't particularly catch my undivided attention during the film, but listening to them now, I'm liking them more and more.

Now, the choreography... O-hoho, the choreography. I think that's the best part of the film. Not because they flung out ultra-mega-impressive moves. No, I liked the choreography because the dance numbers melded so well into the flow of the story. Yes, more than once, high schoolers who didn't like dancing and singing (or it was at least implied that they didn't...sorta) suddenly break into singing and dancing, but it was done so well that it seemed so natural. It wasn't distracting. Not in the least.

Favorite song: Get'cha Head in the Game. For the music and lyrics, and even more because of the musical arrangement and choreography. Plus the execution. ARGH I love that song.

So, after all these praises coming from me, why on earth am I saying that the movie was just okay? I honestly have no idea. Maybe, as much as I psyched myself not to expect anything—which I always do before watching a movie so that my judgment would not be impaired—the fuss of all the people who watched it before had already seeped deep into my mind that I unconsciously did expect something really, really, really good.

(For what it's worth—and I'm not sure if it is worth anything—I want very much to watch this on stage. The next time Trumpets does this, I'm watching.)

In the end, I give the movie a rating of 79/100. Not quite 4/5, but very, very nearly there. This you can be sure of: High School Musical will go into my shelf as a movie that I enjoyed, and I would smilingly recommend it to someone wanting to be entertained.

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