High School Musical 2 Extended Edition DVD with Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale (G) +Movie Reviews +Used DVD available for Swap

Good music, fair film

Julie Neal | Sanibel Island, Fla. | 08/24/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This sequel to High School Musical features the same stars as the first film and nearly the same plot. Once again, high school hunk Troy (Zac Efron) ponders whether he should stick to the stuff he knows (in this case, the sweet Gabriella), the conniving Sharpay wants him there beside her, and eventually everyone learns that they're all in this together. OK, that wasn't fair. That's also the plot of "Grease," and for that matter, nearly every other teen musical.

In this case, though, I couldn't help feeling let down. Unlike the original (High School Musical (Encore Edition)), this film breathes not a breath of fresh air. It is, in essence, just a clone of its mama. If you loved the first film you'd like this one -- it has the same feel-good bounce -- but I bet you won't be watching it as often.

So why four stars? The music. It's better! "You Are The Music In Me" is a sincere, catchy duet by Gabriella and Troy (Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron) that uses a gospel chorus to rise above nearly everything ever cranked out by today's dime-a-dozen pop tarts. "Everyday" (also Gabriella and Troy) is in the same vein, a Britney-esque bouncer with a finale that seems literally straight out of a black church. "I Don't Dance" boogies along like an old big-band number, while the staccato boy-band rocker "Bet On It" (Troy) recalls the best of Michael Jackson. Finally, "All for One" is a hand-clapping shout-out that hints, a little, at Sheryl Crow's "Soak in the Sun." The soundtrack is available here: High School Musical 2.

Why "Extended Edition'? Because an additional music scene has been integrated into the film: the musical number Troy and Sharpay rehearse. The scene features Sharpay playing a pineapple princess looking for her "fresh fish prince" in the Polynesian fantasy "Humuhumunukunukua'pua'a." Bonus features include a sing-along feature, rehearsal footage and music videos.

One final note: Though this DVD is in fullscreen, the Blu-ray version is widescreen."

What else can be said, the kids love it..

Cjg | New York | 09/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have two daughters (5 & 7) and they love the movie, love the characters and can't stop watching both HSM 1 and 2. For very conservative parents (I kind of consider myself on the conservative side), this isn't all that bad. They do kiss in this one, at the end. Other than that, I can't say there is anything else in the movie that requires explanation to the kids (not that I needed to say anything about "the kiss"). It is actually good, clean fun, unlike many of the other videos that come out nowadays.."

Marvelous Better than the First

Michael W. Helms | San Antonio, TX | 08/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having been a Disney fan all my life, I always look forward to new releases. With the Success of High School Musical I wondered how they could top this production. They did though. HSM2 is thoroughly enjoyable with great acting by all the cast and the musical numbers are out of this world. The energy exibited along with the fun they seemed to have during the production made it even more enjoyable. It is a fantastic production and I recommend it for anybody who enjoys Disney. This is sure to become a classic."

The Disney Empire Strikes Back (What'd We Ever Do To You To

D. Reed | Elkton, MD USA | 03/13/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"WHAT! AGAIN! YOU MEAN THERE'S A SEQUEL! Well of course there is. Everyone knows that Disney's gonna milk this for all its worth as long as uncultured kids and their parents (cause they're the ones with the money) will buy into it. So what can I say that I haven't already said about the first? Well this superfluous sequel is obviously a rehash of the first only set at the end of the school year and at a country club. There's just too much similarity between the basketball song and dance of the first and the baseball song and dance of this one. And like someone else said, when were dance and baseball the same? I don't care if Gene Kelly incorporated sports moves in his choreography, in the big scheme of things, they don't mix (and for not being able to dance, the "ethnic" jock sure can dance [if that's what you want to call it]). And now that I've moved on to the songs; well, what can I say but UTTER RUBISH! Again they are uncatchy and really make no sense in the sequence of things other than to shoehorn in another (badly performed) song and (poorly choreographed) dance. The big brassy opener is a poor attempt to "get back in" to the picture. The one performed by the rich girl and her brother could've been explained in actual dialogue. And the spontaneity of when they actually do sing seems robotic. Did any of these "actors" have the balls (dance numbers aside) to perform live? The overacting (and the horrible choreography) on Efron's part during his, I guess you would call it a lament (when he dances idoitically around the golf course), makes it seem like he's a raving lunatic (and people said Meryl Streep overacted and looked ridiculous when she was singing The Winner Takes It All). And while I'm on the Mamma Mia! note; Pierce Brosnan couldn't sing? Are you joking? Has anybody heard these tone deaf peons? The only reason they sound good is through the magic of editing. If you watch the making of features of Mamma Mia and see some of Brosnan's recordings, he actually does sound as he does on the film/soundtrack. People may not think I'm being fair because I like Brosnan, Streep and Mamma Mia altogether but I know good acting and singing when I see it and HSM (1, 2 or3) definately, not in a million years or til the end of days, is it. At least when he sang, he did it with emotion. And I'm gonna stop there for the songs because they're the sung the same and over acted. Again, character development would be welcome but the two main leads stay the same (they break up about mid-way but get back together anyway), the white jock's sidekick remains the same and the mean girl remains, well, mean, rude and obnoxious (except at the end to sing the big finale number but only to return to her nasty ways in the third film). And the acting! This just has Oscar worthy written all over it! Every time Efron looks he's mad or is supposed to emote any feeling for that matter, he looks like he's about to break down and cry (even after "yelling" at his best friend). And let's not forget the un-memorable cameo by Miley "gonna ruin three time Grammy award-winning group Radiohead because they didn't wanna meet me" Cyrus by the pool. It's a shame that this is the same company that gave us "Dumbo" (Walt's favorite, might I add), "Sleeping Beauty" and so many other countless classics. Disney would be ashamed of what his dream has become! I know he definately would've kicked the one girl out after those pictures "leaked" onto the Internet (same thing goes for Cyrus). He wouldn't have them ruining the image that he worked so hard to achieve (I know there was that business with Annette Funicello being in a bikini but she had moved on from the corporation by then)."

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