guardian.co.uk: "As you may know, the release of High School Musical 3 in the US prompted a number of viciously negative reviews from critics. Apparently these reviewers were shocked and sickened that the film didn't focus more on the grim reality of being a boring indie kid.
'This corporate Disney universe is ... free from all the exquisite pain and hopeless boredom that made being a teenager real,' said a typical review in the Philadelphia Metro."
10 comments:
bless this writers heart for seeing my plight against my generation. being happy can be just as fun and cool as being unhappy. granted that in the war between high school musical and elliot smith i choose stephen sondheim, but really isnt that just exactly the middle point? sondheim is the catchyness of HSM except it has wit, and deals with actual issues like hmmm...mr smith perhaps. we can all get along perhaps the answer is to not tease people for their preferences.
Why is it that when one group doesn't like a particular type of music or movie they feel the need to wipe it from the face of the earth? If you don't think HSM is realistic or a high type of art form then just ignore it! I understand some people don't like certain types of music or movies, but that doesn't give you the right to take it away from people that do. If people are not forcing you to watch something then I don't see what the problem is.
Button A. Who could kill Winnie the Pooh? I'm not saying that I love HSM3 but as realsitic as musicals should be the whole point is the slight air of the fantastic and unreal.
i can see both sides of this argument. i mean, musicals are supposed to be fun and uplifting and all that jazz, but it is also important that they don't just mind-numb everyone to the real world. There are musicals that are able to do both of these things. i have seen musicals that do not completely glorify or discredit the high-school experience. Like many things though, it requires a balance and unfortunately the writers ad producers in the entertainment industry see everything in a monochromatic way. Either the designated demographic is going to bring money or not.
This is so true. Today its cool to be tired and depressed and on valium. But I mean really? whats wrong with being happy and having lots of good days. And yeah movies tend to depict the darker depressing side, but campy musicals can be great too. Having not seen HSM3 I can't say this for certain but I'm guessing that the issue is this show is not a well done campy movie. And while this is an oxymoron, the subtle differences in angles, editing, singing, composition and story can make all the difference. So less emo shit, more campy, but more GOOD campy.
The thing about this article is that the writer is being as close minded as the people he is complaining about. My question is why does he hate Morissey so much? You really can't blame him for people hating High School Musical.
This article contains a lot of gross generalizations, and only serves to divide the world of consumers into two really narrow categories.
I think this writer brings up some valid points, but I don't really know what reviews of HSM3 he was reading. Most of the reviews I read said something the lines of "it's not brilliant, but it sure was fun". I think most critics embraced the fact that it didn't look at the "indie kid", as this author puts it, which we see so often in pop culture today. The market for this type of movie, whether its a musical or not, is never going to die, as much as these "indie kids" might want it to.
To answer Joe's question about reviews negative of High School Musical 3 I turn to Peter Travers the reviewer for the Rolling Stones, "If you're gay and/or eight years old, HSM3 is the movie event of the year." (1 out of 4 stars). Generally I think this article is pretty stupid but well so is High School Musical 3. Also I resent the fact that they refer to the kids in High School Musical 3 and theatre kids as "Indie". Apart from that High School Musical I don't think got criticism for being happy and uplifting but for being unrealistic and for having horrid writing. I don't think the author of the article is trying to discredit it or doesn't get it and that a certain target audience does get it but that just in general it is blatantly bad.
Come on now, this is a Disney movie. Of course it will most likely be upbeat and unrealistic. But that kind of art is important to have in the world so that it balances out all the negative and depressing art. If we only had the sad stuff, we'd go crazy. HSM is silly and funny. If nothing else I love making fun of it, and I appreciate it for that.
I don't see what the problem is. There are different musicals for different people, just like there are different types of music and movies for different types of people. Just look at the popularity of Burton's Sweeny Todd with the Hot Topic scene. While indie kids may be watching Donnie Darko or MirrorMask, chick flicks and base comedies flourish. High School Musical is just...meh within its own merits.
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