Reviews

This movie has to have been one of the most painful experiences of my life, and I dearly wish I could have not finished watching it in economics class. I don't know anything about the play, so I won't compare them, but there was pretty much nothing of redeeming value in the movie save the resolution to the company's plight and the speeches (which don't have a whole lot of redeeming value). First of all, Mr. DeVito's character was such a creep that the whole romance thing is way too ridiculous and disgusting to swallow and tolerate, much less believe. Second of all, the lead actress' acting was incredibly one dimensional. Third of all, every time Larry smokes and eats a doughnut at the same time, they managed to make it so disgusting that I felt as if I were having a heart attack, and I love doughnuts. You can't even look at him without gagging and hoping that he does have a heart attack. Everything in this movie makes your skin crawl, and I don't think it was entirely done on purpose. Perhaps they wanted to make Larry look like a creep, but that effect managed to seep into every single frame. It's not even that it's a poorly done film, it's just completely repellent. After I watched this, I felt disgusting for two days, as if I ate ash trays for lunch and dinner. This film leaves such a bad taste you can't enjoy what little good stuff there is.

as has been stated, this movie definitely is not a good biography, but this is Hollywood. in truth Annette really was put on trial for her scandalous suit, though i wouldn't say she did it to be sexy. she did to be practical. and can you blame her? still, the water ballets are lovely, and they are especially special since the actress was a real synchronized swimmer who did it all herself, like how johnny Weissmuller does all of Tarzan's's water stuff(and everything else). parts are humorous, others not, but if you are looking for a classic this is a classic that most people don't know about. it is worth it to see a new classic, with that old charm. and, as has been said, the swimming scenes were fabulous. and the beginning, when Annette is a little girl, can just make you practically cry. when you come across stories such as these, it can be rather hard to pass them by.

The High School Musical definitely has talented actors, funny moments, and catchy music, and a good plot line. However, despite all this, it is also definitely overrated. First of all, the Disney channel has played it too many times. I have seen it way more than I should have for someone without cable; Disney really over-did it. I really don't get all the hype. There is a limit to how often you can see it without it getting exetremely dull, and i am sad to say that the limit is a very small number. If I had seen it just, say once or twice, and if there wasn't so much hype about how it's the greatest movie ever when it isn't, I would have liked it a lot more and would have given it a rating anywhere from 6 to 8. the other main factor is how unrealisic it is. not only is it quite obvious that the whole thing is ad-libbed, even if it's to the actor's real voices, but everything in it is quite perfect in an aggravating way. the high school and it's students are too perfect and stereotyped, too bright for it to be even the slightest bit believable. note how even the geeks are fashionably dressed and without any type of pattern save stripes and dots on their clothing. Note that the darker students of every typical highschool(goths) appear to not exist. note the school's cafeteria, which is nicer and bigger (and richer) than any private or public school or even college cafeteria. All of this creates an unrealistic and plastic, shallow view of highschool. I might also add that it doesn't say much except "you can only fall in love if you are hot, you can only fall in love with someone who is hot, and you are a failure as well as abnormal if you are not hot." whatever happened to true love? Part of the charm of any movie or musical is that however fantastic the plot, or whatever the setting, it looks like the real world and the people act and look like real people(even if they are constantly breaking out into song). It makes you want to sing the songs, and you feel as though if you were really lucky(or unlucky), this could happen to you. This feeling does not even appear in HighSchool Musical. If it didn't seem so over-publicized and superficial, the highschool musical would be much better and be worth 9 or even 10 stars. Might I mention that I believe that everyone who hates it is just sick of hearing about it being the best ever when most people can name at least 100 better movies. Normally, I don't think it is either bad or good, but the hype is definitely too much. yeah, it has strong points, but I was properly disgusted when I heard that the middle school I just left for highschool was using it as their school play. It is simply too much, especially since in the past three years they did Oliver!, My Fair Lady, and 42nd street, along with several other wonderful classics that were put on beautifully. Highschool musical is simply too shallow and Disney-fied to be set among the classics. Disney has gone down the toilet. Remember the Lion King? Beauty and the Beast? Snow White? I agree with the reviewers who said that all it does is give un-popular and normal teens a fantasized view of themselves. it is disgusting to see friends of mine who are normally intelligent beings, and sometimes with iq's over 160, falling in love with this movie.