High School Musical 3: Senior Year

"I saw High School Musical 3 right after I'd watched 1 and 2 on DVD. Three in one week means I spent the next couple of days trying to remember which moments came from which films. This revealed to me both the weakness and the appeal of these films. They're interchangeable, so mildly innocuous in their story-telling technique as to never step on any toes. The stories are so simple, the morals so clear-cut, the values so family-friendly. And then there are the songs: highly polished, over-produced, ready-made for instant recognition, and sure to get lodged in the brains of parents all over the world."

"While Ortega and fellow choreographers Charles Klapow and Bonnie Story stretch their imaginations, there's something almost lazy about the picture's underachiever script."

"A candy-colored never-never land that Peter Pan might envy."

"If you're gay and/or eight years old, HSM3 is the movie event of the year."

"For those scoring at home, the third entry in the "High School Musical" series is better than the second but doesn't quite sustain the unvarnished, giddy highs of the first."

"The result unfortunately has the blandness of a mediocre TV sitcom."

"Right out of the gate, we realize that bringing the series to the big screen makes the flaws that much more obvious. The voices are too thin, the music and lyrics too simplistic, and the production values are – frankly – too "televisual.""

"If you're under 12, you won't be disappointed. If you're over 12, the fact this is as funny and bright as it is insipid won't stop you from avoiding it like the plague."